1 00:00:30,339 --> 00:00:33,339 I tell you what, when he comes, he will turn it around. I 2 00:00:33,339 --> 00:00:35,619 promise you that. Looking forward to the day he does return. 3 00:00:35,939 --> 00:00:39,859 Turn your way in your Bibles to Luke chapter six. And we're going 4 00:00:39,859 --> 00:00:43,939 to be in three different verses tonight. And we'll read this 5 00:00:43,939 --> 00:00:48,419 one to start and then we'll be in Ephesians 4 and Acts chapter 6. 6 00:00:49,219 --> 00:00:56,229 Baptist distinctives. I'm guessing that all the, the sheets 7 00:00:56,229 --> 00:00:58,509 I passed out and had up there in the bookstore are gone. And I'll 8 00:00:58,509 --> 00:01:01,029 try to get, I'll make sure by next Sunday there's a next Wednesday 9 00:01:01,029 --> 00:01:04,749 there's some more that all 12 the Baptist distinctives are on there. 10 00:01:05,149 --> 00:01:08,509 And so next Wednesday night, I hope that you'll at least grab one, 11 00:01:08,829 --> 00:01:14,789 keep it around somewhere and remember this group of lessons. And 12 00:01:14,789 --> 00:01:19,029 so tonight's a real simple one. It's on the three offices of 13 00:01:19,029 --> 00:01:22,669 the church. Yes, there was originally three offices, not two. 14 00:01:23,579 --> 00:01:25,979 So we'll talk about that tonight. The office of the apostle, 15 00:01:26,379 --> 00:01:32,659 office of pastor and office of deacon. And I kind of in my office 16 00:01:32,659 --> 00:01:36,699 today, as I was studying again the subject, I thought about, well, 17 00:01:37,099 --> 00:01:40,299 all our church families coming here tonight. Our core group is going 18 00:01:40,299 --> 00:01:45,259 to be here tonight. This is more of a Sunday school lesson and 19 00:01:45,339 --> 00:01:48,099 not as much application, but I do think there are some things in 20 00:01:48,099 --> 00:01:52,959 here you could take from tonight and grow from, but also just 21 00:01:52,959 --> 00:01:56,879 some misnomers, some misunderstanding, some non biblical 22 00:01:56,879 --> 00:02:02,359 views of these offices. And so maybe that'll help you as well to 23 00:02:02,359 --> 00:02:06,319 kind of solidify what does the Bible say about apostles? What does 24 00:02:06,319 --> 00:02:09,279 the Bible say about pastors? And what does the Bible say about 25 00:02:09,279 --> 00:02:11,639 deacons? And you could really preach a message on each one of these 26 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:16,129 subjects. So Luke, chapter six. Luke, chapter six. I guess I 27 00:02:16,129 --> 00:02:26,409 ought to turn there. Let's look at verse 13. And when it was 28 00:02:26,409 --> 00:02:31,569 day, he called unto his disciples. And of them he chose 12, 29 00:02:32,369 --> 00:02:37,249 whom also he named apostles Simon, whom he also named Peter and 30 00:02:37,249 --> 00:02:41,469 Andrew, his brother James, John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew 31 00:02:42,749 --> 00:02:48,269 and Thomas and James, the son of Alphaeus and Simon called Zelotes 32 00:02:48,829 --> 00:02:52,669 and Judas, the brother of James and Judas Iscariot, which also 33 00:02:52,669 --> 00:02:58,829 was the traitor. So here the apostles were chosen out of them. 34 00:02:59,469 --> 00:03:02,149 Out of them. Who was the them? We've already studied that. The them 35 00:03:02,149 --> 00:03:06,109 was the church that Christ had already established. And so let's 36 00:03:06,109 --> 00:03:09,069 pray. Heavenly Father, again we thank you for your word. We pray 37 00:03:09,069 --> 00:03:13,069 tonight. And as we look at the offices of the church, Lord, may 38 00:03:13,069 --> 00:03:16,869 you again encourage us and strengthen us in Jesus name. Amen. 39 00:03:16,869 --> 00:03:21,509 The Baptist distinctives are a collection of biblical truths Unique 40 00:03:21,509 --> 00:03:25,749 to Baptists. It's not again, that some of these doctrines or some 41 00:03:25,749 --> 00:03:29,829 of these teachings are taught by other churches and other denominations, 42 00:03:29,989 --> 00:03:33,709 but it's the collection of them, all of them put together is 43 00:03:33,709 --> 00:03:37,599 unique to Baptists, to the Baptist, to historic Baptist faith. 44 00:03:37,599 --> 00:03:40,639 And I believe, again, if I didn't believe Baptists were as close 45 00:03:40,639 --> 00:03:44,719 to the Bible, doctrinally, as close to the Bible as what the Bible 46 00:03:44,719 --> 00:03:49,359 is intended to mean, and it's an interpretation, then I would be 47 00:03:49,359 --> 00:03:53,079 something else. I would be a Lutheran or I'd be a Methodist, or 48 00:03:53,079 --> 00:03:56,919 I'd be a Catholic or whatever else there is. But I believe without 49 00:03:56,919 --> 00:04:01,239 a shadow of a doubt, not one little iota of an inkling in my mind 50 00:04:01,789 --> 00:04:06,989 that it is Baptists who are as close to the Bible as you can get. 51 00:04:07,789 --> 00:04:12,589 And I'm so thankful for that. I'm glad that I'm Baptist born Baptist, 52 00:04:12,909 --> 00:04:18,069 when I'll be Baptist dead anyway. Churches, we churches are 53 00:04:18,069 --> 00:04:21,989 to be caretakers of God's truth, caretakers of biblical truth. 54 00:04:21,989 --> 00:04:25,989 We are the pillar and ground of the truth, and so we are to do 55 00:04:25,989 --> 00:04:28,549 those things. Second Timothy two, two is kind of our theme verse 56 00:04:28,549 --> 00:04:33,679 for this study. Paul said to Timothy, the things that thou hast 57 00:04:33,679 --> 00:04:37,439 heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to 58 00:04:37,439 --> 00:04:40,879 faithful man who shall be able to teach others also. So the things 59 00:04:40,879 --> 00:04:43,639 that he was taught, Paul says, the things that you were taught, 60 00:04:43,639 --> 00:04:47,639 the things, the doctrines, all the biblical truth, you were taught 61 00:04:47,639 --> 00:04:54,239 the same teach to others. Not what you think, not tradition. No, 62 00:04:54,239 --> 00:04:59,029 you're going to teach the very same thing to others also. And so 63 00:04:59,349 --> 00:05:04,229 we don't have the right to change what the Bible says. We don't 64 00:05:04,229 --> 00:05:07,709 have the right to say, well, there's not enough water here, so 65 00:05:07,709 --> 00:05:10,029 we're just going to sprinkle somebody for baptism. We're just 66 00:05:10,029 --> 00:05:13,709 going to pour on somebody for baptism. No, no, no. The Bible makes 67 00:05:13,709 --> 00:05:17,509 it very, very, very, very clear that baptism is by immersion 68 00:05:17,509 --> 00:05:22,069 only. In fact, the word baptism means. Baptism means to dunk, 69 00:05:22,069 --> 00:05:27,209 to plunge, to go under. And so we don't have the right to change 70 00:05:27,209 --> 00:05:31,929 what the Bible says. Doesn't matter that some hierarchy has made 71 00:05:31,929 --> 00:05:36,489 some decision, and some guy in a big, you know, big house somewhere 72 00:05:36,649 --> 00:05:40,609 over in Italy decides that something means something else. No, 73 00:05:40,609 --> 00:05:44,729 he doesn't get to decide. The Bible is clear. The Bible. We are 74 00:05:44,729 --> 00:05:50,159 to follow what the Bible says the same commit thou to the to faithful 75 00:05:50,159 --> 00:05:55,159 men in the Bible. There are three New Testament church offices, 76 00:05:55,319 --> 00:05:58,599 the apostle, pastor and deacon. So let's look at the word 77 00:05:58,599 --> 00:06:03,639 apostle first. The word Apostle means sent one. Sent one. 78 00:06:03,639 --> 00:06:07,679 We just read where the apostles were chosen. They were chosen. 79 00:06:07,679 --> 00:06:12,039 They were chosen out of them. And the of them is the church that 80 00:06:12,039 --> 00:06:15,779 Christ established. Remember Matthew, chapter 16, verse 18. Jesus 81 00:06:15,779 --> 00:06:20,379 said to Peter, thou art Peter, upon this rock I will build my church, 82 00:06:20,619 --> 00:06:23,739 speaking of himself. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against 83 00:06:23,739 --> 00:06:29,219 it, and so forth. And so Christ took the materials that John 84 00:06:29,219 --> 00:06:33,979 the Baptist had prepared. And as John the Baptist gathered these 85 00:06:33,979 --> 00:06:38,619 materials. I'm talking about people now, not building material. 86 00:06:38,699 --> 00:06:42,249 But as John the Baptist gathered converts, he was gathering 87 00:06:42,569 --> 00:06:46,609 those converts, those to be saved and baptized, who would become 88 00:06:46,609 --> 00:06:51,169 a part of the first church that Christ established. It was John 89 00:06:51,169 --> 00:06:55,849 the Baptist who prepared the way. Look over in Mark, chapter one, 90 00:06:55,849 --> 00:07:00,329 verse one. If you get there before I do anyway, I'll go ahead 91 00:07:00,329 --> 00:07:04,089 and read it. But Mark, chapter one, verse one and two and three, 92 00:07:06,329 --> 00:07:09,089 says the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of 93 00:07:09,089 --> 00:07:14,649 God, verse 2. I'll give you a little time. Again, John the Baptist, 94 00:07:14,649 --> 00:07:18,049 the forerunner of Christ. He was the one preparing the way for 95 00:07:18,049 --> 00:07:21,729 Christ that was prophesied in Isaiah 40 and a couple other spots 96 00:07:21,729 --> 00:07:26,849 in the Old Testament. John the Baptist would make the way, verse 97 00:07:26,849 --> 00:07:30,969 two, as is written in the prophets. Behold, I send my messenger 98 00:07:30,969 --> 00:07:35,169 before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thee. It's 99 00:07:35,169 --> 00:07:39,089 found in Isaiah 40, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 100 00:07:39,089 --> 00:07:44,489 prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. And 101 00:07:44,489 --> 00:07:47,489 John did baptize in the wilderness and preached the baptism 102 00:07:47,489 --> 00:07:49,889 of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went 103 00:07:49,889 --> 00:07:53,889 out unto him all the land of Judea and they of Jerusalem, and 104 00:07:53,889 --> 00:07:57,449 were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their 105 00:07:57,449 --> 00:08:03,419 sins. And so John the Baptist was the fourth forerunner of Jesus 106 00:08:03,419 --> 00:08:07,739 Christ. Born six months prior to Jesus, started his ministry six 107 00:08:07,739 --> 00:08:12,339 months prior to Jesus Christ, and again gathering, preaching the 108 00:08:12,339 --> 00:08:15,539 gospel, preaching. The Messiah is coming. The Messiah's coming. 109 00:08:15,539 --> 00:08:18,739 And then the Messiah is here. Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh 110 00:08:18,739 --> 00:08:26,699 away the sins of the world and baptizing them, prepared the materials 111 00:08:26,699 --> 00:08:31,059 of the first church, prepared by John the Baptist. That includes 112 00:08:31,059 --> 00:08:36,379 the apostles, by the way, all of them. Again, when Matthew's at 113 00:08:36,379 --> 00:08:40,859 the seat of customs and he's collecting taxes, and Jesus walks 114 00:08:40,859 --> 00:08:44,939 by and says, follow me. I'm gonna make you fishers of men. Matthew 115 00:08:44,939 --> 00:08:49,259 gets up and he follows him. Sometimes we get the idea that Matthew 116 00:08:49,259 --> 00:08:53,659 didn't know who Jesus was. Jesus was. Matthew wasn't following 117 00:08:54,139 --> 00:08:58,449 Jesus blindly. He'd already been converted and won by John the 118 00:08:58,449 --> 00:09:03,409 Baptist. He knew Who Jesus was. And when Jesus walked by, he 119 00:09:03,409 --> 00:09:08,009 followed the Master. So again, I think you need context to kind 120 00:09:08,009 --> 00:09:12,969 of get this down, that these apostles, all of them, all of them 121 00:09:13,369 --> 00:09:18,809 were converted and baptized by John the Baptist. I'll give you some 122 00:09:18,809 --> 00:09:26,259 proof text here in a moment. We see in 1 Corinthians 12:28 that 123 00:09:26,259 --> 00:09:30,459 he placed first in the church, the apostles. We won't turn there, 124 00:09:30,459 --> 00:09:34,659 but that's your proof text again, that the church was in existence 125 00:09:34,899 --> 00:09:39,499 when he chose the apostles. First Corinthians 12:28. You can't 126 00:09:39,499 --> 00:09:43,179 place something in something that doesn't exist. So he placed 127 00:09:43,179 --> 00:09:49,709 in the church first. Apostles. Apostles. And so when the apostles 128 00:09:50,989 --> 00:09:54,429 were replacing Judas. I do want you to turn to this one. This 129 00:09:54,429 --> 00:09:58,469 will help you, I think. Acts, chapter one. Turn over. Acts, chapter 130 00:09:58,469 --> 00:10:01,629 one. Remember now, Judas, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Christ. 131 00:10:02,109 --> 00:10:09,549 He was one of the apostles. And he. He. He died, hung himself. 132 00:10:11,469 --> 00:10:14,429 We want to read that part of it where he burst asunder and his 133 00:10:14,769 --> 00:10:18,409 boughs came out. The Bible's pretty graphic. And then it's called 134 00:10:18,409 --> 00:10:24,489 the Field of blood. Anyway, as kids, you like to read that part. 135 00:10:24,489 --> 00:10:29,929 Like, that's so gross. That's awesome. The bad guy loses. I love 136 00:10:29,929 --> 00:10:33,649 it. When some of y' all were here when Brother Avery Henderson 137 00:10:33,649 --> 00:10:42,819 preached about Pontius Pilate, and Pontius Pilate apparently committed 138 00:10:42,819 --> 00:10:49,299 suicide by riding a donkey off a cliff. And Brother Henderson said 139 00:10:49,299 --> 00:10:52,979 that in one of his Christmas messages. And I was like, I never 140 00:10:52,979 --> 00:10:57,019 heard that before. And I went and researched it, and sure enough, 141 00:10:57,419 --> 00:11:03,099 you go read about it. It's there. History proves that that Pontius 142 00:11:03,099 --> 00:11:06,859 Pilate killed himself by riding a donkey off a cliff. That's. 143 00:11:06,859 --> 00:11:10,589 What a way to die. Just. That's random. That's. For your free 144 00:11:10,589 --> 00:11:18,749 information, look at Acts, chapter 1, verse 20. For it is written 145 00:11:18,749 --> 00:11:22,269 in the book of the Psalms. Let his habitation be desolate, and let 146 00:11:22,269 --> 00:11:26,149 no man dwell therein. And his bishopric. Let another take. This 147 00:11:26,149 --> 00:11:30,389 is talking about Judas now. All right, so again, let his habitation 148 00:11:30,389 --> 00:11:33,589 be desolate. Talking about Judas and then his apostleship. Let 149 00:11:33,589 --> 00:11:39,079 another take wherefore of These men, verse 21, which have accompanied 150 00:11:39,159 --> 00:11:42,119 with us all the time, that the Lord Jesus went in and out among 151 00:11:42,119 --> 00:11:46,839 us. So he's given the qualifications here. You had to have 152 00:11:47,079 --> 00:11:51,199 walked in and out with Jesus Christ. In other words, you had to 153 00:11:51,199 --> 00:11:55,079 walk with Jesus. Not like we walk with Jesus spiritually, but 154 00:11:55,159 --> 00:11:59,959 physically. You had to have walked with Jesus in order to qualify 155 00:12:00,629 --> 00:12:06,029 to be an apostle. Look at this. Verse 22, beginning from the 156 00:12:06,029 --> 00:12:12,229 baptism of John. What does that mean. It means that you had 157 00:12:12,229 --> 00:12:17,789 to be there in the beginning when John was baptizing to be an 158 00:12:17,789 --> 00:12:25,709 apostle, you had to be there. All the apostles were converts of 159 00:12:25,709 --> 00:12:31,079 John the Baptist, and the two they nominate were also converts 160 00:12:31,079 --> 00:12:36,639 of John the Baptist. So look at again, verse 22, beginning from 161 00:12:36,639 --> 00:12:40,959 the baptism of John under that same day that we was, that he was 162 00:12:40,959 --> 00:12:45,719 taken up from us. Must one be ordained to be a witness with us 163 00:12:45,799 --> 00:12:49,839 of his resurrection? What does that mean? It means that you had, 164 00:12:49,839 --> 00:12:54,349 in order to be an apostle, you had to have seen Jesus and company 165 00:12:54,429 --> 00:12:58,509 with him after his resurrection. Again, not like we 166 00:12:58,509 --> 00:13:06,189 do by faith, physically had to see him, physically had to be taught 167 00:13:06,189 --> 00:13:12,749 by him. We only have a very little minute detail of all the teaching 168 00:13:12,749 --> 00:13:18,349 Jesus did in those 40 days. He did a lot. We know that. It's inferred. 169 00:13:19,319 --> 00:13:24,039 And so that person would need to have been there. And part of that. 170 00:13:24,359 --> 00:13:28,879 So there's your proof text again, that to be an apostle there 171 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:32,479 was qualifications. And one of those qualifications was to be there 172 00:13:32,479 --> 00:13:35,559 in the beginning when John the Baptist was baptizing. I believe 173 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:37,879 that infers that you had to be baptized by John the Baptist. And 174 00:13:37,879 --> 00:13:40,919 then you prove it out by knowing that these apostles were 175 00:13:41,239 --> 00:13:48,129 indeed baptized by John the Baptist. So tasked. The apostles 176 00:13:48,129 --> 00:13:52,769 were tasked with finishing and getting the church age fully launched. 177 00:13:52,769 --> 00:13:57,569 So it's the apostles who took up the banner that Jesus had begun 178 00:13:58,289 --> 00:14:04,489 of launching the church and the church age. The church age. Right. 179 00:14:04,489 --> 00:14:07,529 So we were in the Old Testament economy. Now we're launching 180 00:14:07,529 --> 00:14:10,649 the New Testament economy. We were underneath an Old Testament 181 00:14:10,649 --> 00:14:13,629 program. Now we're under the New Testament program. And it's the 182 00:14:13,629 --> 00:14:19,629 apostles who are going to carry on that transition that's taking 183 00:14:19,629 --> 00:14:25,469 place. We've always used a bridge as an analogy. But a bridge 184 00:14:25,469 --> 00:14:30,309 transfers you from one side of a gulf to another. And that's what 185 00:14:30,309 --> 00:14:33,309 the Old and New Testament is. And the apostles were part of that 186 00:14:33,309 --> 00:14:36,749 bridge to help you get from the Old Testament to the New Testament 187 00:14:36,749 --> 00:14:40,909 program. Part of that was the sign gifts, the gifts of tongues, 188 00:14:40,909 --> 00:14:46,669 the gifts of prophecy, the gifts, these special gifts were part 189 00:14:46,669 --> 00:14:51,909 of that transition to help the Jews, especially the Jews, understand 190 00:14:52,709 --> 00:14:55,629 that we were going from one economy to the next. We were going 191 00:14:55,629 --> 00:14:59,349 from the Old Testament to the New Testament. We know also that 192 00:14:59,349 --> 00:15:04,699 again, it's like the church going from a child to adult. That 193 00:15:04,699 --> 00:15:09,659 transition taking place over the period of years from A.D. 33 194 00:15:09,979 --> 00:15:16,059 to A.D. 100. The church in transition, Paul and Barnabas were 195 00:15:16,059 --> 00:15:19,659 functioned as apostles. We know that Paul says he was born, 196 00:15:19,659 --> 00:15:23,579 born out of due time. You say, well, did Paul know John the Baptist? 197 00:15:23,579 --> 00:15:28,139 Absolutely. Did Paul talk with Jesus? Well, apparently he did it 198 00:15:28,139 --> 00:15:34,909 for part of three years, and there's so much there. And so Paul 199 00:15:34,909 --> 00:15:39,069 and Barnabas were a part of that apostleship, if you would. All 200 00:15:39,069 --> 00:15:45,909 right, so the church office of the apostle was a temporary office. 201 00:15:47,269 --> 00:15:52,469 There are no apostles today because no one would qualify to be 202 00:15:52,469 --> 00:15:58,759 an apostle. The apostles were tasked by Christ to help believers 203 00:15:58,759 --> 00:16:01,879 to make the transition from the Old Testament program to the 204 00:16:01,879 --> 00:16:06,519 New Testament program. It speaks again that the apostles were 205 00:16:06,519 --> 00:16:11,479 to testify of the resurrection of Christ. Why? Because they had 206 00:16:11,479 --> 00:16:17,239 seen him, physically seen him after his resurrection. They're part 207 00:16:17,239 --> 00:16:20,679 of that 500, part of that. Other groups that have seen Jesus 208 00:16:20,679 --> 00:16:24,239 after his resurrection. And they were to again testify as a resurrection. 209 00:16:25,189 --> 00:16:28,589 They were to affirm salvation by grace through faith. What did 210 00:16:28,589 --> 00:16:33,589 Paul do over and over and over again? Reaffirm that salvation was 211 00:16:33,589 --> 00:16:37,789 not found in what we do, but what Jesus did on the cross. And 212 00:16:37,789 --> 00:16:40,469 he reaffirmed it over and over again. And we know the apostles, 213 00:16:40,469 --> 00:16:44,789 all the apostles did that again. The apostles especially helped 214 00:16:44,789 --> 00:16:48,229 the Jew to make the transition from the Old Testament economy. They 215 00:16:48,229 --> 00:16:51,229 were to make that. Help make that transmission, a transition for 216 00:16:51,229 --> 00:16:54,399 the Jew, especially from worshiping in the temple to that 217 00:16:54,399 --> 00:16:57,359 of the church. Can you imagine the difference? You know, here we 218 00:16:57,359 --> 00:17:01,119 were having to come to the temple with our sacrifice and have 219 00:17:01,119 --> 00:17:04,599 the priests make that sacrifice and watch the blood run, 220 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:07,759 run down and watch the. Watch the blood be sprinkled on the altar 221 00:17:07,759 --> 00:17:13,919 and watch an animal die. No longer have to do any of that. The 222 00:17:13,919 --> 00:17:17,479 final sacrifice had been made. And it's the apostles who were helping 223 00:17:17,479 --> 00:17:21,029 with that transition, preaching the resurrection of Jesus 224 00:17:21,029 --> 00:17:23,829 Christ, preaching and affirming that Jesus Christ was indeed 225 00:17:23,829 --> 00:17:27,709 the Messiah and that he rose from the dead and helping the Jew 226 00:17:27,789 --> 00:17:30,709 especially, again make the transition. We see this in Acts, 227 00:17:30,709 --> 00:17:32,909 chapter 8, verse 1. If you want to look these verses up later. 228 00:17:32,989 --> 00:17:36,469 We see this in Ephesians 2, verses 19 through 22, which is one 229 00:17:36,469 --> 00:17:40,669 of my favorite passages, where it says, we're no longer two. There's 230 00:17:40,669 --> 00:17:46,109 no longer Jew and Gentile, but one and the same under the fellowship 231 00:17:46,109 --> 00:17:50,339 of God, under. Under the household of God. And that we come 232 00:17:50,339 --> 00:17:53,259 together as a church to make a holy habitation unto God. In other 233 00:17:53,259 --> 00:17:58,179 words, we're here to have a home that the Lord will feel comfortable 234 00:17:58,179 --> 00:18:03,619 in. And showing up in our church, isn't that amazing? It's 235 00:18:03,619 --> 00:18:07,459 a spiritual house. It's no longer physical. Each one of us represent 236 00:18:07,539 --> 00:18:11,619 a lively stone. A stone. And we have built up this spiritual house. 237 00:18:11,779 --> 00:18:14,489 And then as we build the spiritual house and we make the Holy 238 00:18:14,489 --> 00:18:19,689 Spirit comfortable, he'll make himself evident he's promised to 239 00:18:19,689 --> 00:18:23,889 be here. I always remind you that he says, where two or more gather 240 00:18:23,889 --> 00:18:27,609 together, he'll be there. But it doesn't mean he has to make himself 241 00:18:27,609 --> 00:18:34,049 evident. What we want is for the Holy Spirit to feel at home and 242 00:18:34,049 --> 00:18:38,249 for him to make himself evident in our services. And we do 243 00:18:38,249 --> 00:18:41,019 that by every. Every church member ought to be here at every 244 00:18:41,019 --> 00:18:45,659 service. I'm preaching to people who are not here, every church 245 00:18:45,659 --> 00:18:48,779 member how to spend and walk and spend time and walk with Jesus 246 00:18:48,779 --> 00:18:53,859 during the week, show up to church, not necessarily every time 247 00:18:53,859 --> 00:18:59,459 needing their gas tank full. You know, sometimes we do get wore 248 00:18:59,459 --> 00:19:02,059 down and beat down by the world during the week, and we come 249 00:19:02,059 --> 00:19:06,219 on Wednesday night to get a charge. And it is important and that's 250 00:19:06,219 --> 00:19:09,749 part of it. But as we walk with the Lord, we want to come to 251 00:19:09,749 --> 00:19:14,629 church having already spent time with the Lord, walking with 252 00:19:14,629 --> 00:19:19,429 him, having already prayed for the services and prayed for the pastor 253 00:19:19,429 --> 00:19:22,909 as he preaches and praying that God would show up in a special 254 00:19:22,989 --> 00:19:30,309 way, a holy habitation of the Lord. So again, the apostles were 255 00:19:30,309 --> 00:19:34,459 there to help the Jewish make that transition from the temple to 256 00:19:34,459 --> 00:19:38,139 the church. And then the apostles were there to set up church 257 00:19:38,139 --> 00:19:43,659 governance, church polity. In other words, they were there to rectify 258 00:19:43,659 --> 00:19:48,618 and help the church set up the governance, how services to be handled 259 00:19:48,618 --> 00:19:51,259 and how the Lord's Supper is to be handled. Remember how Paul 260 00:19:51,259 --> 00:19:55,499 addressed these things in his Epistles. How are we to handle squirmishes 261 00:19:55,499 --> 00:19:59,379 and schisms in the church? How do we handle open sin in the church? 262 00:19:59,379 --> 00:20:04,249 Think about Corinthians. And we have Matthew and Corinthians both 263 00:20:04,249 --> 00:20:08,529 giving us understanding of how to handle a problem in the church. 264 00:20:09,489 --> 00:20:11,729 By the way, we ought to handle problems of the church biblically. 265 00:20:12,849 --> 00:20:16,888 Amen. Instead of talking about somebody, why don't you go to them 266 00:20:16,888 --> 00:20:20,489 one on one, as the Bible says, and try to get that thing resolved. 267 00:20:20,489 --> 00:20:27,759 Amen. Just, just, just quoting the Bible. So good. And then lastly, 268 00:20:28,159 --> 00:20:32,679 it was the apostles who authored or authorized the 27 New 269 00:20:32,679 --> 00:20:35,599 Testament books. So we know there are four writers who weren't 270 00:20:35,599 --> 00:20:39,279 apostles, but all the rest of them were apostles. And the four 271 00:20:39,279 --> 00:20:44,359 writers who weren't apostles was John Mark. Well, I mean, who's 272 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,999 John Mark? Well, he hung out with Paul for a little while, and 273 00:20:46,999 --> 00:20:50,599 then they had a little problem. And then. But we know later 274 00:20:50,599 --> 00:20:55,889 on Paul said, john is a good guy. You know, he goes on and they 275 00:20:55,889 --> 00:20:58,929 get. They get back together. And God's good, right? So you have 276 00:20:58,929 --> 00:21:06,409 John, Mark, you have Luke the physician. You have James and Jude, 277 00:21:08,169 --> 00:21:14,449 both half brothers of Jesus. But it was the apostles who either 278 00:21:14,449 --> 00:21:20,299 wrote the New Testament, authorized and put the New Testament 279 00:21:20,299 --> 00:21:22,379 together. That's why at the end of Book of Revelations, it says, 280 00:21:22,379 --> 00:21:27,539 don't add to or take away from this book. It was John the apostle 281 00:21:27,779 --> 00:21:32,379 and other apostles who determined what books would be a 282 00:21:32,379 --> 00:21:39,139 part of the New Testament. That is an apostle. The apostleship 283 00:21:39,139 --> 00:21:44,709 was a transitional office. Anybody see that? If somebody says 284 00:21:44,709 --> 00:21:48,749 today they're an apostle, they're not. Second Corinthians. 285 00:21:49,229 --> 00:21:52,869 I'm sorry. Number two is pastor. All right. The word pastor, 286 00:21:52,869 --> 00:21:54,829 there are three different terms. As we've said before, we've 287 00:21:54,829 --> 00:21:59,589 covered a little bit of this already. But the word. But the prominent 288 00:21:59,589 --> 00:22:03,869 title is pastor. Why is the prominent title pastor? And even 289 00:22:03,869 --> 00:22:09,599 today, most men who hold the office that I hold are called pastors, 290 00:22:09,599 --> 00:22:13,559 most of them. And that's because of the shepherd analogy. 291 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:20,199 And pastor, it means shepherd. And so that analogy is mentioned 292 00:22:20,199 --> 00:22:23,959 over and over again, not only by the apostles and the writers of 293 00:22:23,959 --> 00:22:27,679 the New Testament, but Jesus Christ himself, talking about the 294 00:22:27,679 --> 00:22:31,919 church being a flock, that he is the shepherd of the flock. And 295 00:22:31,919 --> 00:22:34,439 so to set up on the Old Testament presentation of the shepherd 296 00:22:34,439 --> 00:22:37,289 and their role, but also, again, Christ. Using that same analogy, 297 00:22:37,679 --> 00:22:41,359 the word elder means. Basically means maturity. You think 298 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:46,039 of an elder, you think of someone who is older. I won't go 299 00:22:46,039 --> 00:22:49,399 into that tonight. We already mentioned Brother Renz and Brother 300 00:22:49,399 --> 00:22:54,959 Clovis the other night. Won't mention their names, but we think 301 00:22:54,959 --> 00:23:01,999 of maturity when we think of elder. So this word does not necessarily 302 00:23:01,999 --> 00:23:07,689 mean older. This word means mature. And it doesn't necessarily 303 00:23:07,689 --> 00:23:10,889 mean somebody mature physically, but it means. Means somebody 304 00:23:10,889 --> 00:23:17,089 mature spiritually. Spiritually. So it's not negative 305 00:23:17,089 --> 00:23:22,489 against a young pastor, if you would. But any young pastor who takes 306 00:23:22,489 --> 00:23:25,769 a pastorate would be. You would. You would. If you hung around 307 00:23:25,769 --> 00:23:31,339 them. You want to be able to characterize them seemingly older. 308 00:23:31,339 --> 00:23:39,739 Does that make sense? Okay. In other words, in conduct and judgment, 309 00:23:41,819 --> 00:23:48,419 they are mature. So I mean, again, the Bible says, let no man 310 00:23:48,419 --> 00:23:52,339 despise thy youth. So I don't want to say like that. It's not saying 311 00:23:52,339 --> 00:23:57,279 that a young person, a young man, couldn't pastor. But they do 312 00:23:57,279 --> 00:24:00,279 need to be a certain amount of maturing there in order for them 313 00:24:00,279 --> 00:24:07,799 to pastor. And all of us in this room would agree that that maturity 314 00:24:07,799 --> 00:24:15,279 in the last 20 or 30 years has changed. It has changed drastically 315 00:24:16,159 --> 00:24:22,289 in my Opinion. And so there needs to be some time for most young 316 00:24:22,689 --> 00:24:28,449 men to do some more maturing. And we see this all over and there's 317 00:24:28,449 --> 00:24:32,489 ample opportunity in this day and age. So again, Bishop, elder 318 00:24:32,489 --> 00:24:36,609 means mature. All right. And then lastly, Bishop, the word bishop 319 00:24:36,609 --> 00:24:40,009 means overseer. And we know that First Peter speaks about the 320 00:24:40,009 --> 00:24:44,369 pastor as being to take the oversight of the church. I do want 321 00:24:44,369 --> 00:24:46,849 you to turn to this scripture as well. First Peter, chapter two. 322 00:24:49,259 --> 00:24:51,739 First Peter, chapter two. Because I want you to see these scriptures 323 00:24:51,739 --> 00:24:56,339 again. What is a pastor? What is he to do? What does he should 324 00:24:56,339 --> 00:25:00,939 be doing? Well, again, these three names, Pastor, elder, bishop, 325 00:25:00,939 --> 00:25:05,139 describe the office of a pastor. First Peter, chapter two. 326 00:25:05,139 --> 00:25:13,779 Look with me in verse number 25. All right. So it says, for ye 327 00:25:13,779 --> 00:25:17,419 were as sheep going astray, but ye are now returned unto the 328 00:25:17,579 --> 00:25:22,259 shepherd. And what bishop of your souls. So he puts both those 329 00:25:22,259 --> 00:25:25,779 words together. The main chapter I want you to see is chapter 330 00:25:25,779 --> 00:25:30,139 five, verses one through four. Most of you'll know these passages. 331 00:25:33,179 --> 00:25:36,179 The elders which are among you. Verse one. Now, First Peter, 332 00:25:36,179 --> 00:25:39,339 chapter five, verse one. The elders which are among you, I exhort, 333 00:25:39,739 --> 00:25:43,459 who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ 334 00:25:43,459 --> 00:25:46,779 and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Here's 335 00:25:46,779 --> 00:25:50,459 what he's saying to pastors. Feed the flock of God which is among 336 00:25:50,459 --> 00:25:57,259 you. Take the oversight thereof, not by constraint. You say 337 00:25:57,259 --> 00:26:00,459 there are some pastors who pastor because they feel like they 338 00:26:00,459 --> 00:26:05,859 have to. Absolutely, yes. I know some off the top of my head, 339 00:26:08,259 --> 00:26:12,989 but willingly not for filthy lucre. There are some pastors in 340 00:26:12,989 --> 00:26:18,789 the ministry for money. That guy up by the Eagle Mountain lake 341 00:26:18,789 --> 00:26:25,109 might be one of them. But of a ready mind. Neither as being lords 342 00:26:25,109 --> 00:26:29,669 over God's heritage. And I'll use the word dictator. A pastor shouldn't 343 00:26:29,669 --> 00:26:35,789 be a dictator, but being an example to the flock. And when the 344 00:26:35,789 --> 00:26:38,549 chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory 345 00:26:38,549 --> 00:26:45,079 that fadeth not away. Pastor's role is very clear. They are to be 346 00:26:45,079 --> 00:26:49,439 the shepherd, the elder and the bishop. That's why we as Baptists 347 00:26:49,759 --> 00:26:54,679 practice pastoral leadership. It's like a football team. I know 348 00:26:54,679 --> 00:26:58,919 this is a silly analogy, but it is. It works. We have the owner 349 00:26:58,919 --> 00:27:02,839 of the football team. We'll just. Again, this is almost heresy, 350 00:27:02,839 --> 00:27:07,639 but blasphemy. The owner is the Lord. He is the head of the church. 351 00:27:07,639 --> 00:27:11,559 Amen. He is the chief shepherd. He is the Lord of all. 352 00:27:12,279 --> 00:27:15,639 And you have the under shepherd. Say the head football coach. 353 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:20,799 Head football coach has a staff. Has his staff. Staff that 354 00:27:20,799 --> 00:27:26,599 he works with when A head coach leaves, usually the staff resigns, 355 00:27:26,599 --> 00:27:30,759 or when the new head coach comes in, he hires his own people. 356 00:27:32,289 --> 00:27:38,849 And then you have the players. But all have the same goal to win. 357 00:27:41,649 --> 00:27:44,129 We all have the same goal, and that's to reach people with the gospel 358 00:27:44,129 --> 00:27:47,529 of Jesus Christ. I'll never forget first time I hired Brother 359 00:27:47,529 --> 00:27:50,449 Wiggins. This is back when we were at Lakeland. I was at Lakeland 360 00:27:50,449 --> 00:27:57,249 and years and years ago. And then when we went to hire him again 361 00:27:59,469 --> 00:28:03,109 12, 13 years ago, the men did ask me, a couple of men asked me 362 00:28:03,109 --> 00:28:06,869 on the finance team, how can you hire your best friend? How's 363 00:28:06,869 --> 00:28:14,029 that going to work? I said, we both want the same thing. We want 364 00:28:14,029 --> 00:28:19,229 to see people come to Jesus. Amen. And guess what? It worked. 365 00:28:20,189 --> 00:28:27,559 Because we have the same goal. The same goal. I'm thankful to pastor 366 00:28:27,559 --> 00:28:33,319 this church, to be the overseer of this church. I understand 367 00:28:35,399 --> 00:28:41,679 maybe not to the degree I should of the magnitude of that and 368 00:28:41,679 --> 00:28:48,439 the responsibility of that. I try my very best not to be a dictator, 369 00:28:49,649 --> 00:28:55,369 but to lead. Try our very best to keep the main thing, the main 370 00:28:55,369 --> 00:29:00,449 thing, that we're here to win people to Jesus, to do our very best 371 00:29:00,449 --> 00:29:04,369 to get the gospel out, to baptize converts and to disciple. 372 00:29:06,209 --> 00:29:09,049 Over the years, we've ebb and flowed. I think every church does 373 00:29:09,049 --> 00:29:11,809 that. Little ups and downs, ups and downs. By the way, that's 374 00:29:11,809 --> 00:29:19,059 the Christian life as well. But always regaining the focus. Regain 375 00:29:19,059 --> 00:29:25,339 the focus. The focus is getting the gospel out. The pastor, 376 00:29:25,419 --> 00:29:31,619 the church, its members, its staff should have one goal, and that 377 00:29:31,619 --> 00:29:36,619 is to spread the gospel. Lastly is deacon. The word deacon 378 00:29:36,939 --> 00:29:43,429 means what? Servant. Servant. And this is probably again very misunderstood 379 00:29:43,989 --> 00:29:47,829 even in our own circles. What a deacon is to do what a deacon's 380 00:29:47,829 --> 00:29:51,229 tasked to do. And I don't have time now because we were out of time, 381 00:29:51,229 --> 00:29:53,909 but Acts, chapter six, most of you know the passage where they chose 382 00:29:53,909 --> 00:29:57,189 the first deacons. There was some murmuring among the church. 383 00:29:57,429 --> 00:30:01,949 The widows were being neglected. And so the apostles came 384 00:30:01,949 --> 00:30:07,219 to the church and said, you guys choose you out among you seven 385 00:30:07,219 --> 00:30:11,019 men. These men should be of honest report. They should be full 386 00:30:11,019 --> 00:30:14,659 of the Holy Ghost, should be men of wisdom. And we know also there 387 00:30:14,659 --> 00:30:18,179 was an addition later down the road said to full of faith. Full 388 00:30:18,179 --> 00:30:26,579 of faith. They chose these men to be servants to help the pastor 389 00:30:26,819 --> 00:30:31,819 so that he would be freed up to minister and to preach and to 390 00:30:31,819 --> 00:30:37,659 study and to pray. That was their responsibility. They were chosen 391 00:30:37,659 --> 00:30:41,459 out by the church, but appointed by the apostles. He said 392 00:30:41,459 --> 00:30:47,219 that you choose out that we may appoint These men to their duties. 393 00:30:48,899 --> 00:30:52,699 In other words, I do remind you, and this is biblical, that the 394 00:30:52,699 --> 00:30:57,779 pastor is given the final who, where, and how of how the deacon 395 00:30:57,779 --> 00:31:03,829 is to serve. It's not the opposite way. And I know most of 396 00:31:03,829 --> 00:31:08,029 you, hopefully all of you agree to that, whether I'm pastor 397 00:31:08,029 --> 00:31:11,429 here or somebody else is here. The pastor. We believe in pastoral 398 00:31:11,429 --> 00:31:15,389 leadership because the Bible teaches pastoral leadership. And 399 00:31:15,629 --> 00:31:19,869 the men who are chosen are nominated, chosen by the church. 400 00:31:19,869 --> 00:31:23,949 We do that here, and then appointed to the service, whatever 401 00:31:23,949 --> 00:31:28,669 that may be, by the pastor. I'm thankful for the men who've served 402 00:31:28,669 --> 00:31:31,829 over the years and what blessing they have been and help 403 00:31:31,829 --> 00:31:35,709 they have been. I remember when Brother Juan was a deacon and 404 00:31:35,709 --> 00:31:39,229 man we had. There was somebody sick and they went to the hospital 405 00:31:39,629 --> 00:31:42,309 and I couldn't get to them. And I remember Juan running down 406 00:31:42,309 --> 00:31:45,029 there, like, at midnight one night. I think he had his gun on 407 00:31:45,029 --> 00:31:48,389 him or something. I don't know. Anyway, going down there, helping 408 00:31:48,389 --> 00:31:50,949 me. And that could be rehearsed over and over again of 409 00:31:50,949 --> 00:31:57,729 deacons who have served in that capacity. A servant willing 410 00:31:57,729 --> 00:32:02,209 to serve. I miss Brother Lassiter. I miss the Lassiters, both 411 00:32:02,209 --> 00:32:05,809 of them. But Brother Lassiter came to me the last time he was nominated. 412 00:32:05,809 --> 00:32:08,409 He served as a deacon for nine years, and you have to rotate off 413 00:32:08,409 --> 00:32:12,169 one year. So he served three, rotated off one, served three, rotated 414 00:32:12,169 --> 00:32:17,049 off one. The last time he was nominated, he said, pastor, I. You 415 00:32:17,049 --> 00:32:19,949 know, I really can't move tables anymore, and I can't. I can't 416 00:32:19,949 --> 00:32:23,989 move chairs around and I can't come up and, you know, paint or I 417 00:32:23,989 --> 00:32:26,789 just can't physically do it. I said, brother Lasseter, we don't 418 00:32:26,789 --> 00:32:31,669 need you for that. We don't need you for that. There are many 419 00:32:31,669 --> 00:32:34,989 other ways you can serve, and Brother Lasseter is so faithful to 420 00:32:34,989 --> 00:32:38,709 serve this church, so faithful to be at visitation, so faithful 421 00:32:38,709 --> 00:32:43,349 to help, visit and follow up, so faithful to give the pastor some 422 00:32:43,429 --> 00:32:46,729 advice now and again. He was such a blessing in that way. One 423 00:32:46,729 --> 00:32:50,969 of the most wise men I've ever met, and I'm appreciative of that. 424 00:32:55,449 --> 00:32:59,609 The deacons represent. Were to represent the apostles to the people 425 00:32:59,609 --> 00:33:04,969 and not vice versa. You can think about that on your own. Here's 426 00:33:04,969 --> 00:33:07,769 one I never thought about this one as I did the study this time. 427 00:33:09,129 --> 00:33:12,439 I'll ask some of the former pastors in here. Think about this 428 00:33:12,439 --> 00:33:18,159 one. Although we see deacons teaching and preaching like Stephen 429 00:33:18,159 --> 00:33:24,599 and Philip, it's never found to be a qualification. And though 430 00:33:24,599 --> 00:33:27,959 I was taught growing up that in order to Be a deacon. You need 431 00:33:27,959 --> 00:33:32,919 to be able to teach and preach. And we have not made that 432 00:33:32,919 --> 00:33:36,559 a qualification at Heritage. And you can't find it in the Bible 433 00:33:36,559 --> 00:33:42,449 anywhere. If you have a deacon who can teach and preach. It's the 434 00:33:42,449 --> 00:33:45,609 gift of teaching and preaching that is talked about. In other words, 435 00:33:45,609 --> 00:33:49,809 they have a double gift, but it really isn't found in the Scripture. 436 00:33:49,809 --> 00:33:53,368 So there may be another misnomer that some of us may have 437 00:33:53,368 --> 00:33:56,289 had in our head that's not found in the Scripture, though we 438 00:33:56,289 --> 00:33:59,969 have examples of. Especially think about Stephen man in Acts, 439 00:33:59,969 --> 00:34:02,569 chapter seven, preaching to that crowd and them stoning him. 440 00:34:03,759 --> 00:34:07,359 And then he says, I see Jesus standing at the father right hand, 441 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:13,679 thinking about Philip and others. Okay, all right. Pastors 442 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:18,399 are not to be dictators, but leaders. Again, I already said I 443 00:34:18,399 --> 00:34:21,439 was thankful for. I'm not only thankful for pastoring this church, 444 00:34:21,439 --> 00:34:24,919 but I'm thankful for men who have been examples to me. I think 445 00:34:24,919 --> 00:34:28,359 about Eddie Johnson and I talk to him often, or at least text him 446 00:34:28,359 --> 00:34:33,419 often, my pastor. I'm thankful for my dad, who were good examples 447 00:34:33,419 --> 00:34:38,819 of leaders. And I even think about Roy Martin and I think about 448 00:34:39,619 --> 00:34:44,339 Brother McCaskill and Brother Tuck. I go on and on Brother Jernigan. 449 00:34:44,499 --> 00:34:49,379 I actually talked to Nathan here a while back and I told Nathan, 450 00:34:49,379 --> 00:34:53,779 his son, what a blessing Brother Jernigan was to me. And I 451 00:34:53,779 --> 00:34:56,219 named off the things that I learned from Brother Jernigan. Every 452 00:34:56,219 --> 00:35:00,708 pastor who's been in my life, the influence they've had, the blessings 453 00:35:00,708 --> 00:35:06,708 they are. And then apostles is a transitional office. It doesn't 454 00:35:06,708 --> 00:35:10,668 happen anymore. Anybody who claims to be an apostle is a false 455 00:35:10,668 --> 00:35:18,588 prophet. Run from them. Oh, you know apostle so and so. I like 456 00:35:18,588 --> 00:35:25,589 to hear him. Don't listen to them. Don't give them an ear. And 457 00:35:25,589 --> 00:35:29,309 then deacons serving and helping. And again, what a blessing 458 00:35:29,309 --> 00:35:33,589 our deacons have been over the years. God's good. Amen. And God 459 00:35:33,589 --> 00:35:36,509 has set up the governance of the church. The Lord has set up the 460 00:35:36,509 --> 00:35:39,388 governance of the church, the polity of the church. And he set 461 00:35:39,388 --> 00:35:43,629 it up now with two offices. The office of a deacon, the office 462 00:35:43,629 --> 00:35:48,429 of a pastor. And yes, they had a treasure. And yes, we have trustees 463 00:35:48,429 --> 00:35:51,719 here as well. And certainly there are other things we can put 464 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:56,319 in place as the church decides to do those things. But we can never 465 00:35:56,319 --> 00:36:00,079 say those are church offices, if you understand what I'm saying. 466 00:36:00,639 --> 00:36:05,039 God placed those two offices in the church. Let's all stand, have 467 00:36:05,039 --> 00:36:13,199 a verse invitation. Tonight we'll sing hymn 159, Jesus, I come 468 00:36:13,599 --> 00:36:17,439 After We Pray Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and we 469 00:36:17,439 --> 00:36:22,519 thank you for the blessing of structure in the church that allows 470 00:36:22,599 --> 00:36:28,359 the church to function in a very Christ honoring manner. I pray 471 00:36:28,359 --> 00:36:32,919 God we continue as a church to follow the Bible's definitions and 472 00:36:33,319 --> 00:36:37,119 the actual structure the Bible gives us and not to follow the tradition 473 00:36:37,119 --> 00:36:41,159 of men. And may we Lord serve you. May we keep the goal to reach 474 00:36:41,159 --> 00:36:43,749 people with the Gospel in Jesus name, Amen. As.