Sermon
Shepherds Of The Flock, Part 2 - Family Qualifications - Frank Brancato
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Going back to a passage that we noticed last week also in the
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book of Titus Chapter 1 and verse 5, the Apostle Paul said,
Titus 1 chapter mention
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for this reason, I left you in Crete that you should set in
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order, the things that are lacking and appoint ordain
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Elders in every city as I commanded You In this passage
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the Apostle Paul instructs Titus, or tells Titus.
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The reason for leaving him in Reet.
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Now, something about create. You might remember I think this
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is very important creep was no small place.
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In fact, it was the fifth largest island in the
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Mediterranean Sea Scholars. Tell us that ancient Crete was
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about 186 miles long and the width of it very in the
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narrowest part of Crete, it was seven miles and in the widest
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part of creating was 35 miles. There were over 100 cities in
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that. Place and over a million people
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and Paul tells Titus that he left them and creepy left him in
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Crete for the purpose of doing two things.
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Number one to set in order, the things that are lacking.
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And number two to ordain Elders in every city.
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Now, first of all, we need to understand.
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And remember that ordaining, Elders that every city means
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ordaining Elders in every church.
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Now, if, in fact there Is a hundred cities that we might say
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that there was 100 congregations in that particular place.
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Perhaps every city where there was a church, they were toward a
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Elders now. Elders were ordained in those
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places without miraculous help from God.
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I've heard people say, you know, we don't have a whole lot of
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Elders. Today we have a lot of
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congregations that don't have Elders today and the only way
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that they could have done it back in the old days or back in
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the days of the early, you Testament Church was with
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miraculous Hill. I don't believe that at all.
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I don't think there's anything that is described there about
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Elders, that was with miraculous help.
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I think that these men were spiritually minded, man.
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Number two, they desire the office of a an elder.
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And number three, they were fully qualified Now.
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Understand today, we may not have Elders in a lot of
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congregations, but really, what does it mean?
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What we need to have Alders, we A spiritually minded men, that
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desire the office and are fully qualified now.
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It is scriptural government for there to be elders and deacons
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in the Lord's church. That is scriptural.
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But it would be equally on the opposite side, unscriptural and
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wrong to ordain men that were not qualified according to the
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word of God. Now names for the office.
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We talked about this last time, I'll be very brief about this
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names for the office. There's three different names
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that describe the office of an elder one is the English word,
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Elder, and Elder. Simply means older, and with
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experience, and what I have here on the screen, I have the word
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young, the line through it. Because by definition alone, an
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Elgar is an older person. And by definition, it would
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automatically eliminate a young man.
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A young man cannot be an elder. After an elder is one that is
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older. And with experience secondly,
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there's another word that describes, the office of an
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elders and that is the word. Bishop and Bishop is an overseer
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and Bishop is used to describe the duty that the Elder has to
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the congregation. And that is an overseer of the
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flock. Number three is the word Pastor
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sometimes taken out of context in the religious world where
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somebody gives the name pass. Faster to an evangelist or a
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preacher that is unscriptural. A pastor is an elder and there
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were always a plurality of Elders in congregations of the
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body of So, a one-man Pastor system that is found in the
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denominational. World is unscriptural and Elder
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though is called a pastor. And a pastor is a shepherd and
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talks about the task to feed the flock.
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Now, here's the point and Elder is described as an elder because
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he's older it with experience. He's called a bishop to describe
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his duty to the congregation and that is an overseer he is called
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a pastor to Tribe. His task to feed the flock as a
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Shepherd. All right, now, qualifications,
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what do we noticed last week? Number one, a man must desire,
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the office. That's first and foremost.
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Now, you remember what we said, a man that's going to desire the
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office. There's two different words and
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that passes for desire. It says, if a bishop desires, if
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a man desire, the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
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Those two English word desires are different.
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The first one is to desire the office.
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The second one is to earnestly or eagerly desire to work.
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So if a man is going to be an elder, he's got him desire, the
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office but even more so he has Desire, the work.
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You know what? This man described to me is this
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man right here is described as a man.
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That understands that influence is more important than
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Authority. I'm going to say that again.
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Influence is more important than Authority.
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Leadership is more important and a man that wants the office.
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He needs to also desire, even greater the work.
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That's the first requirement, the second requirement, he must
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be blameless. Now, remember, that does not
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mean sinless. Blameless does not mean sinless,
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blame. This means that there are no
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sustainable charges against that, man.
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That's a man, that's blameless, okay.
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What about the family requirements?
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The first one is he must be the husband of one wife. in 1st,
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Timothy Chapter 3 and verse 2, Paul says a bishop must be
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blameless. He must be the husband of one
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wife. And by the way, these are not
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suggestions. If a man is going to be an elder
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which is the highest position in the Lord's church, and let me
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dis daresay, the highest position in the world because
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nothing is greater than the church.
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If a man is going to be that he must be blameless and he must be
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the husband of one wife. Let's go further.
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Paul is writing to Titus in Titus Chapter 1 and verse 6.
Titus 1 chapter mention
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If a man is blameless and if he's the husband of one wife, so
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what do we have? We have the tightest, he's
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giving a condition and he's saying the tightest.
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If you find somebody that is blameless and if you find
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somebody, that's the husband of one wife, they would fit into
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the category with all the other requirements of someone that was
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a candidate to be an elder. Over here.
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Paul says, Point Blank, he must be blameless.
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He must be the husband of one wife.
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The question is, what does that mean?
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Well, first of all, he's got to be married.
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He has to be a married, man. He can't be single.
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He has to be a one woman, man. In fact, Scholars.
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Tell us, that's exactly what that means.
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It means a one-woman man. A one-woman man, one scholar
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said, he is to be as committed to his bride as Jesus Christ, is
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to his bride. In other words, faithful and
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true. Okay?
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Who would be eliminated automatically, what is the
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obvious people eliminated for having the husband of one wife,
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obviously a polygamist and there's no problem with polygamy
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in our country, really except in some various cult somewhere but
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really, we don't have as A custom the deal of polygamy
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because it's illegal. So I would it would eliminate a
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polygamist but it would also eliminate a man that was I
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scripturally divorced not following the pattern of
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Matthew, 19, I'm scripturally divorced and unscriptural 8
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remarried. Now the Bible in Matthew
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chapter, 19 gives an exception. There's one exception and only
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one regarding marriage and divorce and remarriage and that
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is adultery 3. And if somebody commits
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adultery, they are the guilty party, the innocent party could
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put that guilty party away and that person is free to remarry.
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That's the exception. There's only one exception.
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Now somebody that was on scripturally divorced and on
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scripturally remarried is somebody that's not the husband
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of one wife. It would eliminate that guy,
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too. All right, what about this?
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What if a man's is married to a woman?
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And she dies. And he marries another in the
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Lord. 1st Corinthians said, and, Couple years later the
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congregation where he is wants to install him as an elder.
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Is he the husband of one wife? Yes.
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Romans chapter 7, says that a man or a woman is bound to the
Romans 7 chapter mention
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marriage relationship as long as the spouse is alive.
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But when that spouse is now dead, that marriage Union is
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separated, and that person is no longer married.
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If he marries in the Lord, he is the husband of one wife all over
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again. See the point.
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He's the husband of one wife. Now.
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I think we get that, we get that, but the real question is
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this? And I want you to know that I
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have really wrestled with this. I have studied with this by the
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hour. I have wrestled with this.
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What if a man is already an elder and his wife dies?
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He's already an elder. He fit all the qualifications to
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be an elder. And then his wife dies, should
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he resign his position as an elder?
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Now, my first reaction was we'll know he didn't do anything
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wrong. But then, I study it further and
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I have some problems with that. And by the way, I have known of
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cases. Where a man was married.
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He was an elder, she died, and he immediately stepped down and
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resigned. I've also known in cases where a
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man was married. He was an elder and his wife
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dies and he just ignored about husband of one wife had just
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kept right on going through. I know that those cases to the
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question, is this? Does a man have to step down if
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he is an elder and his wife dies?
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Now, here's my problem with my first thing was.
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No, he doesn't. But watch this, Paul talks about
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what an elder must be and not what an elder has been.
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That's the problem I got. It doesn't say what an elder has
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been. At one time, it says, an elder
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must be now. if a man cannot have more than one, then he
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can't have less than 1. JW McGarvey says this.
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Look at this, that he should be the husband of one wife,
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forbids, having less than one as clearly as it forbids.
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Having more than one more over the context, confirms the
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conclusion for the Apostle proceeds in both Epistles to
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state that the overseer must govern his household and
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especially as children, which statements imply that he is to
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be a family man, or a man of faith.
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Only. Now, I realize that sometimes
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these questions might be on might be hard to answer with
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certainty. I get that.
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But remember this, we must be very consistent in when
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interpreting these qualifications.
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We can't say that some qualifications are literal and
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others are well up to interpretation.
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Or we can look at those things with looseness.
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We need to be very careful because if we look at the, at
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the requirement of a man, being a husband of one wife, not
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literally, then we would not have to attach a literal
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interpretation to the next. Thing or the one after that, or
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the one after that. What's the next one?
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He's got to have faith for children.
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He's got to have faithful children.
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I'm going to tell you, if we take a loose interpretation of
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husband of one wife, then we can also take a loose interpretation
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of faithful children. As the man said, one time, if
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not, why not? Faithful children.
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Now in Titus, Chapter 1 and verse 6.
Titus 1 chapter mention
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If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having
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faithful children, not accused of dissipation or
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insubordination. That's the new King James.
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The King James version, says, Riot or unruly.
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Now what does it mean to have faithful children?
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I'm going to simply just say it like this.
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And there's all manner of thoughts and theories of what
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faithful children is. I'll tell you what, I believe
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faithful children is, and I'm going to do my very best to
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prove that That faithful children means, faithful
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Christians. Faithful children is faithful
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Christians. Now, I don't understand why it
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is that people sometimes misinterpret faithful children
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and they say that faithful. Here does not mean what faithful
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means all throughout the word of God.
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For example, when Paul is writing to Timothy and second
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Timothy 2 and verse to listen to this and the things that you
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have heard from me among many witnesses, Has commit these to
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Faithful Men Who will be able to teach others.
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Also, Nobody has a problem with that.
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Nobody thinks that means faithful to their father.
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Everybody understands the things that I am Telling You Timothy
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commit vow to what Faithful Men Who are faithful, man.
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They are faithful Christians. Nobody has a problem with that,
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give me another passage Colossians 1 and verse 22.
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The Saints, talking to Christians and faithful brethren
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in Christ who are in colossi. Another passage Ephesians 1
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verse 12, the same Who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ
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Jesus. Now, in these passages, no one
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would say that Paul means anything other than faithful
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Christians. But you know, you can read
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commentators, you can talk to people that have all manner of
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interpretations about this and some people would say, no, they
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don't have to be Christians as long as their faithful to their
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parent, faithful to their father.
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It's the same word. It's the same word.
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Let's look at some other translations of the exact same
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passage and find out what they say about the American Standard
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Version. The American Standard Version in
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the place of faithful children says this having children that
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belief, that's not a commentator.
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That's not a commentary that's not a Bible scholar.
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That isn't it? That is a translation of the
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word of God and by the way, whenever the Bible talks about
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believing or Believers, it is always talking about someone in
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connection with some what the idea of obeying, the gospel,
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somebody being Christian. Believers are those that are
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Christians. Let's go further.
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The NIV says whose children belief The Amplified New
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Testament says whose children are well trained and Believers
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Weist expanded translation says this having children who are
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believers. These are translations of the
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body of the Bible, The tell us that faithful children
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obviously, is talking about faithful Christians, what about
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some Greek authorities on the subject?
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Mr. Thayer says this. This passenger faithful children
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is talking about one who has become convinced that Jesus is
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the Messiah and the author of Salvation, a Believer.
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Next, here's another one art, Gingrich says a believer in
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Christ. A Christian believer.
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Henry says, brought up in the true Christian.
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Faith Robinson says a Believer. A Christian one more.
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This is the Cross Keys. Pulpit commentary, says
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Believers adorning. The doctrine of the Gospel, my
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Purity and obedience. There must be evidence that they
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have been brought up in the nurture and admonition of the
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Lord. So, why do I believe that
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faithful children means faithful Christians.
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Well, simply by the definition of faithful for one number two,
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by the translations. We just noticed of the Bible.
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Number three by noted. O Scholars, number four by
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commentators and obviously the context fits that it's talking
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about faithful Christians. Now.
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When a man's children are faithful Christians.
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There's a good reason for having this.
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As a requirement, there is a good reason to believe that he
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has experience in training and admonition of the Lord,
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Ephesians, 6 and verse 4 that he has experience in ruling or
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leading in such a way that inspires other people to obey
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and emulate on the other hand, when a man's children are not
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faithful, there's lingering questions.
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There's lingering questions. Is he had fault?
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I'm going to tell you something, folks.
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I believe that the Bible is clear. that if my children go
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make decisions and sin in their life, That I am not going to
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Bear the penalty of their sin. We are all we are all given the
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freedom of choice. They're not going to be held
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accountable for my sin and I'm not going to be held accountable
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for their sin. Bible says the soul that
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sinneth, it shall die. Is he ill 18?
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The son shall not bear. The iniquity of the father.
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Neither shall the father bear, the iniquity of the son, we get
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that. I'm going to stand before my
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maker alone and I will give an account for the things that I
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have done. My life.
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So will you so will our children so well everyone that's of
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accountable age. And an accountable mind
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everybody will do that. But if I raise a family and my
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children are not faithful children, does it not bring up
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by way of my influence? Does it not bring up at least
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some questions? A my fault.
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Then I show my children. What was important?
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Did I take my children and put the church above everything
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else? Did I do that?
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Do I have experience in raising others in the faith?
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Do I have experience in, inspiring others?
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To follow my example. Have I done those things?
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Lingering questions. Faithful children, folks, simply
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means what it is. It is faithful Christians.
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Now back to Titus Chapter 1 and verse 6 because connected to
Titus 1 chapter mention
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faithful children, there's something else that's connected
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on the opposite side. Watch this not accused of Riot
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or unruly in the King James. Not accused of Riot or unruly
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the new King James says, dissipation or insubordination.
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Now, the question is, what does that mean?
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You know, I read some Scholars Vincent said, this, watch this,
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you know, what B and said that this means to be not accused of
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Riot or unruly, what's it mean to be accused of Riot or unruly?
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It means you are manifesting unsaved being this.
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I'm saving this to coin a word. That's what he said.
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It's about being unsafe being qualities.
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That's the opposite of a faithful Christian.
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In other words, the child of an elder must bear in himself.
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The quality is demanded in the father, he cannot be accused of
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Riot or to be unruly. The ni beak says that this way,
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he cannot be wild or disobedient.
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It's a word that is used to signify a wild and disorderly
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lifestyle. And incidentally in Luke chapter
Luke 15 chapter mention
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15 and verse 13. Remember what Jesus said about
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the prodigal? He goes out into the world.
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He takes his inheritance. It's and he wasted his substance
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on. What?
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Riotous living. It's the same thing.
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An elder can't have kids folks. That are guilty of unsaved,
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ananas or a wild riotous lifestyle.
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You know, this word is also used the word Riot.
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It's the Greek word s of T, by the way, but it's found also in
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Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18 in the new King James says, this
Ephesians 5 chapter mention
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and do not be drunk with wine, which is in, which is
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dissipation, but be filled with the spirit, that's the new King
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James. The American Standard Version is
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the same. Greek word is right there, the
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American Standard Version, renders it like this and do not
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be drunk with wine, which is Riot.
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So in other words, Paul in that passage is putting this word or
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attributing or putting this next to the idea of drunkenness.
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Are we getting the picture of the lifestyle?
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We are. Describing an Elders.
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Children must not be accused of Riot or unruly, which means
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guilty of unsaved equalities. And that's the opposite of being
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a faithful Christian. Now now such a lifestyle brings
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criticism to the child's father. An elder cannot serve
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effectively because children are out of control, he is to rule
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his own house. Well, in first, Timothy chapter
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3 and verse 5, watch this for a man does not know how to rule
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his own house. If he doesn't know, how will he
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take care of the Church of God? Now, watch this.
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Here's some conditions. If there's a man out there, that
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is blameless. If he is a one woman, man, the
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husband of one wife, if he has faithful children which are
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faithful Christians, those that are not what they're not accused
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of Riot, or unruly or unsafe weakness.
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And if you got one a guy like that, he's also going to be
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someone that rules or leads his own house.
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Well, and when he does that he proves and he can also lead the
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Church of God. All right.
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Here's a big question. Oh, it's a big question.
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If a child leaves leaves the house.
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And the child no longer lives under the roof of that parent.
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Do the rules still apply? What if he becomes Unfaithful
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away from home? I've heard people say, it's just
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not fair. Yeah, it might not be fair this
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way. It is.
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I've heard people say it's just not fair.
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I mean after all their child is 35 years old and they live and
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they're married and they live on their own and all of that.
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And he decides to quit the church, it's not fair.
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Should the Elder actually be responsible for that or have the
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effects of that? It's not a matter of being
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unfair but let me just say this way, I have two children, my
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daughter is going to be 21 and my son just turned 18.
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Everybody understands, they are my children.
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Do we still have the same child parent relationship?
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Yes, they are still my children. What about when they're 30 and
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40 and 50 years old. If I'm still living.
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Are they my children? Yes.
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They are. They never stopped being my
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children. Paul says that you have to have
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faithful children. What if one of my kids, though,
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what if I had four kids, And what if three of them are
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faithful and one is unfaithful. What if that's the case if
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somebody asks me? Well are your kids faithful?
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What's my answer? Paul said, you got to have faith
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for children. I'm not going to say, yes.
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I'm going to say, well, three of them are but very sadly, one of
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them is it? That's what I would say, because
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that's the truth. We see in the point.
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Now. What about the influence?
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Or what about things that reflect back on a father?
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How long should there be that, how long does a child still have
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ramifications of their choices? Reflecting back on the influence
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of the father, how long, okay, to two examples in the Old
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Testament, come to mind. One is Eli and the other Samuel.
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They had children that obviously the context shows they had sons
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that were not, I believe under their roof and yet their
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behavior. Their behavior was a reflection
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back on their father's influence. me ask you something,
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folks, we're not guilty of the sin that our children commit,
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But we will always have that as a reflection back on us and our
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good name when they make bad choices.
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Just like we have people that Pat us on the back when they
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make good choices and I'm going to tell you, yeah.
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Yeah. We feel good when somebody
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passes on the back and, you know, our kids are doing well
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and they're doing right and boy, you done a great job.
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Yeah, thanks doll. That take the flip side of, that
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is the flipside of that is, they bring shame and reproach on
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their father and their mother. When they go make terrible
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choices. Has absolutely.
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When a child goes away from home, he's still a child.
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And by the way, this relationship between child and
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father it continues through life.
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In fact, children are to honor their parents.
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Did you know that a child is to honor his parents for his
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lifetime? Not just while they live under
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the roof, they are to honor their father and mother for the
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duration of their life. And by the way, the greatest way
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to honor your parents is stay faithful.
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That's the greatest way. You can honor your father and
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mother is to stay faithful. Have you ever stopped to
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consider all the people in here that are old enough old enough
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to be a Christian? And you have parents that are
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still living? Have you ever stopped to
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consider that the destroy Isis? That you make in your life are
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affecting whether or not your father can be an elder in the
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body of Christ, in the Lord's Church?
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You know what I say that to the young man or young woman.
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That has a Godly father, a spiritually minded father.
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That is Desiring the office of an elder that wants to be an
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elder in the body of Christ, in the Lord's church that fits the
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qualifications in every other way, but you have decided the
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young person has decided, I'm going to go about my business.
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I'm gonna quit the church. You don't have to say about
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that. The only comes to make my mind
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shame on you. Shame on you.
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We have confidence in children that are faithful.
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We have confidence in children that are faithful in Proverbs 25
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and 19 listen to this competence.
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In an Unfaithful man though in time of trouble is like a bad
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tooth and a foot out of joint. Boy, some good stuff.
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We don't have confidence in people that are not faithful,
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children bear, responsibilities toward their parents.
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First Timothy 5 and verse 4, Listen to this.
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But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first
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show. Learn to show piety at home and
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to repay their parents for, this is good and acceptable before
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God, so does an Unfaithful child disqualify an elder.
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Yes. Yes.
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May not be fair folks, but it's right.
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Can that man? Be a Christian?
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Yes. Can that man, go to heaven?
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Yes. Can that man be a teacher in the
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local congregation? Yes.
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Can that man? Be an evangelist and preach the
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gospel all over the world? Yes.
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But if he does not have faithful children, he can't be an elder
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in the Lord's Church, simple as that.
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Simple, as that. The only way that an elder can
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serve free from distracting questions pertaining to a man's
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qualifications to be an elder is if he continues to have faithful
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children. Okay, here's a big question.
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Here's a big question. I did not come to the conclusion
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that I have today without much study reflection and prayer.
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But here's a big question. If a man only has one child does
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having one child disqualify him from being qualified to be an
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elder. Doesn't disqualify him.
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Well, let me just say this, I will say that a man that has a
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plurality or multiple children in their home and he raises a
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plurality of children and he has a plurality of children that are
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Christians and are faithful. That man, really has,
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demonstrated greater that he can deal with multiple personalities
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in the church, because he has dealt with multiple
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personalities in his own home. So, do I think think it is
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better for a man to have a plurality of children.
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Yes. The question, isn't that?
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The question is, if a man only has one child?
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Is he disqualified? All right, let's answer it like
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this. Let's find out in Titus.
Titus 1 chapter mention
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Chapter 1 in verse 6. Again, it says, having faithful
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children. Now, the word children is the
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word Tecna. Now, take Nia is the plural form
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of the noun, for child, which is taking on now.
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Now in this passage, it says, take NE.
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It is the plural form of the noun for child, which is
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translated in the English language as children.
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And it is, obviously plural. The question is, what does it
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mean? What does children mean in a
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plural sense in this passage does it mean the number of
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children that they have? Well, let's look the word teak.
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NE is actually translated is actually defined as the word
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spring. So Titus Chapter 1 and verse 6
Titus 1 chapter mention
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by definition would be having faithful offspring.
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Okay, let's go further. What is plural mean here?
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Plural means plurality, here means plurality of class.
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What does that mean? It means the plural containing
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the singular. That's what that means the
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plural containing the singular. And not necessarily, they
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plurality of children or more than one.
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Okay. I didn't go off the reservation.
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Stay with me. Let's look at Some Bible
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examples that prove exactly what I'm talking about.
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Same exact word and moved 29:28. Watch this saying teacher, Moses
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wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife
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singular and he dies without children teak.
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NE chloro, containing the singular, his brother should
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take his wife and raise up Offspring for his brother.
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Same exact word. Let's go further, though, let's
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look at another one. How about this then, This is one
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that we know about this is the perfect example of the singular
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contained. In the plural word, it's talking
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about words that Sarah said in Genesis chapter 21 and verse 7,
Genesis 21 chapter mention
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watch this who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would
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nurse children, Tecna plural, containing the singular.
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Then what did she do for? I have borne him a son singular.
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In his old age. Let's talk about another one.
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How about this first, Timothy Chapter 5 and verse 4. but if a
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woman has children, Tina The plural containing the singular
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or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and
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to repay their parents for, this is good and acceptable before
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God, now in this passage the word children is used without
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regard to a specific number. If a widow had only one child,
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the use of the word children would in no way have relieved
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that person of their responsibilities.
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Here's another one. And this really hits home to us.
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Father's, watch this. This Ephesians 6 and 4.
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And you fathers, do not provoke your children, plural,
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containing the singular, taking us a word to wrath, but bring
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them up in the training and admonition of the Lord, bring
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them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. now
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folks, that is a requirement of Father's when you have one child
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or 10 children, whether you have one child or whether you have 10
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children, Now, here's another one.
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First, Corinthians 7:14 for the unbelieving, husband is
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Sanctified by the wife and the unbelieving wife is Sanctified
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by the husband. Otherwise, your children teak.
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NE plural containing the singular would be unclean but
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now they are holding. So what's my point?
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Folks, listen, I do think I do believe that it is better for a
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man to have and demonstrate the he can raise multiple children
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in the house. Then he can raise them in the
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training and admonition of the Lord that they could all be
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faithful members of the body of Christ, that he can have, the
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kind of reputation that shows that his influence, is more
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important than his authority. And he has demonstrated in his
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life that he could deal with multiple personalities.
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And they could be children of God as I think that, that is
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better than a man that has one child.
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For example, in demonstrating that a man that has one child
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does not disqualify him for being an elder.
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Does in that. Passage the word, Tecna their
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teeth. NE is the word children, which
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is plural containing the singular, and Paul.
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The entire point is this, he wasn't saying how large your
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family is, he was talking about what the status of your family
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is. He was talking about the status
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of your offspring. Are they faithful?
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Or are they not? Plural containing the singular.
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That's exactly what he meant in. Titus 1 in 6.
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That's exactly what Tina means. Now, it's the kind of family
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that a man has and so what is a man to be in closing?
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He's to be a one woman, man. He is to be the husband of one
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wife. He is to have faithful children.
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He would be a man that rules. Well, his own house.
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He will be a man that has his children in subjection.
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He will be a man that has the desire for the office and more.
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So even the desire for the work, he will be blameless.
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And there will be no sustainable charges against him.
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He will be the husband of one wife, and as McGarvey said, if
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he can't have more than one, then he can't have less than one
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a married, man, he must be one that has faithful children, and
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that means that they are all Christians.
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I'm going to tell you. There's some hard
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qualifications, folks? Not tell you Faithful children.
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Probably disqualifies the majority of the men in the
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Lord's church today. But folks, if we don't take a
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literal interpretation of the requirements, then we can just
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add any kind of Lux position. We want.
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We can explain it all away and we could say that the
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requirements don't even matter. The qualifications don't even
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matter, we can throw them right out the door and we can add in
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whatever we want to add in. We don't interpret anything else
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in the word of God doctrinally that way.
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And we can't do it regarding an elder.
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Listen folks, we are teaching on the subject so that we have at
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some point in time at some point spiritually minded man, that
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desire, the office of an elder and are fully qualified to be so
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These for we've already talked about next time.
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Two weeks from today before Sunday morning, my next turn to
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preach. We're going to talk about the
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elders demeanor and the elders Behavior.
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Now, let me just add one final thing in closing here.
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One final thing. except for being the husband of one wife,
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Are all of these requirements and qualifications, great things
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for a Christian to Aspire to have in their life.
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Absolutely. A Christian needs to be mindful
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of these things. He needs to be blameless.
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These are great qualities for the child of God.
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So a sister that might be watching and studying with us on
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these subject on the subject matters can also apply the
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things that would apply her life will be better in her life too.
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And one final thing. If many strove to do that and
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aspire to be an elder one day and never made it.
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Let's say they never made it. Don't you think they'd be better
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for the cause of Christ in ever could have been They would.
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We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
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