There's many things that the narrative out of Acts chapter 20 will help us to see. We're going to include many other pieces of scripture. So you can do one of two things here at this point. You might prefer to just write the references down so that you can examine them later or at a later time, which I think is always a good idea. If you're quick on the draw, you might even beat me to the references that I will send this to will be both Old Testament and New Testament for consideration of how what we see in Acts chapter 20 was done for the benefit of the early church and that it stands as an example for us who may still be the early church. And she may be in the generation in which the Lord returns. So, we will consider what the Word of God is, whether it's short term or long term. We'll plan for the long term and we'll be happy for the short term. Alright? So, there's the back story for us here. Now, I'm not using Acts chapter 20 as a cloaked tipping of the hat that I'm about to be done being your pastor. It will take the Lord's clear changing for me to have any desire to be anywhere but here. And I'll be happy if he does so, but I'll be very happy if he doesn't do so. So I'm not using Paul's lateness in his ministry as some kind of a setup for why you need to select new elders, because I'm on the verge of signing off. We'll talk more of that as we move along and why it's important that we have an ongoing faithful body of elders of the church so that at any point the church moves along rather seamlessly throughout anything that comes along the way. So we have here this essentially in Acts chapter 20 is the setup for the transition of the early church's position of the appointing of the elders. It's a transitional era, if you will. And I think it's even a good way to think of it, even though we'll hear the Apostle Paul make the theological argument that the church is the Israel of God. And so where the church is new, the church has always existed. It existed as the congregation of Israel prior to the assembly of the Gentiles as well as the children of God. The grafting in, if you will. So in one respect, this would be Matthew Henry's, the old Puritan commentator on the Scripture, is that the world has always had a church. There's never been an era of time where citizens of the world did not have a church. a congregation of people that God called unto himself for his glory and for man's good. And so where I'm saying this in the early church, I'm just making the notation here, post death, burial, and resurrection. Where Jesus told his disciples, when he speaks to Peter upon this confession, upon this statement, I will build my church. And Peter's confession is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. So it's not like this is a new thing that civilization has ever had, a congregation of people who believed. But this is the new era. And this is a transitional era. Acts 20. It's a transitional era of the early church. And this is a shift from what we typically would know as the apostolic era. The apostolic age or the apostolic era is this time of those who were present or eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. And so we know that this era, this stage of early church existence is going to have a limited time. These apostles are not going to live on in the temporal position eternally. They will die. And most of them will die brutal deaths, hard deaths because of their belief, because of the confession that they are in agreement with Peter of that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And so we are in this era. The Apostle Paul being the latter of the Apostles and the argument and the qualification that the Apostle Paul is qualified to be of the apostolic age is because of his journey on the road to Damascus, where he has an encounter with the resurrected Lord. Now this is some time past his death, his burial, his resurrection. It's even quite some time past the ascension. I mean, we're talking years past. There that the apostle Paul would be among the last of the apostles, and that he would be in that particular era. So what are the things that this apostolic age, what are these elders, what are these men of God doing? They're planting churches and they are appointing elders. That's the apostolic era. That's how it's being done. They don't have other churches. They don't have other churches in this new era that they can go to and say, hey, by the way, oh, so and so, he came and filled in when our pastor was gone. Can he come now and be our pastor? They don't have that kind of an in-depth building up of a supply of pulpit supply. And so the apostles are walking daily with these elders that they will eventually appoint into these early churches. And so the apostles are God-appointed. The apostles will instruct these God-appointed... These God-appointed apostles will appoint God-appointed elders, God-qualified, biblically qualified. We're using the term biblically qualified. Paul's the one who will lay out the qualifications. And so then we will stand on the authority of the Scripture that the Spirit of God inspired the Apostle Paul to give us the qualifications of an elder. So post-apostolic age, we're in the age where elders have been appointed to churches. They've been doing a diligent job of teaching the people. And these elders are instructing individuals. They're instructing the congregation. And in doing so, these elders are then thus instructed by the Apostle Paul, of those whom you teach, you should raise up to be faithful elders, faithful pastors, faithful bishops. These are all interchangeable words of the same office. And so that's what we see happening. The Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 20 is on his way to Jerusalem. It's somewhat of a a journey where he's certain he's to be either beaten again, arrested, or put to death. He's not, he's not sure. But he's saying, well, based on the pattern of my ministry, one of those things are about one of those three things are about to happen to me. And, and he's and he's going to he wants to meet with the elders. He wants to meet with those brothers. whom he's been walking with on these missionary journeys. And that he's been instructing in the ways of God. And that he's established them as elders in the Lord's church. So he gathers with them. That's what we see in Acts chapter 20, he's gathered with them. And so the apostle Paul makes a couple of things that I think are really helpful for us when it comes to the consideration of looking across the landscape of what God has done, and who God has brought to our fellowship, of who would meet these qualifications, and what would be some of those qualifications. Well, we'll see them most specifically in Titus and in Timothy, these pastoral epistles, as they're called, where there's clear instructions, lay out the qualifications of them. But what we'll learn a few, we'll learn the application of those before we get to the instruction of them. And that is, we learn here in Acts chapter 20 that the Apostle Paul has held nothing back. So think of this. Whenever we read this in the scriptures, that he's called for the elders to gather with him, and that they've hugged upon each other, they've looked at each other, they've wept with each other, they've rejoiced with each other. It's here now that he lays out basically a summarization of his missionary journey. And he says to them in the 18th verse, you yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews. Here it is in verse 20, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable in teaching you publicly, such as this, and in house-to-house and personal discipleship, solemnly testifying to both Jews and the Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." So we hear the Apostle Paul in the application of these qualifications that we were about to read and note and acknowledge them as we pass by. Notice that he says, I've not held anything back from you. We can even hear a little bit of him expressing, hey, now don't get me wrong, my flesh has wanted to hold back. Because whenever the Apostle Paul comes forward and preaches the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, he knows that there will be suffering that will follow quickly behind him. a modern preacher by the name of Stephen Lawson who I've heard him say upon many occasions that we read in the New Testament that everywhere the Apostle Paul went that a riot was sure to follow. And Stephen Lawson says the problem with the modern preacher is that nobody wants to kill him anymore. So his point is why don't they want to kill the preacher anymore? because he's mostly shrinking back. He's afraid if he comes forward with the truth, the whole counsel of God, which is part of the application that we learn in Acts chapter 20, where the Apostle Paul tells these elders, I've given you the whole counsel of God. I've given you everything that I've been instructed to give you by God Himself. So one might wonder, How was it? What was it that really kept the Apostle Paul moving forward when everywhere he went, it seemed as though there would be not just mild opposition, but there would be collaborated opposition. There would be secret meetings of how to dispose of him. There would be public lashings. This isn't even to speak of the chains that he will travel from Jerusalem to Rome in. This isn't speaking even yet of what's still in front of him. This is only about what's happened up until this point. As the narrative of Luke comes to the end or toward the end of the history of the early church here in the book of Acts. Listen, I'll tell you, I get what the Apostle Paul is saying. I don't want to go to jail. I don't think I'm in any danger of going to jail here, unless I break the law. And I should expect that would be worthy of going to jail. But for preaching in this pulpit, in this church, to the people who gather in this place, I don't have to have any fear of going to jail over that. This is something the Apostle Paul, he knew that this could be a real reality. Hey, I get it. I don't want to be ostracized. I don't want to be singled out among the brother pastors in the city as to holding to the whole counsel of God. I mean, that would be the reason to be ostracized, but my flesh says I don't want to be ostracized. I like when other pastors like me. And there are seasons where there are other pastors who like me, Seasons where other pastors really don't like me so much. So I get what the Apostle Paul is saying here. And the application here of the kind of individual that this congregation, this local church known as Eastside Baptist Church, the kind of men that we need to look to, to appoint as elders in this congregation, need to overcome the fear of man. Need to overcome their own emotions of the desire to be liked by everybody. And the Apostle Paul is telling us, I've had to wrestle in these things. I'm there in this. And oh, how happy I am that I didn't shrink back. The Apostle Paul would be abandoned from time to time on his missionary journeys. It would always bring joy to him to learn that some of those who abandoned him along the way came back. And that would indeed be a great joy. There's the kind of men that you need to appoint as elders in this congregation are the kind of men who wrestle through sleepless nights because they've been abandoned. And you need the kind of men who will not let the abandonment distract them or dissuade them from the faithfulness and the boldness of what the Scripture would want for your benefit. So I love... the application of what the Apostle Paul is doing here in Acts chapter 20 for the benefit of these who he's called and gathered together. They've hugged on each other's necks. They've loved each other and they've cared for each other. Even at times, they have ministered to each other while he's been in jail. And they would appoint one of them, here's some food. Who here's brave enough to go down to that jail house and take the brother some food. I don't think there were many times that there would be much of a second of silence. I think that's some of how pleased he was to hear, when he gathered with the brothers in Ephesus, that they would be remembering the time when someone would bring a needed item for the apostle, or they will recall the time when they first brought the Gospel to the city of Philippi. And it was birthed, what appears to be, in a jailer's household after the Apostle was publicly beaten and thrown in jail with his fellow missionary companion only for the Spirit of God to shake the earth and rattle with fear the jailer to hear the Apostle say, don't take your life. For we're all still here, and how that jailer comes as a believing individual. Well, I think this is, so certainly I'm somewhat doing the typical expositional teaching in the backwards form, where I'm starting with application, and then we're gonna move to the practical, the instructional. I think I want to start here because I think that helps us understand when we get there what's in front of us and what kind of things are you going to be willing to appoint men amongst yourselves to be marked and targeted as in a world that will increasingly and that certainly we're in an era, we're in a time where there is an increasing opposition to the joy in communities that there are Bible-preaching churches still in their cities. And we will trust that as the advancement of the Gospel continues on, that that's what will change the hearts. That's what will change the path of a nation. That's what will change the course of legislators, both in states and in nations. And that will come from a faithful proclamation from humble places such as this that will not stop preaching the truth. Now the Apostle Paul will learn in his exhortation to these elders and in his instructions to the pastors what they should do in the appointing of elders. The Apostle Paul is essentially reminding them that if you preach the truth, then the wolves will howl. Now, I don't know if you've ever been out in the wilderness and you've gone away from civilization and some of you are saying, I don't know why anybody would want to do that. I want to, and I enjoy that, and I like that. But there is a rather unnerving sound in the night when you don't know how far away the wolves are. The sound of a howling wolf is very unnerving. Church, you need to understand this. That if you have a pastor who will preach the truth in this pulpit, and if you appoint elders to come alongside and to share the duty and the responsibility of the shepherding of the people of God, then know this for certain, the wolves will begin to howl. And I say, with fear and trepidation, shaking in my boots, I say, let the wolves howl. And if they're not howling, then we have another problem that must be addressed. Now, I think we can say that it is fair to say that in the era and the ages of the church, in the stages of church, throughout church history, that there are times when there are less howling wolves than others. Those are really glorious days. Whenever there's a growing population who fear God, you hear less howling of wolves. The other moment when you will be in an era of time where you will hear less howling of wolves is when the wolves have clothed themselves in sheep's clothing and they're standing in the pulpits of the Lord's church. You will not hear many howling of wolves in those kinds of days. One must say, dear God, help us discern what era are we in. If there's not much howling of wolves today, is it reason for rejoicing? That the gospel has reached and is still reaching masses and hearts are being turned to God. Or are we in a day where the Apostle Paul will write about, the disciples will hear about, they'll know about where there are times when there is a famine of the Word of God. Listen, in Scripture we're warned, aren't we, about wolves who are in sheep's clothing? Isn't it interesting? We're never warned about wolves who are in wolves' clothing. We're warned about wolves in sheep's clothing. So in that respect, we don't hear warnings about... It's somewhat of a position that I won't have the time to fully unpack, but this is something I've been meditating on the last couple of weeks. How often do you hear warnings about sheep who wear wolves' clothing? Well, there are some times you'll hear warnings about not being like the world. But that takes me in a different direction upon the application and the purpose here this morning. By and large, the warning to the church here for our purpose of examination is about wolves who come in among us who are dressed like sheep. And they come in with purpose to devour us. They come in to destroy us. This would be akin to how how the scripture will speak about the enemy who prowls around, not like a howling wolf, but like a ravenous lion, seeking whom he may devour. We have a lot of warnings about the dangers of the sheep, to the sheep, about those outsiders who want to come in. And the reason they want to come in is because they want to shut you up about your gospel, about your Jesus. They want you to stop talking about the requirement of repentance. Believing in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't like your talk of a triune God. They'll put up with nearly anything, but these things that are of the paramount, most important to us, that's when you can make note that there will be wolves who will begin to put on clothing to make it appear as though this is an attractive addition to the Lord's church. Well, we will see this from this position of Acts chapter 20 as we'll move forward here. But one more observation here before we get to the qualifications of who you should appoint as elders. You also need to be looking for shepherds who will stand between the danger and the sheep. In other words, you need to know, is this elder, is he battle ready? Would he be willing to stand between you and the wolf who's dressed in sheep's clothing? Is he willing to point him out? Is he willing to expose the evil that is among us. In other words, we need shepherds who have teeth marks from wolves. They're in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy who wants to destroy what God wants to build. And so then, let's take a few moments and consider... First, let's consider the ancient qualifications of those who will give instruction to and give leading to of God's people, the Israel of God of the Old Testament. And then we'll land here in Titus chapter 1 and 1 Timothy chapter 3 with the qualifications specifically given by the Apostle Paul to the early church. And so if you will, there's two places in the Old Testament that I want to bring your attention to. The first being in 2 Samuel in the 23rd chapter. And this is This is moving toward the close of David's life. Again, I'm not trying to make a correlation here. I don't think I'm ready to expire. I'm not planning on it anyway. This is just us looking at how the Israel of God made certain that the people would appoint the right kind of people into the right places. So this is 2 Samuel chapter 23. Now these are the last words of David. This is verse 1. David, the son of Jesse, declares, The man who is raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob the sweet psalmist of Israel. So before I even get to the second verse, there's some things that one should pay close attention to. Yes, we may have men who are of different ages, and as far as numerical days go, how far away was their birthday, We might have somewhat of a spectrum there, but certainly what we'll have is people who are spiritually advanced. They know that their responsibility is to bring forward the instructions of God. Their job is not to invent Their job is not to bring along and tie ropes to carts and bring them in and say, look at the circus that I brought to town. This will surely bring the masses of peoples. And pastors of old have noted this. These are not new problems that the modern church faces. Throughout church history, the warnings have been, whatever you use to attract lost people with, you'll have to continue doing to keep the lost people there. What will we do to attract people to God? If it's not God, then we're choosing a cheap knockoff and think that they'll somehow be pleased with the knockoff and will be unimpressed with the authentic and the real. No, no. David's making a type of a claim of this In the second verse, the spirit of the Lord spoke to me and his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spoke to me. So again, I'll stop there in the middle part of the third verse. Some things that are going to be extraordinarily important as we move forward with adding additional elders to this local fellowship is what are their viewpoints about the word of God? Is the Word of God the paramount duty that they see? When you look at each other, when you hear from each other, when you observe each other, are you hearing them speak words that are of God? And that is their highest aim, is to put God in front of themselves, in front of their households, and in front of the congregation of God. So, back to verse 3, the God of Israel said, Continuation of verse two, the rock of Israel spoke to me, and here's what he says. He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through sunshine after rain, truly, Is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things and secure. For all my salvation and all my desire will He not indeed make it grow? But the worthless, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns, because they cannot be taken in hand. but the Lord who touches them must be armed, or excuse me, but the man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear and they will be completely burned with fire in their place. So there again is a place of observation Something to lay in the back of our mind when we get to the qualifications. We have these qualifications, they need to have a real impact upon the individual in whom we desire to have in front of us. Helping in the work and in the duty that is in front of us. Go with me to Exodus chapter 18. This again is not an exact application, we're going to benefit from the precepts that are here. In Exodus chapter 18, what we have here is that Moses is just, I mean, Moses is just overtaxed and overburdened. He can't do anything but listen to peddling the irritations amongst each other and households with other households and dealing with petty court issues. Spending all of his day trying to help individuals figure out, and he's doing it with great interest. He wants to help people get along with each other. He wants to help them grow and increase and find joy and peace in life. But Moses doesn't have the time to handle somebody drove through the coffee, the drive-thru coffee shop and they spilled coffee on themselves and burned themselves. Moses doesn't have time to pick that issue up. Moses has peoples whose sons are rebelling and turning away from God. He must give himself to the more urgent, to the more eternal, to the more spiritual. So what does God instruct Moses to do? His father-in-law, Jethro, Moses gets some helpful advice. And we're going to look for the qualifications in the New Testament, but we'll see even the use or the application of those qualifications in place in Exodus chapter 18. So let me begin this reading in the 17th verse. Moses' father-in-law said to him, the thing that you are doing is not good. It's not good that you're giving all of your time to these important things, but they're not the most important things. They're not disputing over property lines because they're going to have to pack up their tents and move along again. They're not having to figure out Hey, your sheep got over with my sheep last night and we're gonna have sheep together, but they're gonna be my sheep and not your sheep. No, Moses has more significant, more important things that he must do. And Jethro comes along and we'll say this is by the aid of the Holy Spirit that he would make such a wise counsel to him. In the 18th verse, we see, you will surely wear out, Moses, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you. You cannot do it, here's the key, alone. Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God will be with you, you and the people's representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God. Then teach them the statutes and the laws and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work that they are to do. Verse 21, furthermore, you shall select out of the people able men. So we're gonna see this is a similar requirement. You're to select among the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate, dishonest gain, and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, of tens. Well, let them judge the people at all times, and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure. And all these people also will go to their place in peace. So again, we have some parallel considerations here. We don't just put up a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board and say, hey, whoever wants to do this, get signed up by the deadline. And at the end of the deadline, here we go. needing, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to discern amongst ourselves who are going to meet these qualifications. And who's going to be able to stand with their armor on and, if necessary, thrust their shepherd staff between the wolf and the sheep to preserve them, to save them. Who's going to be able to stand in the pulpit and give instruction? And say, thus says the Lord, and here's what He has to say. Now go and do this. So that's where we're at. It's important. The Lord has blessed us over many years of having a plurality of elders. It's been a great blessing to me be in this by myself. We just happen to be in a certain stretch of time where one has moved and is physically unable to still act in that position. And another who's been temporarily transplanted until, Lord willing, he comes back. And it could be several more months before that happens. So the aid here is for the whole of the church, for there to be satisfaction, for there to be peace, enjoyment because there is a collaborating effort of men who meet the qualifications that God has laid out and desire for our corporate good that we would know who God is and that we would serve Him and that we would love Him. So let's make way to the New Testament. I won't unfold every piece of these qualifications I wanted to spend the bulk of the time laying the historic foundation. This is not new. This is a new era in church history, but these are not new requirements. Nobody would be surprised that there would be certain individuals among you that you would place in this position. So in 1 Timothy chapter 3, We'll be in 1 Timothy chapter 3, Lord willing, next week when we address the qualifications for deacons as well. This is a trustworthy statement, 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1. This is a trustworthy statement. If any man desires to the office of overseer, there's a fine work that he desires to do. An overseer then must be above reproach The household of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine, I like this next word, or pugnacious, quarrelsome, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his household well. keeping his children under control with all dignity. But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God? And not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that He will not fall into reproach in the snare of the devil. So there's a layout of good qualifications. Let's include what the Apostle Paul says to Titus. They'll be similar. Let's just see. This is not just a one and done kind of time where the Apostle just randomly laid out a few qualifications. This is ongoing. This is consistent. In Titus chapter 1, So for this reason, so he's giving instructions to the elder that he left in Crete. So to Titus, for this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you. Namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accursed or dissipation, or rebellion. For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, quarrelsome, not found in sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. And then there's some explanation. Here's why. Here's why you need it. Because there are rebellious people. There are those who are who are wolves in sheep's clothing. And you're going to need those who know the truth, who have the capacity, so we see this from the Old Testament and the New Testament, have the capacity to give clarity of the parts of Scripture that are difficult to understand. They aid to the people who are hearing. and give clarity to them. Now this dialogue and this discussion about their reputation among the outsiders, we must certainly have some understanding of this. When the outsiders have things that they have against the church or the people of the church, our example needs to be of such upright positions that they have to make up things that we are not guilty of. They cannot say, a negative thing about the character or the reputation of the honesty, of the uprightness of the people of God, the honesty in which they conduct business. The outsiders would have no cause to come into the house of God and say, that person you are about to select as an elder, you know he's never paid off a debt he's had, don't you? Well, if that's the case, then we need to listen to that. And we need to see they do not carry a proper kind of reputation in this house because they've not done what they should do outside the house. So the ought that they bring up against the brothers, against the elders who would lead you, must not be of accurate accusations. They need to be made up. They need to be from a position that you know are not true because you're observing as well. It's hard sometimes to think of examples without getting too personal on things, but I'll bring up this example. Back in 2020, you remember that fun year? Late end of 2019, you remember what was going on? There was a lot of crazy, a lot of crazy things going on. come Easter of 2020. You remember Easter of 2020? I mean, I do. I'm sitting around wondering what police are going to come in and arrest us or find us because we've gathered in the house of God to celebrate the glory of God together. And you know what the community was saying about us during that time? They didn't have many good things to say about your preacher. I don't know that they took the time to say anything about you. but they spoke about your church, which includes you. And I caught wind that your church was, we were being misrepresented in the social media world, which is easy to do, right? Nearly everything's misrepresented in the social media world. But it was being reported that we were gonna have an Easter egg hunt on Sunday when all churches are supposed to be closed. Now that was laughable for me, I love a good Easter hunt, OK? So don't hear me wrong. But I've never asked you to host an Easter egg hunt. I've never asked you to bring a bunny in and let children have their pictures taken with a bunny. I'm not saying I'm opposed to people who do that. And maybe you've got pictures in your photo albums with your children. And I kind of even hope you had some fun with hiding eggs last week. But your church has never hosted these kinds of events. So the chatter in the community was that Eastside Baptist Church. It wasn't really so much that we were going to be open. It was that we were going to have an Easter egg hunt, which we've never done. And so I kind of chuckled inside. Oh, great. The one time we get accused of having an Easter egg hunt was the time when no other church in town was meeting. Well, there were a few others of us. I'm grateful for that. That's what I'm saying. The outside world may have negative things to say about us. But they're going to have to make them up, is what I'm saying. They're not an accurate representation of what we do. Because they know they can't say, well, those good people down there at Eastside Baptist Church, oh, you know, they just don't know any better, and they gathered on Easter Sunday. Well, I mean, how do you stir a community up with that one? Throw in an Easter egg hunt and you got everybody fired up. Well, so the relationship that the church has with the world is somewhat complicated. We ought to be viewed by the world as reputable people. Honest people of integrity. People who love God and fear God. People who love Him and raise God-fearing children. The community will never grow tired of you doing that, by the way. They may accuse you of things that you've never done. But this will be true of the kind of men that you're looking to appoint as elders. Can they endure the ridicule of the world? Can they and do they display the kind of capacity, the spiritual fortitude to stand between the sheep and the wolf? Do they have the ability to stand in the river when the flow of all of society is moving this way? And floating in it are like dead fish doing whatever the current tells them to do. Do you have and will you appoint elders who will know how to stand in that flow and not be swept away by it? That's what the Apostle Paul is saying here. This is what we gain and come and bring into application here from the Old Testament. These are not just ordinary days. And these are not just anyone who signs up on the sign-in sheet will do. These are intentional beings. Now, they're not better than anybody else. And I think this is a really important thing that we understand here. This thing that separates us here And the burden is upon the church in the selecting of elders and eventually even as deacons. What we're doing is we are selecting individuals who we are saying will be judged more harshly by God than we are. Because that's what we do. Elders come along the way with the acknowledgement they will be held with a more strict responsibility under God. So do you see the humility in which you need to be at? In the praying about? In the selecting of other elders in this congregation, we will say, that individual should be under a more strict judgment of God than myself. There will be no reason to shrink away. I think that's part of what the Apostle Paul said. I need to shrink back from this. I gave you the whole counsel. I stayed in this and labored in this with joy for your good. So, look around you this morning. Who is already doing this? At one level, I know what I'm saying. I'm saying judge. Make some judgment calls. Be careful in your judging. You're not here to determine who's better than each other. You're judging who can endure. Who are we going to say, here, we're putting a bigger target on you than the rest of us? Who will do this for you? Who will come alongside? This is too much for Moses to do alone. It's too much for this pastor to do alone. He can't. He doesn't want to do it alone. He simply cannot do it alone. He cannot do it well. His family will suffer from it. His duties will suffer from it. It will be so much of a burden. He needs others who know how to stand. Who know how to teach. Who know how to disciple and who know how to walk above reproach. Let's put these principles into practice this morning. And we're not going to select the elders today. We don't have that mechanism in place for us to do that this morning. I want us praying. I want us considering. What are things that you can do as we aim toward this? I think there's things that the selecting of elders does that is for the good of the whole of the congregation. There's a sanctifying work that happens when a church sets men aside. It's a sanctifying work because, well, we need to make sure that we don't hurt anybody's feelings here, even though we're not here to dance around people's feelings, but we don't need to intentionally. We're not trying to overlook anybody who's aspiring to have a bigger target on them. This would not be the desire of the church. It wouldn't be my desire to lead you to do that. What I would want us to do is to think, what can I be doing right now that will be of benefit to my own soul and to the souls of every person in this church? You belong to a rather simple church. I've got the feeling you already know this. We do not overburden ourselves with fancy programs. And I'm not saying that in a derogatory manner. Listen, there are churches that do a lot of programs. And we'll say bless the Lord for every righteous and good thing that comes from their programs. It's possible that other churches have fancier buildings than we do. Yeah, that's true. I don't even think I get a room at the table to say we have the fanciest church in the building. But that's not what you want from your pastor. You want functional facilities, and you work in that process as a congregational church to facilitate such a thing. But what I think you want and what I know God wants from the elders of the church and those who you would select is that you would find that we would be faithful to the Word of God. So, I'm not saying get up right now and look around the room, but in your mind's eye, you've been attending here, you're around, look around you. Who's teaching? Who's praying? Who's assisting? Who's aspiring? Who's humble? Exercising inhumility, I should say. Who has the capacity to give clarity on cloudy days? Who has the capacity to seem like a silver lining on a dark cloud? There may be churches, indeed, have a lot of other things that we don't have. But one thing I would desire to have is that no other church anywhere within driving distance loves God or has elders who love God more than yours. I've listened to some of the other brothers in this valley preach, and some of them are really good orators. And I'm benefited by some of their teachings. That's not what we're looking for. We're looking for steadfastness, faithfulness, the capacity to teach with clarity, the capacity to lead with knowledge, and the capacity to fight, to stand between wolves and the sheep. And this will be for your good. This is how sanctification works. Probably within three to four weeks, we'll have more of a mechanism in which we'll put into place. I want us praying now. I want us spending a season of time praying. And then when we select them, we'll spend a time where we will... We won't just appoint them and so presto chango, you have new elders. We'll spend some time reading books together and praying together. Studying the Scripture together. walking together, visiting the sick together, ministering in the congregation together, ministering in the community together. And then we will come around at a timely time and say, bless the Lord for the plurality of the elders at this location. So, to conclude In the event that there would be some who have misunderstood some things of what I've said this morning, I want you to be sure I'm not looking for an escape route at this point. I've been the pastor of this church in June. It will be 23 years. I was at a pastor's conference Friday down in Provo, Utah with some like-minded brothers, and I think I could have won nearly every category that they gave books away for. How long have you been in the ministry? Well, if it hadn't been for my bad math, I'd have won that book. Who's pastored the church the longest? I didn't even get to tell them how long I've been your pastor. I made it past the 10-year mark, and it's like, well, nobody's been in their church more than 10 years. And so at 23 years of being a pastor in this church, I will be happy if God gives me 23 more years. make me around 80 years old. I don't know. We're going to have to lower the platform at that point, perhaps. And I know I've struck some deep sighing among some of you. 23 more years. I don't think I can take it anymore. But theoretically, should the Lord tarry, the plausibility that I'll be preaching in 23 more years to your children's children's children. And that will be a joy for the preacher. And it will be a joy to the preacher that he'll share the pulpit with other faithful elders who will who will preach to my children's children's children. And then should the Lord, Terry. for the furtherance of the gospel, that there would be found at 204 Eastland Drive North, so long as we're at this address, that there would be a faithful pulpit who puts faithful men with big targets on them, who understand that they're willing to be judged more strictly than others, to be able to stand and say, thus says the Lord God Almighty. So let's pray together to this end. Heavenly Father, we indeed have some exciting moments in front of us. We have a reason to stop along the way and just pause for a moment and ask You to show us who among us can we put big targets on? Who among us could we lovingly say, we need You to fight for us? who among us, and we say even though there'll be seasons where it'll look as though no one's willing to stand with you when you say this is what God says, that they'll stand. And that they will stand with joy. They'll stand in satisfaction. And they'll stand knowing that you have been proclaimed. So God bless this fellowship of believers. in respects of many others in the city, or around the state, or in the nation, or around the world, where may have appearances of being stronger and bigger, and their impact and their influence is great, and we'll bless you that you've done so around the world. But, O God, that You would find pleasure. You would find pleasure in a faithful pulpit. among a faithful people in the city of Twin Falls. And we will rejoice that there are others who are gathered this morning in other faithful churches, being led by other faithful elders. For your glory and for man's good, may it be in our day. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.