Jul. 28, 2024

Responsible.

Introduction - The Lord is building His church.  This will necessitate the restructuring of several thousand years of man’s own construction of the church, in which mankind made he church what we wanted the church to be rather than what God wanted it to be.  The church is almost hopelessly divided by denominations, therefore it is unable to agree on anything of any importance.  We can get few answers to prayers for large-scale matters, things which affect our city or country, based upon Matthew 18:19.  “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.” The Lord will have to be the architect of this worldwide change, which will take a miracle.  We, however,  can only be responsible for our local congregation,  Today we will learn about assuming responsibility for our individual part in what He is building.  We’ll be examining in particular the two resident ministries in the church, elder and deacon.  

1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. NASB

The Lord has a definite path, or progression, in mind for every person to be a living stone in His church.  After becoming a believer, being water baptized, and baptized in the Holy Spirit (subjects of another teaching) the believer embarks upon a life of service to others.  This is the start of your life in Christ. 

Galatians 5:13 For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. NLT

Modern churches, seeking to present the Christian life in as appealing a way as possible, lead people to believe that there is nothing required of the Christian after he has believed.  “Jesus did it all” or “Works are not necessary” are common ideas which churches teach. The idea is appealing to the flesh.  We truly are free from the arduous requirements of the Old Testament Law, but the responsibility to do good acts for other people has never gone away.  Many Christians erroneously conclude that all the Lord requires of us is to read His word and listen to sermons. These Christians will never progress to maturity, No one progresses to higher levels of responsibility and honor In God’s kingdom without starting at the bottom of the social ladder in  serving others and considering them as better than himself.   

After becoming a believer,  a Christian man or woman needs to make an important decision, that is to 1) start following a shepherd or 2) start shepherding other people. This is an assumption of responsibility, either for his own spiritual destiny or for the destiny of others.  There are only two approved statuses for the Christian to be in throughout the Christian life: either following a shepherd or leading others as a shepherd leads a flock.  Jesus used an appropriate model in choosing sheep to illustrate how the church functions.  He could have chosen a herd of cattle, but cattle don’t need anyone to guide or protect them.   In the ’70’s “shepherding” got a bad name by becoming an excuse to control or dominate people. This is certainly not God’s will for His church.  Just like a shepherd protects and leads his flock into safety, Jesus wants the human shepherds in His church to shepherd his people as He does, with love, not force.  This type of oversight is described in the following verses:

1 Peter 5:1-3 And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. NLT

In the normal growth of a biblical church, potential elders become apparent within a small group. They are people who reach out to others, win their confidence, and naturally lead the group.  Elders are then appointed by apostles.  Both men and women can be elders.  The elders oversee the church.  There is nobody higher than the elders in local church structure.  Elders are rather stationary in their ministries, remaining in the same area to do the following ministries:

Ezekiel 34:1-4 Then this message came to me from the LORD: 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 3You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. 4You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. 5So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. 6They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them. NLT

The elder is to do the following for the flock:

1.  Feed the flock
2. Strengthen the weak
3. Heal the sick
4. Bind up the broken
5. Bring back what was driven away
6. Seek the lost

For a second, let’s take a look at the phases of growth of a church, as it was described in the Bible:

First, there was a small house meeting, the church in embryonic form.

Second, during a season of prayer, fellowship, evangelism, and study, the leadership of the house meeting becomes apparent.  Eventually, after a season of proving and evidencing their leadership, any  elders in the group are ordained by apostles. This is the first time the word church is applied to a body of believers.

Third, Deacons are selected by the congregation and appointed by the elders.  Deacons oversee the material necessities of the church.  

Fourth, All members of the congregation are destined to function with their spiritual gifting under the direction of the elders and deacons.  Every single person has a mission and is on a training/promotion/commissioning schedule which is designed for each person by God Himself.  Promotion is a real concept in the Scripture!  When the Body of believers 

Elders (the term is one of five other English words: elder, pastor, bishop, shepherd, and overseer, and three different Greek words:  presbuteros, episkopos, and poimen) are ordained by apostles.  The local congregation is actually led by a team of elders, not a singular pastor!  Our church conforms to this type of structure, as we have always had a shared leadership of elders, some are “elders who rule well” and others are elders in less involved roles, but all share in leading the congregation.  Elders can be male or female.   

Deacons, as mentioned above, oversee the material needs and dealings of the church.  They were put in place to handle practical problems so that the apostles and elders would not have to be burdened with mundane matters.

Acts 6:1-4 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” NLT

Being a deacon is a starting point.  Philip is a good example of someone who was chosen and appointed as a deacon and later became an evangelist, meaning that he grew into a new spiritual responsibility. It is the same with pastors and elders who move into the role of apostle  or prophet.  It is God’s will that we all keep getting promoted into the highest purpose God has for each of us. 

Both elders and deacons have qualifications spoken of in the BibleIn 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 2.  both are held to the same standards.  Simply put, God looks at a man’s (or woman’s) maturity in three areas:  1) character, 2) family management and 3) knowledge and abilities concerning the basic Christian experiences (belief, water baptism, baptism, in the Spirit). 

Conclusion - God’s ultimate form the modern church in a city is lots of small groups which form small congregations led by elders and deacons.  These groups and congregations are aided by the mobile ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and teacher, which freely circulate amongst them..  We’ve talked about resident ministries today;  in a later lesson we’ll learn more about the traveling ministries I just mentioned.  Until then, take responsibility for your Christian life by assuming leadership or followership, but don’t wait  long in the between the two.  Like the prophet Elijah said, after a decisive demonstration which humiliated the prophets of Baal: 

1 Kings 18:21  Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” NLT