We warmly welcome you to this most historic and happy occasion for the congregation here, as we see to the ordination and installation service of our brother, Mr. Alistair Brown, to the eldership of the congregation here in Portland. Please take your order of service. We're turning to the opening psalm that we find there. I waited for the Lord my God. All hymns have been chosen and psalms by Mr. Brown this evening. And so we'll sing to God's praise and to his glory. We'll rise to sing when we get the opening notes of music, please. The opening psalm, the psalm number 40, I waited for the Lord my God. ♪ For the Lord my God and patiently did bear ♪ ♪ And thankfully He did deny my voice and cry to hear ♪ ♪ He took me from my father And from them I reclaim, And on our only step I lead, Establishing my way. Prepare and use of him my life, ♪ Who might be wife ♪ ♪ Many shall see it and shall fear ♪ ♪ And on the Lord rely ♪ ♪ Blessed is the man who trusts ♪ ♪ Respecting not the cry for such ♪ ♪ As burn a sign to light ♪ ♪ O Lord, my God, though many are weak ♪ The wonders thy has done, thy gracious love to us were kind. Above, above, our God, ♪ If I would sing of them they know ♪ ♪ And have me not forgotten ♪ ♪ Let all who seek thy face ♪ ♪ And still be glad in Thee ♪ ♪ Good-bye, salvation, thoughst still ♪ ♪ The Lord exalted be ♪ ♪ I'm poor and needy evermore ♪ be a bearer of faith. The Lord my Savior and my help, my God, no tyrant may. We are delighted, and we do mean this, we are delighted to have the former minister of the congregation here, our brother, the Reverend David Linden. We have a good relationship here, I must say, and I'll say it publicly because I've said it privately many occasions, the way that Mr. Linden has conducted himself as a retired minister of this congregation is outstanding. And we appreciate that and we thank him for his many years of labor here in the congregation. Over three decades of faithful ministry was our brother Mr. Brown's minister. I think he was telling us there that he saw him about a day after or two days after he was born. And so he went to the hospital to see Eve and Alistair there in the hospital. And so we're thankful that Mr. Linden is here. He's going to come and open our service in a word of prayer. Thank you. Just before we pray, could we take the opportunity of congratulating our brother Alistair on his election to the eldership here in Portlanone. It's a great joy for me and to see our brother in this situation and to be here tonight at this particular service. As I've already said to our brethren, I met Alistair for the first time when he was a wee baby in hospital, a day or two old. And it's been a joy for me to see the Lord's hand upon him, to see him coming to faith in Christ, and to see him walking with the Lord's been my joy to see him walking in truth, walking with the Lord. And here we are tonight and the Lord certainly has had his hand upon him and has now brought him to this place where he will be ordained and installed as an elder in this church. We know it's a position of great responsibility, great solemnity, and yet we know that our brother tonight has the hand of God upon him He has shown that grace of God in his life. And so we do congratulate him on being elected to this position. We congratulate the congregation also in their election of our brother. And we trust that the Lord will continue to bless them and do them good here in the congregation in Portland Owen. We look to the Lord in prayer. Eternal God and our Heavenly Father, we bow before Thee in prayer. We thank Thee that we can come into Thy presence, coming through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for His atoning work and for His sacrificial work in Calvary. We thank Thee, Lord, for the precious blood that He shed and for that cleansing of sin that is ours in and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice tonight in a saviour who has satisfied the justice of God on behalf of all of those who repent of sin and put their trust in him for salvation. And so, we bow before thee tonight to thank thee for all of the privileges that are ours in Christ. We do pray, Lord, again, that thou would accept of our thanks for thy good hand upon thy child and our brother Alistair. We thank thee for thy saving grace in his life, and for the evidence of that grace, for his walk with God, even in the days of his youth. We thank thee, Lord, that here tonight there is that testimony born of one who has been born again of the Spirit of God. and by the grace of God who walks with thee. We pray that thou would bless him, Lord, tonight, and that thou would have him to know that sense of thy presence with him. We thank thee for the wisdom of God that thou hast given to him, that grace that is found in his life, thy goodness to him, Lord. right throughout his life. We thank thee for the early years of learning. We thank thee for a godly home that thou hast had Alistair to be brought into. We thank thee, Lord, for the goodness of God and his days and the days gone by. We do thank thee for giving to him a godly wife in our sister Sharon. And we pray that thou would bless them both together. And remember the boys, we pray again for them, that each one of them will know the saving grace of God, that they will know thee, and love thee, and walk with thee, and serve thee, and stand for thee. Lord, we pray that thou would do this little family good in these days. we commit our brother to thee afresh. We thank thee, Lord, for thine hand upon the work of God. We thank thee for the blessing of God that is evident here under the ministry of thy servant and our brother, Mr. Stewart. We pray that thou would continue to bless, Lord, and lead on, and we pray that many more souls will be added to the church, and so we commit them to thee. Lord, we come to thee again tonight at this time, and we pray for this service. Pray thine hand to be upon it. We pray, O God, that thou would lead and guide all who will take part. We acknowledge tonight, Lord, at this special service of ordination of an elder. We think even tonight of the elders of the past, We think of those that thou hast taken home to be with thyself in glory. The Lord of mine tonight would even go to the Lamont family. We think of the home call of Mrs. Lamont. No, God, our minds are taken then even to the home call of our late husband, some years gone by now, when thou didst take him home to be with thyself. And we think of his service, Lord, in the session here in Portlanone for many, many years. And other elders, Lord, that thou hast taken home. Think of our brother Stuart, Logan. We think of our brother Sam Rowe. We, Lord, remember the service that they gave. But we thank thee that thou, Lord, hast made up the hedge. We thank thee that thou hast filled the gaps that were left. And, O God, we thank thee for godly men that thou hast brought into this position. We pray that thou would continue to bless them and thy servant, Reverend Stewart, in these days in the work here in Portlanone. Remember, O God, this service. We pray for every part of it. The singing of the songs of Sion, Lord, we pray, that thou would have these to be sung from our hearts, Lord, praise unto thee. Do remember, we pray, the asking and answering of the ordination questions. Pray, Lord, for the preaching of thy word. We pray tonight that that word will be applied to every heart by the Spirit of God, that it might be a saving word to those that are yet unsaved, that it might be a blessed and an edifying word to thy people, a word even, O God, for those who would be cold in heart and backslidden, to call them back again to fellowship with thyself. So we lay the meeting before thee. Undertake and help, bless in every part, and we pray, Lord, that from this service that thou would get all the praise and all the honor and all the glory. Answer prayer, we pray. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. We'll take the order of service, we'll sing our second hymn, to God be the glory, great things he has done. We appreciate the Reverend Lyndon for leading us in prayer. Let's stand to sing and we get some notes of music here, the second on your order of service, please. To God be the glory, great thanks he hath done, so loved in the world that he gave us his Son. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. ♪ To the Father, to Jesus the Son ♪ ♪ And give him the glory, great things he hath done ♪ ♪ O perfect redemption, the purchase of God ♪ ♪ To every believer, the promise of God ♪ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice! through the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory great things he hath done. Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done, and great are rejoicing through Jesus the Son. and greater well-being. Our wonder, our transform when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. Well tonight's meeting meets under the General Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and we're delighted to have two of our our office bears, obviously our moderator, the Reverend Samuel Murray, who's with me here in the pulpit, and also our deputy moderator, the Reverend or Dr. Ian Brown. And the Reverend Brown is going to come and now conduct the official part of tonight's meeting. Thank you. Comes to the solemn part of the meeting, but it is one brown to another. And I'll do the hard part. I'll ask all the long questions, and then you can come in with, what, two-word answers each time? We will get through all of these 15 questions. Have you the experience of the new birth and do you believe that it is only by the power of the infilling of the Holy Spirit that you can make full proof of your eldership? I have and I do. Do you believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament not merely to contain but to be the verbally inspired word of the living God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice? I do. Do you sincerely receive and believe the Westminster Standards and the Articles of Faith of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures? I do. Will you subscribe the said confessions and articles as a confession of your own faith? Are you firmly resolved through divine grace to adhere to the doctrine contained in the said confessions and articles and teach and defend it to the utmost of your power against all error? I am. Do you promise to be zealous and faithful in maintaining the truths of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and in working for the purity and peace of the church? whatever persecution or opposition may arise unto you on that account. I do. Will you maintain at all costs a personal reputation and vain worldly popularity, the distinctives of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and the three fundamentals of the faith as set out by Dr. Henry Cook, the Trinity, the vicarious atonement of Christ, the necessity of the work of the spirit to originate faith and repentance in the heart of man. I will. Actually, this is a very historic occasion because most of you local folk will know, but this pulpit I am led to believe was the one that was virtually dedicated by Dr. Henry Cook back well over 100 years ago. in Ballymena. Just an aside, but it's relevant given the reference we've made here to Henry Cook. Will you maintain with all strength God shall give you the position on biblical separation from apostasy as taken by the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in 1951 at the time of its secession from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland? As God helps you, will you expose and resist the continued apostasy from Christ manifested within Irish Presbyterianism, Methodism, Episcopalianism, and other visible church bodies, exhorting God's people to obey the teaching and commandment of 1 Timothy 6, verses three to five. As God helps you, will you expose and resist the errors of Romanism and all other false religions and the errors of charismatism with all of its counterfeits of the genuine doctrine of the person and work of the Holy Spirit? I will. Do you affirm and promise to uphold the Free Presbyterian Church's position on the free offer of the gospel? I do. Do you believe the Presbyterian government and discipline of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster to be founded on and agreeable to the Word of God? And do you promise to adhere to it and support it and to yield submission and be in subjection to your brethren as is taught in the Word of God? I do. Will you publicly oppose and expose the immorality and social vices of this present evil world, such as drinking, dancing, and gambling, and by example, live righteously, soberly, and godly before all men? I will. Will you maintain the purity of the communion feast and by all scriptural and lawful means resist any attempt to weaken the testimony of the church in her stand for a born again communicant membership? I will. Do you engage to be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all private and personal duties which become you as a Christian and ruling elder, as well as in all relative duties and the public duties of your office, endeavoring to adorn the profession of the gospel by your conversation? and walking with exemplary piety before the flock over which God shall make you overseer? And are you now willing to take the office of ruling elder in this congregation, promising to discharge the duties of an elder to them as God shall give you strength? I do and I am. Mr. Alistair Brown, having answered the prescribed questions, will now sign the following. I believe the Westminster Confession and the Articles of Faith of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster to be founded on and agreeable to the Word of God, and as such I subscribe them as the confession of my faith. Our brother has been elected by the members of this congregation to serve as an elder. That election having been sustained by a vote of the presbytery and him having answered the required questions, we move to his ordination. At this point, those of us in the pulpit are going to step down to the front on the platform. I'd also like to ask if there are any members of our presbytery, ministers or elders, if you would come forward please to the front for the laying on of hands and the ordination prayer. So we'll just do that at this point in time. Could I also ask if the congregation would please stand? my own hands brother in the name of the lord jesus christ the great head and soul king of the church and by that authority which he has given to the church for its edification we do now ordain and install you mr allister brown as an elder of this congregation, and for this purpose, may the blessing of God rest upon you, and the Spirit of God fill your heart. Amen. Please let us unite our hearts together in prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray that the solemnity of this occasion will not be lost on any of us. I pray, Lord, that Thy Spirit will reveal to us and teach us how serious a matter this is, how solemn an occasion this is. When a child of God is set apart to rule in this local church, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord, sometimes we are overwhelmed at that very thought that the Son of God and the head of the church would even give us any part in the extension of His kingdom, in the ruling of His church, in the governance of His people. For we feel so unworthy. We know, Lord, that we are all in this congregation tonight sinful people, born in sin and shaping in iniquity. But we thank you there is deliverance with the Lord. We thank Thee for the imputed righteousness of Christ, and we stand alone upon redemption ground. We have no claim tonight to anything good in us. We're full of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, but we have a Savior who was our substitute, and He had no wounds or bruises or putrefying sores. He was perfect, the spotless, pure Lamb of God, who died in our guilty room instead. And so, Lord, we're standing upon redemption ground. We're depending upon Christ. And our brother is going to depend upon thee as he seeks to govern in this church and to rule and to guide and to teach and to give encouragement. And we pray, Lord, that from this night on, our brother will know the Lord's help. that his ministry among the people will be truly owned and blessed of God. We thank thee for the news we've heard of his upbringing in this church. Lord, we would say, praise the Lord for a young man who grew up in the church, who stayed in the church, who proved himself in the church, and who has been elected to office in the church. We pray, Lord, that his example will be replicated throughout the free church, that many, many more young people will do exactly what he has done, give themselves to the work of God that God has called them to. Lord, we pray that his life here and his ministry here will be truly blessed. Bless his family, bless the congregation, the minister, the elders, the deacons, the labourers, And the ones who aren't saved, Lord, save in this church. Lord, we pray that Christ will come and have his place, his rightful place, in every heart here in Portland home. So, Lord, we leave our brother in thy care and in thy keeping. Use him, we pray, in the days that lie ahead, for we ask all these things in the Savior's great name. Amen. Amen. The congregation may now be seated. Thank you for your reverence and respect. God bless you all. Well, at this time, I just have a little presentation to make, so I'm going to ask our brother, Mr. Brown, our brother Alistair, to come just to the pulpit here at this time, and I'll make it very short and a brief presentation. To mark this happy and historical occasion in your life, our brother Alistair is an elder of this congregation. We want to, on behalf of the church family here, to present to you a copy of the Word of God to present to you a copy of the Holy Scriptures. It is the Christian's only rule of faith and practice. This is truth upon which the church is built and upon which the church advances. Prize it and also love it. Publish it and defend it. May God, by his Spirit, come upon you, brother. And may we serve together, and may we rule well together as elders in Christ's church. Our brother, Mr. Brown, will have an occasion to testify at some stage, and so he'll be looking forward to that, I'm sure, and he'll have an opportunity to address the congregation at some stage. But we want to thank all who have come this evening to this service, this most special service in the church. We believe that Christ loves his church, and one of the ways by which he shows his love for the church is by setting elders into the church. and setting officers to rule his church. And we trust that God will therefore come and bless as the service continues. We welcome our moderator, the Reverend Samuel Murray. We also welcome his wife. here this evening. We're so glad of that. We welcome Dr. Brown, the Reverend Brown. We welcome his wife. We're so glad to see Mrs. Brown as well. Mr. Linden, and also Mrs. Linden, we welcome you in the Savior's name. And we appreciate, William, you coming all the way from Bushmills. We appreciate you coming. We know that there's this connection with the congregation here, and we really do appreciate. And to all who have come, We welcome you. Can I say that after the service, there is supper provided for everyone. And so do not go home. You'll only go home and make your own tea. And so you can stay for tea and supper this evening. They'll be served as you'll make your way in through this little room and come out the other side. But we'll make a little announcements with regard to that at the end of the service. Can I thank all those who helped with regard to our gospel mission. We're not going to rehearse all we said this morning. We're just asking that you'll pray on that God will continue to speak even through the word as it has been preached. To remind you of the services Wednesday night, God willing, is our Bible study and prayer meeting. I'll be bringing a word showing A few short videos that have come to us from the mission field with regard to our new missionaries in Uganda and Kenya. You're maybe wondering, well, how are they getting on? And maybe you're praying for them. Will you come on Wednesday night and those little brief videos, three, four minutes long each, and you'll be able to see all that is happening and a little report with regard to how they're getting on. Then we'll have a time of prayer. We're going to pray over all that has been done. over the last number of weeks with regard to the gospel mission. Thursday night, ladies, it is your second meeting of the Ladies' Fellowship at 8 p.m. The Reverend and Mrs. Johnson, the Reverend Ron Johnson and his wife will be along to take the meeting. Mrs. Maureen Keane will be along with her stall, and so do come prepared for that. Ladies, tea will be served after that particular meeting. And do make every effort, ladies, young, old, whoever you are. connected with this congregation or even beyond, you're more than welcome to join the ladies on Thursday night at 8 p.m. Friday night, our children's meeting, 8 p.m., the Youth Fellowship, and the Reverend Linden will be along to speak to the young people, and we're delighted for that. Young people, come and encourage God's servant, and I know that your heart will be challenged. Next Lord's Day, the first Lord's Day in the month of December, and so we get up that little bit earlier for early time of prayer at 8 a.m. in the church hall or Sabbath school, Sunday school, and Bible class at 10.45, 12 noon. The family worship service, 3.30, the biweekly open air on our main street, 6.30. And in the will of God, I'll be preaching at all services, including the open air, God willing, this week or this week coming at 3.30 in the will of God. Little devotional booklets there, days of praise. If you didn't get it on the way in, well, then you can avail yourself of that. Let the Bible speak. Calendars, the wall planner, they are there. They've been taken away, but you'll maybe get them on Wednesday night. They're priced at four pounds. And then in recent days, our congregation has known death to visit families within our congregation. And among that grouping of people, again, we extend to the Gillen family, to Linda, to Alistair. On the passing of Linda's father, Mr. Houston Coulter, We're so glad that Houston came to faith in Jesus Christ, and he came to Christ at over 80 years of age, 82, that man came to faith in Christ. And thank God for that, and God gave him a good year and a half to tell others of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for him. Honored to take that funeral service there on Friday past. And then, sadly, we announce the death of Mrs. Nan Lamont, our dear friend and sister. We remember Nan so fondly in this congregation. And our sister went to be with her Savior yesterday morning. And God willing, that service is planned for Tuesday. And I just say that there have been a lot of deaths in the community, and as a result, that is only penciled in for Tuesday. You need to continue to keep an eye on funeral times. They are aiming for a Tuesday funeral, but I've been made aware by Brian. the son of the family at that funeral and there has been many deaths and because the offices are closed in the council and all of that has to be arranged tomorrow morning. You pray that that service will be able to take place here in this house 12 noon on Tuesday. If you could come along that will be a great encouragement to the Lamont family. The wake is in Brian's home this evening at 46 Maboy Road and also tomorrow between the hours of three in the afternoon to nine o'clock at night, you'll be able to meet the family there. And again, as I've said, God willing, the funeral is to take place on Tuesday at 12 noon in this house, and I will have the opportunity to preach again at that service. We'll turn in our hymn sheet here in our order of service, and we'll sing this tremendous hymn, And Can It Be, that I Should Gain, and interest in the Savior's blood. Let's sing heartily this hymn of praise, 263 in the hymn book, And Can It Be. ♪ And I believe that I should gain ♪ ♪ An interest in the Savior's love ♪ ♪ Like he for me who caused this pain ♪ ♪ For me who gave my life ♪ Amazing love, how can it be That I, my love, should die for you? Amazing love, how can it be That Thine I come, just Thine for me? Tristress, the only immortal light, In vain the firstborn Sarah cried, To sign the death of love divine, This mercy all ever vile. His mercy all the earth adored Let angels all night inquire no more He left his mother's womb He stole away the night his grace, Bumbled himself in life's last laugh, Helpless race, dismersed in all, immense and free. If I might be. His mercy all immense and free. For all thy love, if I might be. ♪ Come, my embraced spirit, lay ♪ ♪ Past blinding sin and nature's night ♪ ♪ Thy guiding fumes, my quaking rain ♪ My heart was free. I rose, went forth, and follow Thee. My life was free. My roots went forth and followed Thee. No condemnation, nor I dread Jesus and all in Him is mine. Alive in Him, my living Head, I fold in righteousness divine. Oh, thy uprose, eternal throne, I don't think I gave a special word of welcome to the Brown family and also to the Calderwood family. Those that are present here, Alistair's family and then Sharon's family, but we welcome you. We thank you for coming. Really do appreciate it. We're glad to have the Reverend Murray with us. He's been crisscrossing the country. There have been many installations, ordinations that have been taking place. He was in Castle Derg on Friday night to ordain and install our brother, Mr. Jonathan Jordan, who was also individual here present in this congregation. But we're glad that he's come to bring God's Word, and he's now going to come and do that. Thank you. Would you please turn with me now to 1 Timothy chapter 3 for the Scripture reading. 1 Timothy chapter 3. And as you turn to 1 Timothy chapter 3, I'd like to thank your minister for the kind words of welcome. And for the invitation to come along to take part at this service, it's a joy to be here. It really is. And as a presbytery, we always rejoice when we see the local church strengthening. These are hard days. These are difficult days. Only a fool would say otherwise or even ignore the obvious. These are dark, difficult days. But when we see the Lord doing something, we rejoice. And the Lord has done something for this congregation. He has blessed you with a new elder, and Not only that, he has blessed our presbytery with another elder. So, for that, we give thanks. Doesn't the Bible say, in everything, give thanks? Well, we do give thanks tonight, and we rejoice that we're here on this special occasion with you. We trust that God will bless our brother and his family, and the whole church, importantly known in the days that lie ahead. Now, I would like you to follow the Scripture reading. We'll commence at verse 1. of 1 Timothy, chapter 3. This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth 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 liquor, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man knew 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, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Amen. May God bless His Word to all of our hearts, for Christ's sake. We'll pray together, Father in heaven, We thank Thee for all that has taken place already in the meeting. We thank Thee for our brother and for his ordination and installation. And now as we come to bring the service to a conclusion with the Word of the Lord, I pray that Thou wilt speak through the Scriptures of truth, that Thy Spirit will take this Word and apply it to each and every heart. May our souls be stirred, and may we see Christ in the Scriptures tonight. We pray in the Savior's great name. Amen. Amen. On this special and historic occasion here in Portlanone Free Presbyterian Church, I would like to speak to you from these seven verses that we have read together. I propose to use verse one to introduce the main theme and subject. In verse one, it starts off, this is a true saying. This opening phrase in the Greek means, faithful is the word. It is trustworthy. It is sure. You can believe it. What Paul is about to say is worthy of credence. It is not to be doubted. Now, the same Greek phrase which is used here, this is a true saying, it's also used in 1 Timothy 1.15, and I think most of you will know that verse. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. So, those two statements, this is a true saying and this is a faithful saying, they're the exact same in the Greek. We're in a world now of uncertainty, aren't we? Everything seems so uncertain. Well, in an uncertain world, isn't it good to have a word from God that you can believe? Because it's sure. It's steadfast. It's a more sure word. We've all heard it said that when it comes to certain people, more often they say to you now it's the truth it's the truth i'm going to tell you the truth and it's absolutely certain i'm telling you it's the truth and the more often they say that what happens the more we disbelieve them why they're trying too hard to convince us and you know people are sinners and sinners well they tell lies and the more they try to cover it up the more the lies come out But here it's the exact opposite. When God's servant says, this is a true saying, and this is a faithful saying, he's saying this is the truth, you can believe it. It's absolutely certain. There is no doubt about it whatsoever. And then in verse 1, it says, If any man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work, It's interesting that the words desire and desireth here are two completely different words in the Greek. The first one for desire, it means to reach out after. It describes the external action, not the internal motive. But the second one means a strong passion and refers to an inward desire. So taken together, the two words aptly describe the type of man who wants to become an elder. He has an outward desire for it, but it's born inwardly. The burden for it comes from the Lord. He's not desiring it for his own glory, but he just knows that God has burdened him to do this work, and that's why he desires it. He just wants to fulfill the will of God. He's not out to promote himself. but he believes God has a work for him to do. That's what that verse is speaking of. So the clear implication is this. There are those who have a desire born of God to go into the eldership or to become a minister of the gospel. And the Lord undoubtedly by his spirit often stirs up an earnest, irrepressible desire to preach the gospel or to rule in the church. The desire comes from God, from Him alone. In such a case, we can say there's one of the evidences that that man should be an elder, or that man should be a minister, because he has this desire, a desire that has been given to him by the Lord. But that's only one evidence. That's only one indication. That's only one proof. The apostle here, through the statements that follow verse 1, he's teaching that if this desire is of God, then there must be other additional qualifications that will follow. They'll be there as well. You see, there must be more than just a desire to be an elder or to minister. more than that. So, the apostle proceeds to state the necessary qualifications, and no one who desires the office of the ministry or eldership should conclude that he's called to it unless these qualifications substantially are found in him. And we've read them to you. Think about it like this. A young man might desire to go to Wembley and play in the FA Cup and lift that cup at the end of the match. He might even desire to score the winning goal. When I was a young man, I had visions of me scoring the winning goal. It wasn't a tap-in. It was a volley from outside the 18-yard box. It was a glorious one into the top corner of the net, and I would lift the FA Cup. Right, so a young person could have a desire to do that. But if that young person hasn't the ability to do it, or if that young person doesn't have the qualifications to do it, let's just say he would love to lift the FA Cup, but he couldn't even get a place on, do you have a team in Portland, Portland Football Club? I don't know. If he's not even good enough for that, he'll never lift the FA Cup at Wembley. Sure he'll not. What's the problem? Oh, well, he's got the desire, okay, but he's not qualified. You'll never make it. You know, it's a simple illustration, but there's an important point there. A person could desire the office, but unless the person has the qualifications to do it, they'll not be able to carry it out. The word for bishop here in this portion of Scripture means an overseer or a superintendent in Christ's church. It identifies the men that God has called to lead the church. These men with the desire, with the qualifications, they're called to do it. And our brother has been called of God. We're told in 1 Timothy 5, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. Please do remember to show honor to our brother because God has put him in this position. That's why, because God has done that in his life, and we thank the Lord for doing that. 1 Thessalonians 5, it says, and we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. Get to know them. Respect them. Hebrews 13 and 7, "'Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Our brother has been elected by you and ordained by our presbytery to rule in this church.'" So the first time he, along with his colleagues in session, make a ruling, don't be saying, who do they think they are? He voted for them to do that, to rule in the local church. That's one of the great responsibilities. So, here in the New Testament, we have the bishop, or the elder, the overseer, the pastor. They're all interchangeable terms. And these brethren are responsible for leading the work, for preaching and teaching, for helping out spiritually in the congregation, for enabling the weak to grow in the faith, for caring for the church family, ordaining all their leaders. They have many responsibilities, many responsibilities, but they have to be qualified to do it. Now, tonight, in looking at verses 2 through to 7 in 1 Timothy 3, I want to show you the qualifications that are necessary in an elder. I'm sure these have already been dealt with. However, I want to do something else each time, though. I want to show you how that these graces are a reflection of the beautiful, sinless, perfect nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. These qualifications that are to be in the elders, They reveal what is in Christ. I trust we'll see that tonight. Number one, let me talk to you about one of the great qualifications for the elder. He is to be good. It's simple, isn't it? He's to be good. Why do I say that? Well, verse two, a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior given to hospitality apt to teach. So the elder here, he must be blameless. That means unrebukable. No valid accusation of wrongdoing should be able to be made against him. No flagrant sin can mar the life of a man who must be an example for the people to follow. No man can lay any sin at Christ's door. He is blameless. Not only did he not sin, he could not sin. The Bible says, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. We have a blameless, sinless Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, the Bible says he was holy, harmless, and undefiled, and separate from sinners. What a wonderful description. Even Pontius Pilate was compelled to acknowledge this. For it says in John 19 and 6, when the chief priests, therefore, and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. Our Savior was blameless. Perfect. Not only was he blameless and the elder to be blameless, but he's to be vigilant. The elder must be vigilant. That's what it says in this verse. He must be vigilant. Vigilant here means to be sober-minded or to be on guard. A sober-minded person who is always on guard. Elders must always be watchful in relation to their conduct. They must always be on guard against sin in any form. And our brother here must be vigilant, because the devil will be out to trip him up. He's out to trip up every Christian, but he'll be out to trip up our brother, and that's why he needs to be vigilant. You know, when the enemies of Christ sought to ensnare him, he was vigilant. He was. In Luke 14, when they hoped to undermine him for healing a sick man on the Sabbath day, Christ put a question to them in order to put a stop to their criticism. He was vigilant. This is what he said, Luke 14, which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day." And they could not answer him again to these things. They were saying, how dare you heal a person on the Sabbath day, breaking the Sabbath? And he said, hold on. Sure, wouldn't you fellas look after your animals? They were injured or hurt on the Sabbath day. And the Savior was very wisely just saying, a person's more important than an animal. You would deny me the right to help a person, but you wouldn't deny yourself the right to help an animal. And the Savior, by putting the question to them, was exposing their hypocrisy very graciously, very gently, very firmly, very wisely, using vigilance. As well as that, the elders, to be sober, That word sober there in verse 2 is an interesting word. It means to be of a sound mind, a sound mind. An elder is someone who follows sound reason, who is not given to outbursts of anger. The idea is here that he should have his desires and passions under the control of God's Word and under the control of God's Holy Spirit. should be prudent. An elder is not to fly off the handle on any occasion. He's to be a sober man. In the gospel of Luke chapter 10, there was a lawyer. He tempted Christ. He pretended that he was seeking instruction from the Lord regarding eternal life. Well, in fact, he was attempting to perplex the Lord, which, of course, he was going to fail in. He was going to try and lead the Lord, if possible, to contradict the teachings of the law, which, of course, he was going to fail in, obviously. But he was attempting to do this. Our wonderful Lord did not take the bait. You have to learn as a Christian not to take the bait. You have to learn to be sober. Be of sound mind. Not to fly off the handle, the Lord didn't take the bait. He gently told the man the story of the good Samaritan and brought out the gospel. Here's a man trying to tempt Christ. Christ just turns it around and brings a gospel message to him. Not only is the elder to be sober, it says here he's to be of good behavior. How would I describe that to you? Good behavior? I'll put it to you this way. The elder's to be a gentle man. That's what he's to be. His behavior must always demonstrate that he is a good man. He must be a man whose heart is sanctified, whose spirit is filled, and this will be seen in what? In his behavior. That's how you know what a person really is. You don't know the heart. You can't see it. You can see their behavior. That's all you need to see. The way they get on, that tells you all you'll need to know. An elder's to be a man of good behavior. Do you remember the rich young ruler coming to Christ to inquire about eternal life? How did he address the Lord Jesus? Good master. Good master. He did this because he knew by Christ's words and by Christ's actions that he was good. How else was he going to know the Lord was good? He knew by what the Lord said and what the Lord did. He's a good man, good master. May every Christian here be reputed for good behavior. because we follow in the footsteps of our good master. Don't just say, he's the good master. Say, how does that apply to me? I'd need to be a good Christian, a good Christian. And of course, it goes on to say, given to hospitality. Elders are to be welcoming to all people, friends and strangers, friends and strangers who come to their homes, friends and strangers who come to their churches. Elders are to be people given to hospitality. And this will happen when we have the love of Christ in our hearts. If we love him, then we will love others. We will even love our enemies if we love Christ. The enemies of Christ frequently pointed the finger at him. Do you remember that? They tried to undermine his credibility by saying he's the friend of publicans and sinners. Well, you know, while they used that against him, they couldn't have said a truer word. They couldn't. Why? Because he was the friend of publicans and sinners. He did care about those people. He sought to reach them, to teach them repentance and faith and salvation and deliverance from their sin. Of course he reached out to them. We have to reach out to people. be given to hospitality, and, as well as that, apt to teach. Elders should be instructive by word and example, and Christ was the greatest teacher of all. Nicodemus said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. May the members of our congregations be able to say that our ministers and our elders are teachers come from God. May our brother that God has gifted to this congregation be a teacher come from God. Teacher by example, by his words. If we follow Christ's good example, then we will have a good testimony. But we'll come to that in a minute or two. So, the elder's to be good. He's to be something else. He's to be gracious. I must move quickly. He's to be gracious. Look at verse 3. Not given to wine. No striker. not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous. No striker, what does that mean? He's not to be given to blows. Elders must react to difficult situations calmly and quietly. 2 Timothy 2 24, and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men. As leaders in Christ's church, we are to be gentle towards everyone. Under no circumstances, no circumstances, must the elder ever use physical violence. Do you remember when they buffeted and smote the Lord with the palms of their hands? He neither raised his voice nor raised his hand against them. He was submissive. The substitutionary lamb of God was no striker. elders also did patient. That word patient there means gentle or moderate. Gentle, moderate. The idea here is that of being considerate and gracious, quick to pardon failure, and one that does not hold a grudge. This is how the Lord treated Peter. Remember Peter? He let the Lord down with oaths and curses. That was a sad day for Peter. And how did Christ treat him? He said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you, sweet, but I have prayed for thee. Isn't that wonderful? That's lovely. Peter had let the Lord down. And the Lord, in a gentle, moderate, patient way, says to him, but I have prayed for you. Can we say that about those who let us down, who disappoint us? But I pray for you. That's what Christ did. The elders not to be a brawler. Do you see that? That means the elders are to be peaceful men, men who are reluctant to fight, men who do not promote disunity or disharmony in their homes, in their families, in their workplaces, or in their churches. are not to be brawlers. Our Lord was no brawler. You'll never find that about Christ. He was gracious, so gracious. When confronted by the hypocrites who brought the woman taking an adultery to Him, He could have said a lot of things to those men. The Lord could have said, Who are you to be accusing anybody? And what about you? You're the worst one in this room. And what about you? I know how you treat your wife at home when nobody's about. The Lord could have said all of those things to those men, but he didn't. He just said, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. Do you see how quietly and graciously the Lord dealt with that? Oh, we might in this day and age get up, and I'll do this, and I'll do that, and I'll... Well, that's not the Lord's way. Absolutely not. Not covetous. The elders are not to be motivated by a love for money or greed, etc. They're in the work of God and ministers too, for the Lord. For the Lord. That's it, we're to be. And the Lord Jesus Christ, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, he came to give, not to get, didn't he? Oh, yes. He came to give himself a ransom for many. He came to lay down his life that we might be saved. He came to give us eternal life. He came to give, not to get. May we be giving Christians, not covenants. Quickly then, the third thing, the elders to be a governor. I say that because of verse four and verse five of 1 Timothy 3. It says there, one that ruleth 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? The word ruleth there means to preside over or to be over, to preside over or to be over. The idea there is not necessarily that of ruling with a rod of iron. but of taking responsibility, guiding and assisting. This loving leadership will be more successful in winning children than of using the proverbial hammer or to crack a nut. That rarely works. Rarely works. The elder is to take responsibility for his household. It's a necessary qualification. They must govern their own houses well. How essential? Well, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer, the head of the church, he is the great governor and ruler of his people, isn't he? The government is upon his shoulders. We are so thankful that every time we make a mistake or let the Lord down or sin, he doesn't humiliate us or hurt us or get a big stick out and batter all around him, does he? No, no, no, he does not. He lovingly and graciously Appropriately chastises, yes, but with a view to restoration. I think of how he treated David when David fell. I know the sword didn't depart from David's house because of his fall and what he did, et cetera, et cetera. I know that. But I also know this. The Lord mercifully showed David his sin. And when David repented, he was washed and he was cleansed and God restored to him the joy of his salvation. The Lord lovingly reached out to David. And look what David did. What an example to follow. That's a challenge, isn't it? We're quick to cut people off, and so-and-so's no good, and so-and-so's no good, and they've done this, and they've done that. The Lord just showed to David that he could be washed throughly from his iniquity and cleansed from his sin. He was purged with hyssop. Made clean again and restored. What a loving spirit. Fourth thing, the elder is someone who must have graduated. Look at verse six. He's not to be a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Now a novice is somebody newly come to the faith, recently saved. A Christian who's young in the faith and not experienced is not to be ordained as an elder. Why? Because that person might get carried away with pride. Look at me, only just saved, and I'm an elder already, and some of you people have been in the church for 30 years. You never made it to eldership, but I did. Look at me, haven't I done well? And that might happen, you know, and the Lord knows that. The Lord doesn't want that to happen. If this were to happen, that person might actually, according to these words, fall into the condemnation of the devil. What is the condemnation of the devil? Well, he was condemned because he was full of pride. And he wanted to be elevated even more. And he was cast out because of his pride. That's the condemnation of the devil. And the Lord is teaching here, you wouldn't want somebody to be a novice with no experience and to be built up and then have to be cast out. People have to prove themselves in the work of God. It takes time to do that. It's the same in the workplace. A young apprentice comes in. Well, that apprentice isn't going to become the chief executive officer overnight. He'll have to work his way up. It's natural. It's normal. Nothing wrong with that. It's a little bit like that in the Lord's work, too. A little bit. People have to take time to prove themselves. They have to. Of course, when we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was always supremely wise, wasn't he? It says in 1 Corinthians, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. We're not going to be perfectly wise, but he is. He is. He can't fall. He's the one who lifts up the fallen. Maybe you've fallen away from the Lord. He's the one who lifts people like you and me up. He does. So wise and so loving. The elder needs to be good and gracious. He has to be a governor. He has to graduate. Finally, very quickly now, he has to have a good report. Look at verse seven. Moreover, and I'll be very quick now. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Folks, a leader in Christ's church must have an unimpeachable reputation in the unbelieving community. Must have it. Even though people there may disagree with his moral and theological stand, yet he must have a good testimony with them. People can disagree with us because they're not Christians and they don't follow the Word of the Lord and all of that. But if we're living right before them, we'll still have a good report, because they'll have to say, I don't agree with so-and-so in the Bible and all that, but I'll tell you what I do know. That's one good person. That's a good man. That's a good woman. I ask you this in your place of employment. What do they think of you? You say, well, it doesn't matter what they think. It only matters what the Lord thinks. Uh-oh, you're wrong. Ultimately, it matters what the Lord thinks, yes. But it does matter what people think of you. Because according to the Bible, we must have, especially elders and ministers, a good report. We all need to have a good testimony. It does matter what people think. And if we do things that are wrong and have a bad testimony because of our sinful conduct, God is unhappy with us. He's displeased. He doesn't want us to live like that. The Lord Jesus Christ, let me finish by telling you what He did. The Bible will speak for itself here. I'll finish with Acts 10, 38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about, now listen to this, doing good. He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. Isn't that something else? We could say so much about the Lord Jesus Christ, couldn't we? The only Redeemer, the only Savior, the Son of God, speak of His deity, of His omniscience, all of those things. But I finish off with this. He went about doing good. And that's why he had such a wonderful testimony. If we could all strive by the grace of God to live like that, we would accomplish a whole lot more if we went about, like Christ, doing good. May the Lord bless your congregation, your oversight, mine, and all the other churches represented here. And may we seek to follow Christ. and do good in the manner in which he would do it if he were here today in the flesh. May God bless his word to all of our hearts for Christ's sake. Amen. I'll hand back to your minister, Reverend Stewart. the moderator for the Word of God, the reminder to us, setting Christ before us as the great example of elder, the greatest elder, as it were, the greatest overseer, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to exemplify Him in all that we say and in all that we do. May God help me. May God help the eldership here and every believer to follow Christ as our example. We're going to close with the singing of the final hymn together, Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness. And then we're going to remain standing for a very short word of prayer. We're going to give thanks for the food. Now, the food, as I've said, is in this little room here. I'm going to ask the Brown family and the Calderwood family, if you're scattered around in different places, and also the ministers and their wives, we want you to go first because we know that you eat the most. And so you're going to go first. And then they'll join, we'll allow these brethren, you can sit with your wives, I'm sure the parting has been. hard for you, and you can sit with your wives even here at the front. So we just come in back into the church building, and we have the food things here. If you need to leave, that's fine. I'll go to the door, and I'll see you on your way home. But try and stay and enjoy the time of fellowship together. A little picture in the back. Please put that up in your home. Pray for us as the session here in Portland on God's hand will be upon us. And the best days off this congregation. that they'll be ahead of us. And even very soon in the future, God will break out in revival blessing among us. So we'll stand and sing, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness. And the ladies that are helping, you can make your way to your stations, please. Thank you. And stand and sing. ♪ Of righteousness ♪ ♪ My beauty or my glorious dress ♪ ♪ This plainly world in it is arrayed ♪ ♪ With joy shall I lift up my head ♪ ♪ O shall I stand in that great day ♪ ♪ For who but to my charge shall lay? ♪ ♪ Worthy at all, worthy I am ♪ From sin and fear, from guilt and shame, this Father's rule. ♪ The same appears ♪ ♪ When good in nature sings in ears ♪ ♪ No age can change its glorious truth ♪ ♪ The robe of Christ is ever new ♪ Where from the dust of death I rise, to claim my ransom in the skies. In there shall live the Almighty, Jesus hath lived. O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? ♪ I hear thy voice ♪ ♪ I bid thy ransomed ones rejoice ♪ ♪ Their beauty lit, their glorious spread ♪ ♪ Jesus the Lord, our righteous Head ♪ Our loving Father, we thank Thee for this occasion, Lord, the gathering together of a congregation, Lord, the preaching of the Word, the singing of praise, the offering, O God, of our hearts gratitude to our God for all that He has done for this congregation. We pray now, Lord, as we meet around some food, may our fellowship be blessed of God. May we know, dear Father, the sweetness of Thy presence among us. May the good hand of God be upon the congregation even in the days, the months and the years that lie before us. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit rest and remain and abide upon all of thy believing people until the day comes when Christ appears and every shadow of earth will fade and fail away, but we offer prayer in and through the Savior's great and precious name.