Extra Lessons

 Lesson: Principles of Servant-hood

There are four kinds of people in the church. There are people who make things happen, people who watch things happen, people who say, "What's happening?" and those that say "I don't believe what's happening and it had better not change me!" There's people walking around in different degrees of maturity and understanding. Even In the Body of Christ, we have the DOERS, the spectators, the uninformed and the ones who won't change no matter what!

How a person goes from first time church visitor to full time Elder, or Minister: For a brief idea
of where local church Elders come from, observe the dealing of the Holy Spirit in the life of various individuals in the local church and study their spiritual history. As a beginning, we might notice a first time visitor attending one of our services. He seems to find it at least tolerable, and promises to come back for another service. Two or three weeks later, he attends again, and this time responds to an invitation to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Following this conversion experience, we find that this visitor is now a regular attendee of the Sunday morning service. Before long, he asks about Sunday School and other opportunities for fellowship and spiritual growth.

After a few more weeks, it's noticed that our regular attendee has now made himself part of the
Sunday evening service and also the Wednesday night Bible Study. When the church doors are open, he explains, there is a desire in his heart to do whatever he has to do, in order to be there! He says the church has become like a family to him. At this point, recognizing his faithfulness, his love for the people of God and his level of commitment, we would recognize that he is "joined" to the church which is an operation of the Holy Spirit.


I Corinthians 12:28 31 "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way."

1 Timothy 3:1" This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good
work." (Vs. 8 10) "Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double tongued, not given to much
wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless."

You should desire the office of an elder just as you should covet for spiritual gifts. He that desires the office of bishop or elder desires a good thing.

What Is the highest position you can go to in the Body of Christ? Servant. In Mark 10:43 44
Jesus says, "...whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister (the one who serves); and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all" The greatest is the one that is servant of all.

The people that God chooses to be overseers in the church are not chosen primarily because of great ministry ability, but because they love the sheep and are ready to lay down their lives to serve them. Those that will not dominate the flock are examples of Jesus Christ their Overshepherd, who was meek and lowly among His people, yet spoke the Word of God with power and authority. (I Pet.5:2 3). Every notable leader among God's people was also called a servant. God called Jesus His Servant (Mt. 12:18 21). Others called servants by God include: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David and Daniel. When Jesus taught His disciples about the attitude of the spiritual overseer, He said: "...you know that the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever wishes to become first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mt. 20:25 28) An excellent example of such servanthood is seen in the manner by which Paul expressed and established his apostolic authority and ministry to the church at Thessalonica (I Thess. 2:1 13).

1.For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance to you was not in vain:

2.But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know at Phillippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the Gospel of God with much contention.

3. For our exhortation was not of deceit nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

4. But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the Gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men but God, which trieth our heart.

5. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness.

6. Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been
burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

7. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

8. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have Imparted unto you, not the
gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear to us.

9. For ye remember brethren, our labour and travail; in labouring night and day because we
would not be chargeable to any of you, we preached un to you the gospel of God.

10. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly unblameably we behaved ourselves
among you that believe.

11. As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father doth
his children,

12. That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory

13. For this cause also thank we our God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of
God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it In truth, the word of
God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

What happens when you begin to serve? You begin to move in Jesus. Did Jesus come to exalt Himself? No. Was He exalted? Yes! Why? Because He was the servant of all. Jesus had AUTHORITY. That was one of the first things that people notice about (Mark 1:22). With authority and power He commanded evil spirits to ~ leave people's lives (Luke 4:36). He gave His followers authority and power (Luke 9:1). Pastors are Instructed in Titus 2:15 "...To speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority." That's love in operation. It's interesting how love works. Jesus sowed love and He sowed service and then He began to reap love and He reaped service of those that were of the same Body. Don't expect it from the world's system. They will hate you. Jesus said, (John 15:18) "If the world hate you, ye know that It hated me before it hated you." You won't be isolated because when people begin to have problems they will come looking for that weirdo who reads the Bible during lunch hour. When they are wanting out of the darkness, they will come to the light. We are the light of the world.

The scriptures do not say that God will humble you. It says that you must humble yourself. (Matthew 18:4, 23:12, James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6) This is where bringing the flesh into subjection comes in. We need to humble ourselves. Humility is saying, tin myself I can do nothing "(John 15:5). "Through Christ I can do all things." (Philippians 4:13) Set yourself to be avessel that the Spirit of God can use to manifest His love on the earth.

How can we be used as vessels unto honor? In the world, superstars are chosen by publicity. If you have a good P.R. man, and plenty of financial backing, you can be a star. In the Kingdom of God there are those who have public relations men, and through demographic surveys and heavy financial investments have built "ministries". Men have taken other men and have exalted them, pushing them up in the Body of Christ. Through public relations, and financial undergirding, they try to elevate them. There is only one way to be exalted in the Body of Christ and that's to
humble yourself.

Instead of your abilities, start letting the power of God meet other people's needs by loving them and ministering to them. Without Him you can't produce it. You humble yourself to say, "Lord, without you I can't do anything, but with you I can do all things. If you will make the way, I will walk in it. If the way is not made and you speak, I will make a way under your guidance." We are serving a God who Is "The Way". He said, "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life." (John 14:6).

I Peter 5:5 7 "... be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you." Phillippians 2:5 9 " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

When you humble yourself, you're casting all of your care over on Him. You're saying, "I've committed this to you. I am without reputation. I believe that you are well able to meet all of my needs according to your riches In glory." God's response is to move in your behalf. Since you have given it to Him, and you are now without reputation, and you've presented yourself a vessel, He can use you for His Kingdom. He can then give you the ability to do it. A lot of times we try to
surrender it to the Lord just to get out of It, to escape being a vessel He can use. We say, "Here Lord, I just commit it to you." We think, "Well, He'll have to do it for us." If you're really committing that to Him, He'll probably draft you to do it! That is where the humbling process comes in as we begin to be used as vessels unto honor moving in the Kingdom of God. What Is the goal of the humbling process? To enable us to feed the flock of God.

The Lord is raising up a people that is going to go forth, doing His work in His way. You ask, "What must we do that we might work the works of God?" And Jesus answers, "The work of God, that ye may believe on Him whom He hath sent." BELIEVE GOD! The Gospel is power to those that BELIEVE IT! (Romans 1:16) When you BELIEVE it, you'll ACT on it, because FAITH without works is dead. It's ACTING on what you believe that brings the presence of God and the blessing
of God on your works and your words.

The purpose of spiritual leadership is to prepare this army to do the work of the ministry. The work of the ministry doesn't mean that you go knock on somebody's door and say, "Would you like to come to our church this Sunday?" That is not a bad start, but it can't stop there. The work of the ministry is to win them to Jesus Christ over the fence, over the kitchen table, how ever. Then you disciple them until they are strong enough to stand on their own. They then can be turned loose to do the same to somebody else. You need to see your position of authority so you
can move out and disciple people and bring them into the conformity of the Word of God and into the image of Jesus. Your job is to reproduce what God has produced in you. We all have room for improvement, but don't let that stop you from service. Even with your problems, you are better off than they are.

Satan would try to sneak in on you and say, "Well you've got to wait till you get perfect before you can do something." No you don't! You are perfect in the eyes of God and you are better off than they are now. We need to win them to the love of Jesus. We need to be an example of the believer in Word and in deed. It is an awesome responsibility. But that's our job, and we will do it when we start listening to what God Is saying in His Word; when we start believing what He
says; when because of BELIEVING we ACT on what HE says, so He can bring it to pass.


UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
Lesson: Ministry Gifts

There are different abilities and different functions, different offices in the Body of Christ. We all tend to notice the high profile offices, like Evangelist, Pastor/Teacher, Apostle. But there are also other offices in the body that are raised up by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12
4. Now, there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6. And, there are diversities of operations but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
22. Nay, much more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary.
23. And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
27. Now ye are the Body of Christ and members in particular.
28. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

The ministries that seem to be the least are the most important functions among us. Like the gift to the church of administration. There is also the ministry of helps that doesn't get too much glory. Not many people pray and ask God to call them to the ministry of helps. We put all the glory in our brain and don't think a lot about our feet. Feet can be ugly. Your head would be in trouble if it didn't have your feet to carry it around. Your head has phenomenal ability and coordination. The rest of the body is controlled by the brain and yet the brain isn't going to provide anything without the rest of the body to carry it out. That's the importance of the Body of Christ.

We need to realize that we are all members of the Body in particular. No one is more important than the other. We just have different jobs to do and if we do them well, the Body of Christ will go forth in power, the Name of Jesus will be exalted and we will reach the world like we are commissioned to do.

Nowhere in the scriptures is spiritual leadership elected by popular vote. Spiritual leadership is always appointed and never elected. Ephesians 4:8 "Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."  Who gave gifts? Jesus! Jesus gave these gifts that He placed into the church. (V. 11)"He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

Operating in our own ministry God has placed us in is very important. Perform the ministry according to the portion of faith that one has. Everybody that is moving in the ministry of a prophet doesn't prophesy in the same measure of faith. There are prophets who receive greater revelation and move in greater power than other prophets. There are apostles who move in greater revelation and power than other apostles.

Another part of finding out where you are in the body is learning to e content. This doesn't mean to be passive. Be content in the measure of faith that we are in at this time and move in it to its fullness and be ready to be graduated to the next step. Don't be totally satisfied and say, "This is all there is." Be content with what you have, yet expecting greater revelation. That's the contentment that we are to have in the ministry that God has called us to.

There is nothing wrong with being on the baby bottle. Don't let anyone criticize you for it; don't criticize yourself. You've got to start with it. You don't take your baby home from the hospital and stick a T Bone steak in it's mouth. It would choke him to death.

Most believers desire to be conformed into the image of Jesus, but they get down on themselves with self condemnation. You have to say, "Look where you are, look at this, look where you can be. You're down here fooling around. You could be up there seeing these things done. Look at the revelations you could receive, look at the power that could be evidenced in your life, and you're down here fooling around." If I am not careful, I can get down on myself. I have to put that condemnation behind me for, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". Press on toward the mark of the prize of your high calling. I desire to be conformed into His image. Realize that you are in a maturing process. I want to be like Him.

Ephesians 4:1 4 "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. With all lowliness and meekness, wit longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." These verses are important to understand the rest of the teaching here in Ephesians and also the concept of church government. Don't only walk worthy of the vocation that you have been called TO, walk worthy of the vocation that you have been called WITH. What is the vocation that you have been
called with? You've been called with the ministry of Jesus, you've been called with the plan of redemption. The very thing that provided for your calling was the blood of Jesus. You are to walk worthy.

Everything you do in the Body of Christ, every ministry that you accomplish, if it's talking a broom in your hand to sweep the floors as unto the Lord, you are doing that unto the blood of Jesus Christ. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith, not wherein, you are called. Everything you do in the Body of Christ is ordained of God. He's established the ministry. He's called you to it.

We are to work as unto the Lord. If you are doing it for your church, if you are doing it for denomination, if you are doing it as unto someone in spiritual leadership, you're moving under the wrong motive.

Everything we do is done as unto the Lord! Our motive is to minister to the Kingdom of God, to the Lordship of Jesus, to the glory of God our Father. The ministry that you have been called by is the full scope of God's plan of redemption.

It's to be done with all lowliness, meekness, and longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. We are dealing with human beings. When you are dealing with humans somewhere along the line, whether it be your husband, wife, employer or children, etc., you're going to need longsuffering. It's part of being a human being and living on the earth. Why? Sometimes there's division and opposition because human beings are operating in an area that God never intended them to operate. They are operating knowing that they are God's and yet without the full ability to walk in it. That's frustrating.

We are moving with the concept of who we can be, what we can be, who we are, what our rights are, etc., and yet many times not with the ability to walk in what God has promised to us. Jealousy creeps in. "Someone might be doing a little better than I am doing," etc. This can ignite strife. This is why he said, "The ministry that you are involved in doesn't belong to you anyway. It has been given to you by Jesus, it's been purchased for you by the blood, so walk in a lowly spirit. You didn't earn it. It's been given to you. Don't get puffed up over it. Just do your job. Do it as unto the Lord." The lowliness aspect is talking about a spirit of recognizing the gift of God that has been given to us.

It is to be done also with meekness. The word meekness means, a bold uncompromising stand before God. That is total obedience to God. You will stand before people and say, "This is what the Word of God says and I am going with it." You're surrendering totally to the hands of your Father. You're standing before humanity saying, "Thus saith the Lord." Moses was the meekest man that ever walked the face of the earth. Yet this meek man walked into the courts of Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go!" He didn't even say, "please". He was also moving in compassion.

Look how many times God spoke through His servant Moses and they were given time after time the ability to repent. This is the spirit of meekness, but no compromise involved. Pharaoh tried to bring Moses to compromise. He said, "You can go out for about a weeks vacation, and go on out there and do your thing and then come back." (Paraphrased) Moses said, "No. We are leaving." He said, "We are not only leaving, but we are taking all of your gold with us." We need to take that in our concept in dealing with Satan.

Even though we have come out of this world, we are still living in it, but we are not of it. But, we can still use the substance of it to get the ministry done. Don't take the substance and build a golden calf. Take the substance and establish the covenant of God on the earth.

"With longsuffering forbearing one another in love." Esteeming others as better than yourself. Looking to the other's good. Desiring to see your brothers and sisters prosper. Then we are to "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." You don't have to pray for unity, there is unity. The Body of Christ is in unity. It's our job to keep it. We are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the solidifying factor of peace. This is the job of the church to KEEP unity.

You can't have government without a territory. You can't have government without people. You can't have government without a set of rules to follow. What are the set of laws that we are following? The Word of God. Who are the people? The Body of Christ. What is the territory? WHEREVER WE ARE! It's all been given to us. When Jesus looks on His church, He sees ONE church. He sees ONE Body. He sees us SINLESS. But when we look on this church, the Word of God tells us in 1 Corinthians, "It's your job to judge those that are within. God says, "I'll take care of those that are on the outside." This is where leadership comes in.

Ephesians 4:4 7 "There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope
of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given favor according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Everyone of us is given favor according to the MEASURE of the Gift of CHRIST. What was His gift to you? You've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The favor that God shows us now is that He is going to treat you just like He treated Christ Jesus. He's going to treat you as a joint heir and a son, as the redeemed of the
Lord, and we need to begin to act like it! Jesus gave gifts to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers; to perfect the church, to do the work of the ministry, to rule the church, to be overseers of the church, to be leaders of the church. Why? Because of the magnitude of the power that God has entrusted to His Body in Jesus. Someone needs to be in control of this power. God's system of government is fail safe. It never fails. It can't be abused.

Ephesians 4:7 8 "But unto every one of us is given favor according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." He didn't yell as He was going up, "Now be sure and vote." He was ascended and gave you gifts." He's the giver. What kind of government is the universal church under? In pure concept, we are under a theocracy. The laws have already been established, the people are the Body of Christ and the territory belongs to God.

There is something interesting in this theocracy. The theocracy is carried out in plurality. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Three totally equal beings. They have the same amount of power. But they have different functions. The Son was voluntarily in submission to the Father. The Father didn't say,” Now you have to go." How come? He's speaking to His equal. It's impossible for God to move out of unity. We've got to begin to see in the mind of God, and stop thinking from the democratic process and start thinking from the mind of God. You'll find from the mind of God, how the
Trinity works and how the Church is supposed to work. Every church is to operate in that method. Plurality.

Ephesians 4:8 "Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." Who gave gifts? Jesus! Jesus gave these gifts that He placed into the church. Ephesians 4:11 16 "He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind
of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head even Christ. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

With plurality of eldership, we have now elders in plural. But not with total identical function. Plurality in eldership, co equality in leadership, but different functions because Jesus gave different gifts to the church. There has to be someone handling oversight in the administration. That happens to be the Father in the Godhead. It happens to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers in the Body of Christ. However, there are those that move in ministry of eldership that are co equal with these men. The pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophets, apostles are elders with a separate God given function or gift to operate to enhance and to seek leadership and
oversight of a given Body.

The gifts were given by the Lord Jesus. We need to see why He gave them. He gave them to perfect the saints to do the work of the ministry. The ministry belongs to the church. The word "minister" as a noun means, “Servant”. As a verb, it means to serve, (like a waiter serves food to the eater) or to distribute. We are all servants of the Lord. Everyone of us minister. The job of these five gifts are to prepare the masses of the Body to do the ministry.

God will lead you to people to witness to. You don't have to jump up on your roof with a loud speaker. If you will be sensitive, God will open a door for you to witness. If every Christian reached just one person a year, how long would it take for every person in your area to be saved? Not long when you multiply it. The concept has been to let the ministers do it. We, as believers, are the ministers.


SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
Lesson: Putting It All Together

We've been discussing the power given to the Church, to God's people. And, the awesome responsibility of taking the Name of Christ, or accepting His call on your life and being found faithful. We've found out that it's a challenge, it's a push, and that the push is on. That's what life is all about accepting the challenge. Driving your roots down deep; becoming as faithful, as obedient, as strong as possible. Its taking what God has given to you and doing well, being an obedient servant. That's the challenge. That's what makes following Jesus worthwhile. That's where the victory is.

The chance to influence somebody else to a way of life, to walk with Jesus, to be able to go to Heaven It's a privilege. What God calls us to is to develop the SKILL of functioning in the Body of Christ. It's one thing to do it casually; it's one thing to do it haphazardly, it's something else to do it on purpose, by learning to be obedient. Doing It because you love the Lord Jesus enough that you say, "Lord, all I have and all I do is yours..."

When we're talking about spiritual leadership and spiritual growth, we're talking about personal discipline, taking a good hard look at ourselves and making changes where we need to. Mostly little changes. Of course It can be hard. But Its a small price to pay so you won't have regrets later on. Changing ways ounces. Regret weighs tons. You're not going to be able to live, die and then come back as a ghost and be able to do it all over again, this time doing it right.

We've talked about plurality of leadership, even in the Godhead. You have God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. Plurality in the Godhead. The Son is equal to the Father. And the Holy Spirit is equal to the Son, but they have three different and distinct functions. The Son submits to the Father, and carries out the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Son, to fill us, to lead us and to guide us into all truth.

In the Body of Christ, you have Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). Then, you have Elders, which covers what we would call the Ministry Gifts. Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors/Teachers. (Eph. 4:11) These also cover the gifts of governments, miracles, healings, helps. (1 Cor 12:25) Each church has its plurality of Elders. Like Acts 14:23, "And when they (the Apostles) had ordained Elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." Acts 20:17, the Apostles called the Elders of the
church of Ephesus, and in verse 28, Paul the Apostle gives them specific instruction concerning their oversight and responsibility. Elders have to give account to the Chief Shepherd. They have responsibility. That's why Hebrews 13:17 says for the Believer to obey those who have the rule over them, because the Elders have to give account.

Then, there's the office of Deacon and Deaconess. (1 Tim 3:8 13). Those who serve the things of God to the people of God. Walters and waitresses In the house of God. Acts 6:5 has them looking after the practical things of the ministry, such as food distribution, and making sure each person's needs are met. We've already covered that the Deacon is the New Testament rough equivalent to the Levite. The Levite was the assistant to the Priest. The Deacon is the assistant to the Elder.
Philip was chosen from among the congregation in Acts 6:5 to be a Deacon. In Acts 8:5, he's preaching Christ and in v. 6 he's working miracles. He's baptizing in v.12 and in Acts 21:8 he's recognized as an Elder, in the office of Evangelist.

Next, is the congregation of the righteous. The saved; those who are added to the church by the Holy Ghost. When the decision concerning the Gentiles was reached In Acts 15:22, it's recorded like this: "Then it pleased the Apostles and Elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas..."

On a broader spectrum, then, we have the strangers within our gates, or the visitors. Those who are among us but haven't been added to the church yet. And, of course, there's the broadest field, the World.

So, you have the world. Then, those among them that the Lord of the Harvest is drawing in. They start out as the unsaved, and the visitor. Then, they get added to the church. Next, they begin to be found faithful. That's what lets you know they're moving in the things of God. 2 Timothy 2:2, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."

Those who are faithful get taught. Then, what do they do? They become able to teach others also. They move up the scale. Deacons. Deacons work with individuals. Teaching; visiting; serving; listening; distributing. They in turn are able from this spiritual ministry to communicate to the Elders. Galatians 6:6, "Let him that is taught In the word communicate unto him that teacheth all good things." Let those faithful ones who were taught and are now teaching others
communicate to those who instruct them.

This way, no one comes or goes unnoticed. No one starts great and just fizzles out. No one is able to grab a title and then just "chill out" or start lunching. That's what Jesus was talking about when He talked in Revelation about those who liked having the name that they lived, but they were in fact dead, having lost their first love. It doesn't happen easily when you have a church or ministry that's functioning along the lines set up in the Word.

The lines of accountability and expectation provide a safety net for all the people involved. 1 Peter 5:5 "Likewise ye younger, (non elders) submit yourselves to the Elder." It says "Elders" with an "s" in the original. Then it goes on to say, "Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble."

This gives a little better understanding of the expectations that Jesus has for all of us as individuals, and our accountability to Him for the results in our lives. Look at the Parable of the Talents In Matthew 25.

v.14 16 "For the Kingdom of Heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servant, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, and to another two and to another one; every man according to his ability; and straightway took his journey."

v. 19 "After a long time the lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them." The one who was given five had doubled it, to ten. The one who had been given two had also doubled his, to four. Notice the expectation, to double what you're given. That's a pretty good ratio. Should we be expected to make progress? Of course! How many years should it take? How many
years do you want your child to spend in the sixth grade? About one! Well, if they're nice kids, shouldn't you give them three or four years? NO! You can't give your child three or four years to get through sixth grade! That's too much time for such small progress.

Now do you know why they build those first grade desks so small... so they won't still fit at twenty five years old! A reasonable question would be, "What are you doing here. All this time has passed. "So, it's reasonable to expect you to go from five to ten, or from two to four. He said here, job well done."

v. 24 Then, it comes to the one who received just one. Not too much was expected of him. But SOMETHING was. WHAT was to be reasonably expected? TWO, right? What DID he do? That's right, NOTHING! He HID his talent. He BURIED it. Why? Because he was afraid of his master, he said.

v. 26 His Master had another explanation. HE said the guy was wicked and lazy... Took his talent from him and kicked him out. Here's a good question: What do you believe about working in the Kingdom of God? What about hard work? What about long hours? What about bill days? If you're doing something, how hard should you work at it? What did this particular servant believe? He was kicked out! Out to a place of outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. We call that a proper response to a lack of results. We have to show how serious it is to have a
lack of progress, a lack of results.

What you work at will affect the rest of your life. What you work at will affect your eternity. Not to think so is not very smart. You have to decide some of these things.

How hard should you work at what God has called you to do? How much should you do? How much SHOULD you do? All you CAN! How much of your Bible should you read in the next six months? As much as you can fit into your schedule. How much preparation should you give for your ministry In the body of Christ? As much as you can!

What's the lesson of the Parable of the Talents? That the Master gives you abilities and opportunities. Then, He gives you a reasonable time to produce for Him. You can't ask every five minutes, "How are you doing?" That's unreasonable. And we can't wait to ask every five years. That would be too late. So we have what we call reasonable time to wait, and ask, "How are you doing now? What progress have you made NOW?"

After a reasonable amount of time, the Master comes back and gathers His three servants together and asks, "How did you do? What progress can you show?" He expects you to give account of what you've done with what He gave you. He gives you the ability to produce. Then He leaves you to It. After a reasonable amount of time, He comes back to see what you've done. He wants It in measurable results. What if you've only increased by TWO? Is that good enough? Could be. If you were only GIVEN two. But not if you were given FIVE.

What was His response to the one who DIDN'T produce? The Master threw him out! Was that REASONABLE? Of course!

What about Matthew 21:18 19? Jesus comes to a fig tree and is looking for figs. Is that an important thing to look for? Figs? Yes, if its a fig tree. And, there aren't any. What does He do? He CURSES it! Is that a REASONABLE response? Yes! Its the proper response to a lack of results. Isn't that proper? Shouldn't we make It dear? Shouldn't we get emotional? Shouldn't we become strong at a lack of results? The moral of the story is that a fig tree had better have figs, especially when the maker of the fig tree comes by. If you' re the one who CREATED the fig tree! What was
the problem? There wasn't even the BEGINNING of fruit. No buds. No flowers. No hard green unripe fruit. Just leaves. There should have been SOMETHING. But there wasn't. So the tree withered away. It was better off withered, than looking alive and being just a disappointment.

How much should a tree grow? As tall as it can! Did you ever hear of a tree that grows half as much as It can? NO! Trees don't grow half. They grow all. They send their roots as deep as they can, spread their branches as high as they can, produce all the leaves they can and produce all the fruit they can. Trees go to the max. So why should human beings settle for less? Because we have the power of choice. You can choose to be PART of what you were called to be or choose to be ALL that you were called to be.

Luke 13:6 "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none. " He INSPECTED his tree. He EXPECTED fruit It was a REASONABLE expectation, wasn't it?

v.7 "Then said he to the dresser of his vineyard, Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and l find none. Cut it down. Why cumbereth it the ground?"

v.8 "And he answering said unto him, "Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it."

v. 9 "And if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."

He expects results. Measurable results. The goal of life is to produce fruit. Otherwise, "why cumber the ground?" Some people would have been better off spiritually if they had been called home a few years ago, back when they had fruit. Back when they had heart. Back when they were on fire for God.

That's why we don't want to ever want to be inspected by the Lord and come up short. We can't afford to be disobedient. You say, "well, I want time to watch TV, to rest and play." How MUCH rest and play? Does God have a ratio? Of course! What is it? Six days shall thou work and on the seventh (AFTER you've done the work shalt thou rest. Again, He sets a ratio. It's not a bad one, is it? Six to one. Too much play will cause you to lose the ability to become what you're capable of
becoming.

One safeguard is to keep a JOURNAL. It helps you to MONITOR what you're doing. To keep track. To not come up short when the Master inspects your work. When He asks you to GIVE AN ACCOUNT.

Luke 16:1 2. "There was a certain rich man, which had a steward. And the same was accused
unto him that he wasted his goods." Does that sound possible? Could somebody WASTE what the Master has given them? "And he called him and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? GIVE ACCOUNT OF THY STEWARDSHIP, for thou MAY no longer be steward." How can we give account of our stewardship? By keeping written track of it. Through a daily accounting, or writing. Through a journal.

What do you put in the journal? What you prayed about. What you read in the Scriptures. What
ELSE you read. How much time you spent sitting in front of the TV. Who you called or wrote to.
What things the Lord brought to your mind when you were in prayer and the Word. Things like
that. It only takes a few minutes.

What do you DO with it? Well, If you're a Teacher, you would have written down the names of the students who were absent. Or who seemed to be troubled. You would have written down the names of the NEW students. Then, in your TO DO list, you would have made a note of some ACTION to take, like calling them on the phone, writing them a Letter. You would have noted that you prayed for your class by NAME each day. You would have reminded yourself to prepare the lesson BEFORE Saturday night. You would have jotted down that you watched the Nine O'clock Movie, the Eleven O'clock News and David Letterman. That you couldn't find the time to do all that and also to work in your Journal or to prepare.

THEN what? When you meet with the Elder that's over your area of responsibility, He or she might say something like, "I notice that you can't live without this amount of TV. Tomorrow night, I'M going to watch TV during those same hours and see how many minutes total of COMMERCIALS there are. Maybe you could use THAT time to prepare your lesson and work in your journal."

There's always the question when you don't seem to be doing the things that are really important to you, "WHAT DID YOU DO INSTEAD?" What did you do INSTEAD? That's a pretty good question, isn't it?

What's the Elder do with his or her journal? He or she shares it in his or her monthly session with the other Elders and the Pastor, who shares HIS journal TOO!

How much is enough? Your best.

How long should it take to do well? Do it as often as possible.

Spring time. Plant your seed. Then, first dry hot day of Summer, when the bugs are
swarming around your neck and the weeds are coming up, you're out of here! Where's So and So? I thought he was called to BE HERE. Where IS he? You have to hang around till harvest. Build a foundation... have to hang around to put up the wails and put on the roof. Otherwise all you leave behind is a bunch of foundations and mud.


UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
Lesson: Qualifications of Deacons and Elders

If you qualify to be an elder, you have to qualify to be a deacon. If you qualify to be one of the five ministries, apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher, you must meet the qualifications of an elder and a deacon. They are inclusive as you continue to progress up into ministries that the Holy Spirit ordains.

Who was probably one of the most famous persons who progressed up in positions of ministry? Phillip was a deacon. Then, in the book of Acts we see he is Phillip the evangelist. As he was proven in the ministry of deacon, he was faithful, he was chosen to move to the next level of ministry. He was a man full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom; a man of power.

He served in the ministry of waiting on tables. The Bible says those who prove themselves faithful over little things will be made rulers; have oversight, over greater things. This is a progressive type thing and God raised him up. The scriptures say that Jesus is the one that has put in the church, some apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. The Lord sets them up in the church. God ordains these offices and the people He raises up fulfill them.

I Timothy 3:1 14 "This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop (or an elder), he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that rules well his own house, having
his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without (the world); lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise, must the deacons be grave, not double tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the
mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:" The apostle Paul was setting up some of the
requirements for those that were going to fulfill ministry among them.

There are a number of different words in the Bible that mean elder. One of them is shepherd. Another bishop, presbyter and pastor. An elder should be blameless. He is someone that is alert and in a way vigilant, ready to respond to the needs of the Body. He's a person who is spiritually alert and can discern any harm that may come to the Body.

Can you live a good consistent life and still not be well spoken of by someone who is not a believer? Absolutely! Jesus accomplished that. What does it mean to be well spoken of by those
which are without? It's really making reference to the fact that you are not blatantly going out saying, "I am free in Christ to do whatever I want." And these people are looking at you and saying, "You're no better than I am." It doesn't mean that they will agree with everything you do because they won't. They are carnal and you are spiritual. But we must be an example to them.

We must be epistles read of men. We can't go out blatantly breaking the Word of God. The world has higher standards for you to live as a Christian than the Bible does. They will put the pressure on you. We need to be careful as brethren to not go the way of the world and start putting those same requirements on people that God's Word doesn't. Our requirement is to love one another.

I John 3:8 9 "He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever
is born of God doesn't commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." In the Greek this means one does not habitually practice sin. Why? Because His seed is in you. You're born again. You are a partaker of the divine nature. His blood carries His blood type. It carries the life source. It carries the blood type of the male or of the Father, etc.

We were born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. His seed is remaining in us, so we do not sin. We are not classified as sinners. It is not our nature to sin. Our nature is to be like
Jesus. Every time you are not like Jesus, you are spiritually grieved. Satan will tell you, "See if you were saved, you wouldn't act like that." But it is the total opposite of what he is telling you. You know you are saved because every time you act like that you are grieved in your spirit. That is one of the greatest signs that you are of God. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that
we are the sons or the children of God (Rom. 8:16).

If you are looking for someone to be an elder that is absolutely totally manifesting perfection, Jesus is busy right now watching over the church. He's probably not able to send His resume in for the job. He's the only one that has manifested that.

He says, "Choose out from among you." In the ministry of elders, "to look for those among you." You can see it in the Old Covenant. He said, "choose those among the different tribes that are proven and known among you that I may appoint them as elders over thousands, etc. It's someone from within that is to emerge. Unless the thing hasn't any life, an apostle comes and starts the thing and it goes from there.

You can't have someone walk in and say, "I want to be a teacher" the first week of service. Some people think that just because he was a teacher at some other church that he is qualified. Their ministry must be proven! Their faithfulness must be proven and established. We need to see these in ministry and appointment. We get into trouble when we don't.

Acts 6:2 4 "Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word." There would be such a difference, if those in spiritual leadership were able to spend time continually in prayer, Bible study, and seeking the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The
disciples began to see this and tried to put the church in proper order.

Titus 1:6 10 "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers."

The Greek word here for "faithful" is pistos. The Greek work pistos can be interpreted many different ways. One way is "to be a believer". Pistos comes from the same word pistis which means "faith". Pistos means "believing or a believer". Pistos also means "one to be faithful, to be trustworthy, to be submissive, one who is able to receive direction and instruction."

The Greek word for unruly is anpotaktos meaning "unsubdued, insubordinate, not under authority". The Greek word for riot is asotia meaning "unsavedness".

Scripture will not contradict itself. It will always compliment. Titus is not the only list of qualifications in the Bible. We have to take the teachings of the Holy Spirit on the requirements of an elder and they must agree. Timothy says that an elder must have his family, his household, his children in subjection with all gravity. There is nothing mentioned here concerning the fact that
a child must be born again, be a believer. He must however, be in subjection with all gravity. The child must be faithful. The child must be trustworthy of his father's leadership. This all revolves around the ability of a man to be an overseer.

If he can't be a leader of his own house, then how can he lead the church? God's Word in Titus has to agree with the Word in Timothy. The Lord is not saying that every member of the family has to be born again. If the man is serving God the way that he should, is spending time in prayer, is a good steward of his time and ministering to his family, it is very likely that his children will be born again. The scripture says that what things so ever we desire when we pray,
if we believe, we will receive them, we shall have them. The man should be praying for his family.

I Timothy 3:4 is declaring that the husband, who is going to be an elder, "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity" his children must be in subjection,
they must be under control. They must have confidence and be trustworthy of their father's leadership.

Can you trust, respect and obey a person and yet not agree with them in every aspect of their life? Yes. Can your children trust you, respect you, and obey you and still not be saved? Yes. We are to set forth the example to our children. We are to love them in every aspect and be an example of a believer in word and in deed and they are to be faithful, trustworthy children, children who are willing to be in subjection to your leadership.

We have seen some of the requirements to show these people capable. They are to be individuals who rule their own houses well. These men are not only to rule their own house. They are the ministry and their ministry is to rule the church. We need an understanding of what ruling is. What does the word rule mean? Hebrews 13:7 8 "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken to you the Word of God whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." There are three Greek words interpreting rule. The first is to be a leader, to preside, to be over: like a shepherd who leads his flock. Second is to be in command, chief, governor. A commander in the army. Does the shepherd lead the flock the same way that a commander leads an army? No. There are two different areas here. That shepherd is not taking that sheep to war. He's taking them out to feed them. You can rule or lead these sheep out into green pastures and let them begin to eat and
relax and come beside the still waters. Isn't that a little different than a commander that's getting ready to lead the troops out into a battle field?

There are two different types of leadership of which these elders must be capable. They can't just be the type that brings you into a tranquil state and feeds you and bathes you and does all these
things. That's important and must be done. They must also be capable of leading you into spiritual warfare and being able to take the troops of God through the pit of hell and come home
without losing out.

The scriptures say to obey them which have the rule over you. Why would we obey these elders? Who knows better where the food is, the shepherd or the sheep? The shepherd. Why? He has
experience. He's proven himself. He's been over that ground before.

Can you imagine being in the army, in the heat of warfare, and now the commander comes up and says, "Let's vote on what we are going to do." "How many of you think we should take our guns?" "Let's have secret ballots." There are times when we have confidence in leadership. Why? That guy went to West Point. He's learned something while he was there. You don't get to be a commander the moment you graduate from West Point. You have to prove yourself faithful over
the small things. The next thing you know, you are promoted. The troops didn't all come together one day and say, "Let's vote this man in to be a commander." He had to prove himself in battle under fire of pressures of every kind and was finally placed in this position. He was recognized. That's why there is to be obedience. Not just because the man has a star on his shoulder or because he has the title elder.

Why obey an elder? Because of the ministry that God's given them and the faithfulness that they've proven themselves capable of leading. Once a person has gained that responsibility, the Body and those that are being led, are not to sit back and say, "Well, he doesn't know what he is doing." You are to obey them that have the rule over you.

How far does that obedience go? It goes only as far as God's Word allows it to go. You are never to follow that man under any area that contradicts the Word of God, not matter WHO it is. Don't follow any man beyond the teaching of God's Word. This is the guide and the standard to live by. The Bible says that we are to follow their manner of living if it's in agreement with the Word of God. What do we do? We just follow God's Word! You're not following men. You are following men who are following God's Word.

If Paul said, "Follow me" and stopped at that, there could have been some trouble. What did he finish it with? "As I am following the Lord." Whenever I stop following the Lord, you all drop out; make sure you are following somebody who is following Jesus. Are we to follow people? Yes. The scriptures says that.
Which people are we to follow? The ones whom the Lord has set in the church.

1 Timothy 5:1 "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren." We said before that this is not talking about chronological age. It's talking about spiritual maturity. This is where the Word of God begins to distinguish between the three areas of government. Elders, deacons and the flock of God (the Body). Under the elder comes apostle, prophet, evangelists, pastor, teacher. They are all elders. Then there are the deacons and then of course, the rest of the Body of Christ. There are many different kinds of ministries. There are
ministries of governments. There are ministries of helps. Ministries of administrations. There is the gift and the ministry of tongues and interpretation and prophecy. All of these that the Body moves in. God chooses these men and you will see them emerge out of the eldership.

I Timothy 5:17 "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labour in the Word and doctrine." All elders are to be counted worthy of double honor. Especially those who labor in the Word and doctrine. All elders are to be apt to teach. That's why there's the ministry gift of teacher, that Jesus has put into the church. That's why they fall into the category of elders. But there are those that labor in the Word that God has ordained to move in the Word in power, to be able to move in this Word in such a way that the doctrine, that the
revelation knowledge of God, flows from them. These are to be especially seen as those who are ruling well. They have to fit in every other category, plus labor in the Word and doctrine.


I Timothy 5:22 "Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure." We used to think this meant to be careful when you pray for somebody, because if you come up and lay hands on somebody and you don't get any direction from the Lord, a demon is liable to go up your arm and get you! No. This is saying elders laying hands on and ordaining elders. Don't get in agreement and recognize somebody as an elder who is moving in sin in their life. Don't get in a hurry. Don't lay hands on them suddenly. The Bible said that the
elders must have hands laid upon them and that the ordination must take place. Just don't do it suddenly. Don't go and just grab some guy. They must not be a novice. They must prove their ministry. The scripture says that they must be known among us. Once their ministry is proven then you can ordain them into that ministry.

If you've got the armor of God on you, there is no way a demon is going to run up your arm and get you. Why do you think there are so many God given guidelines for the ministry of elder? It's a safe guard. He's not going to put some weirdo in charge of His Body. He's not going to let some clown come walking in and be ordained as an elder who doesn't even know the back door from the front. God has requirements that must be met! We can't get legalistic about it either. Was Paul an elder? Does this sound like the action of an elder? "There was strong dissension between Paul and Barnabas." O.K. Let's fire Paul! Now let's get after Barnabas. You can't do that. You can't get legalistic about this.

We can fully understand all of these qualifications when you understand 1 John 3:9 "Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin..." Do you commit sin? That sounds like a contradiction.
This says if you are born of God you do not commit sin. Right? The word "commit" here means "habitually" or it's your nature to sin". Those that are born of God do not have that nature or habit to sin. When we do sin we're sorry about it. It grieves us! If it was natural to you, you would have been comfortable with it. But since you weren't, that's not your nature. You're not a sinner. That's foreign to you. He says that those that are born of God do not habitually practice sin. Why?
Because the seed of God remains in him, and we cannot habitually practice sin because we are born of God.

So it deals with the same thing in the requirements of eldership. The man cannot be habitually involved in strife or be a striker and all these other things. And it doesn't say because a man does
it one time you write him off. We wouldn't have anybody! Jesus would be the only elder. This is what we need to realize. This is not being said to minimize the requirements. These requirements are established by the Holy Spirit. They are firm. They are easy to understand. But the things of God are spiritually discerned. We can't get legalistic with this and follow one another around with a check list. "Oh, I got you on this one. Got three this week." We can't do that because that is
not the way the Lord does it. This is spiritual and it's what the man's habitual ministry is. If the
man is habitually given into the areas that qualify him as an elder, then the Holy Spirit has brought him into that place and has ordained him and set him in the church.

Thirdly, rule means "to be set over or to be the head of". 1 Thessalonians 5:12 "...know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord...." Are they over you because they are
better than you? Are they over you because they are super saints? They are over you in the Lord for only one reason. Why? God ordained it. They are over you in the Lord, in the will of God,
under the ordination of God. Not because they are better than you. Not because God likes them better. That's a problem children have.

Who does God ordain? Those over you in the Lord. Why is it that some people are chosen but many are called? Why is it that few are chosen? Because God knows the heart. He doesn't look for people who are perfect per say. Nor does He look for people that have all of the qualifications in the natural. He looks for people who are OBEDIENT. That hunger and thirst after righteousness. That love His Word. That come under his authority.

Different is not wrong, it's only different. Does anybody look exactly like you?  Does that make all of them wrong? God is looking for obedience. 1 Timothy says if a man would be obedient,
and purge himself from these things, God will make him a vessel unto honor. God knows our hearts. That's anybody who will line up on God's side, with the Word.

When you get saved, Jesus should be Lord. He should be in charge. We are to submit to Him as Lord of our lives. He calls us just the way we are and we are to obey. We still periodically make
mistakes. But OBEY to the BEST OF YOUR ability. This is what God is looking for in His church today. Obedience is a whole lot better than sacrifice.

Elders that are set over you are not super stars. These are people that God has set there IN THE LORD. You should also know your elders. Get to fellowship with them. Watch their lives. Know them. To know someone includes loving them. Know them which labor among you. How do you find out who it is? You can watch and it's those that are laboring among you. The word labor doesn't mean an instigator. Not instigating trouble, or someone who always has an idea. "Let's do
this. Let's do that." And nothing gets done. We are talking about someone who labors among you and keeps working among us and is getting things done to the edification of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:12 "...and admonish you." Admonish means to put in mind, to caution, to warn. The job of an elder is to put in mind or people. What? The Word of God. By giving them only one perspective. The Word of God is the only perspective we can have. We don't want an elder who will not tell us God's Word. We don't want elders who will make exceptions. We don't want an elder who will not transform us with the Word of God. They are to admonish us with the Word of God There is no other way to live in Jesus, but by obedience to the Word of God,
serving, worshiping and following Jesus.

Copyright Steven L. Davis  www.stevedavis.org