Well, Grace, I invite you to take your Bibles this morning or your copies of God's Word and turn in them to 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy 3. This morning in the ministry of the Word, we will be considering verses 8 through 13. And if you're following along in your pew Bibles, you could find 1 Timothy 3, 8 through 13 on page 992. 992. So dear congregation, let's give our attention to the reading of God's Word. 1 Timothy 3, verses 8-13. Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. and let them also be tested first, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives, likewise, must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. Thus far the reading of God's word. The grass withers and the flower fades, congregation, but the word of our Lord stands forever. and we're grateful for it. Would you join me one last time in prayer this morning as we ask for the illumination of the Spirit in the ministry of the Word. Let's pray. Oh Father, how we thank you for a time of worship this morning. Father, we We're under no illusion that everybody in this place comes after a nice, warm, fuzzy Sunday morning. We recognize, Father, that there's a whole panoply of different contexts and situations from which our families and our members have come, some good, some bad, some ugly, some discouraging, some maybe even hopeless, Father. And I pray that this morning, as we all find ourselves in the same place, sitting under the ministry of the word, that you would speak to each and every one of us, Father, in our respective situations. May your spirit do what your spirit does. Things that a minister can't do, things that a man or a woman cannot do, but things that the spirit is called to do, to speak into the deepest recesses of our hearts and plant within them comfort. hope, encouragement. I pray that you would do that through the ministry of your word this morning, Father. And we do thank you, Lord, for our prospective deacons and certainly for our current deacons, these men who serve so faithfully, so selflessly. And I just pray, Lord, that as we consider these qualifications in this text this morning, that it would not simply be a Bible study, although it is that, But that, Father, it would help all of us to examine our own hearts as servants to see, Father, if we are faithful to you and what you have given us. And we pray that you would help your servant to unpack this text pastorally, faithfully, compassionately. And we ask these things in the name of your Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, if you're visiting this morning or a regular attender and not a member of this church, I just want to remind you that September, this whole month, we have been addressing in the ministry of the Word the matter of service. And there's a reason for that. In our business meeting coming up in October, we are going to be voting on three new prospective deacons. And so the elders thought it the better part of wisdom to spend some time thinking about the diaconate, thinking about service, thinking about what we should be looking for in men who are going to assume the mantle, if you will, of the diaconate. And last week we talked about just the general category of service in the church. The word deacon comes from a Greek word that sounds very much like it, diakonos, and it just simply means a servant. And what I tried to show last week from the scriptures is that that very word is used of a number of different categories of people, whether it is Jesus, or of elders, or apostles, or women, or the civil magistrate, or Christians in general. Christianity is a religion of service. But now, specifically this morning, what I'd like to do is now hone in, if you will, on a specific office of service in the Church that we understand as the diaconate. diaconate, or from where did we get this category, this office, this position of the diaconate? Well, we find this inception of the diaconate in Acts chapter 6, roughly verses 1 through 5, and what was going on in those early years of the early church is that there was this conflict. There was this conflict between two different groups in the church, and I would submit to you that behind the backdrop of this conflict was really the machinations of Satan in trying to sow seeds of discord and division and strife and dissension in the church. What was the beef? The beef was between the widows, the Jewish widows in the church, and the Hellenist widows. And basically what the text tells us is that the Hellenist widows were being overlooked in the distribution of daily bread, daily food that the church was giving to them. Now, I want you to notice that God had sovereignly brought about this scenario in the life of the church, I believe, in order to build up the church by establishing the office of the diaconate. I want you to notice that the office itself grew out of a tangible need. There was no theoretical need here. This was a tangible need. There were some widows who were not getting their part of the daily distribution, but I also want you to notice that that tangible need had something to do with a spirit of partiality. Now, I'm not going to go so far as to say that this beef between the Jewish widows and the Hellenist widows was a racist difference. I don't think that that's the case. I think too often we need to be careful about this. When we come to texts like this and we see some type of cultural clash, or if you want to read into the text, a racist clash, we are quick to impose our 21st century understanding of racism upon the text. And I think we need to be careful with that, especially since there is in our country today, for whatever reason, a heightened sensitivity to matters of race. And whenever you have a heightened sensitivity to anything, no matter what it is, there's always going to be people who are going to overstate the case. There's always going to be people who are going to go beyond reason, if you will. But I would have you notice that the Hellenist widows were Jews. Hellenism refers to Greek culture. Hellenism refers to people who would speak the Greek language and to one degree or another were influenced by Greek culture. So what we had here was not so much Greeks versus Jews. What we had is two categories of Jews who were coming from different cultural milieus, you see. So, the Jewish widows who were brought up in the Judaistic tradition, by and large, with a Jewish accent, they were getting their bread from the church. They were getting taken care of. But the Hellenist widows were not. And so, what happened? What did the church do? Well, the church decided that they needed to pick out some men who were going to be given over to the task of adjudicating these issues and giving and meeting the physical needs of the saints. And so what do they do? Verse four, Peter said, somebody or congregation, I want you to choose out from among yourselves seven men full of wisdom, full of the spirit, good reputation to serve these people because, We as apostles and elders need to give ourselves over to the ministry of God, the proclamation of the ministry of the word and prayer. They didn't have the time to serve tables and so the congregation chose seven men who were given over to this task and I would submit to you that in Acts chapter 6 we see, if you will, the inception of the diaconate. Now, for the last 2,000 years, the church has recognized two official offices in the church, elder and deacon, along with what I would just submit to you is an assumed role of church member. Now, as we continue to consider this question or the prospect of recognizing deacons in our own congregation, it's important for us to ask ourselves this question. What must a deacon be? What must a deacon be? It's clear from Acts 6, the Acts 6 passage, that it just couldn't be anyone, even in the Acts 6 passage, Peter instructs the congregation that these deacons needed to be men of good repute, that they needed to be full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. And in our passage this morning, I believe what Paul is doing is he's expanding that list. And by the way, let me say two things. This sermon this morning is going to be a little more on the teachy side than the preachy side, and I don't make any apologies for that. Sometimes in the life of church, that's what we need to do. But also, I would submit to you, nor is Paul, in laying out the qualifications for deacon, seeking to be exhaustive. He's giving us general categories that, along with wisdom, we are to flesh out and figure out what that means for us as a local congregation. So we see in this passage that Paul is expounding on those qualities from Acts chapter six and bringing more light to them. So I asked the question this morning, what must a deacon be? And we're gonna look at eight things that he must be in the course of this passage. But why am I asking that question? Let me give to you three reasons why this is an important question. Some of them are gonna be obvious, but I think it's important to state this at the outset. Number one, it's important to ask the question, what must a deacon be for the purpose of the congregation? Just as with elders, when we were working through 1 Peter 5 and we were considering bringing Pastor Jim onto the elder board, we bent over backwards explaining to you, this is not just an elder task in bringing an office bearer onto the elder board or the diaconate. This is something that you as members in this congregation are very much a part of. You have an obligation, you have a responsibility, you have a calling as members in the recognition of an office bearer of the church. I would even say, the affirmation of an office bearer in the church. And so, one of the things that a minister or the elders in the church might be tempted to do is say, well, everybody's read 1 Timothy chapter 3, everybody knows what the qualifications of deacons are, so we'll just trust that that's the case. Well, maybe, maybe not. And maybe actually it's the case that people have read it, but don't totally understand all the nuances of what it means to be a deacon. And so the first reason why we must ask the question, what must a deacon be, is so that the congregation can have a clear understanding and expectation of what they expect in a deacon. But secondly, we ask this question because both the prospective deacon and in the future any aspiring deacon needs to know what he needs to be, what kind of man he needs to be, what kind of character should characterize his own disposition if he's going to step into the role of the diaconate. But then thirdly, and again, I think that this is obvious, but let me unpack why I'm saying this. Deacons must be examined according to the standard of God's word. Now, why is that an obvious but necessary statement? Well, oftentimes deacons are chosen, and I would say elders as well, deacons and elders are chosen for the wrong reasons. They may be chosen because they're popular. They may be chosen because they're wise with finances, or that they're natural leaders, or they contribute significant amounts to the church. Now while all of these factors may have their place in the consideration of deacons, what is absolutely crucial to recognize in this passage, big picture observation, is that the primary bulk of Paul's qualifications doesn't have to do with popularity. It doesn't have to do with what they are able to do with their talents, if you will. It primarily has to do with their character and their conviction. Now, isn't that interesting? I think it's obvious, whether it is an elder or a deacon, what God is mostly concerned about, that they be an officer in the church, is that they are men of conviction, that they are not hypocrites, that they are worthy of honor, that somebody, anybody in the congregation could look to that man as an elder or deacon and say, I aspire to be like that man. I aspire to be like him in his godliness, in his spiritual disciplines, in how he leads his wife, in how he leads his family, in how he deals with criticism. This is incredibly important, and I would submit to you that this is what Paul is primarily concerned with. So let me give you this morning eight characteristics of a deacon and his service to the church. Some of these are going to be longer than others. And again, this is going to be more on the teachy side. But eight characteristics of a deacon and his service to the church. Number one. Verse 8, a deacon must be dignified. A deacon must be dignified. Verse 8, deacons likewise must be dignified. Now this term normally refers to something that is honorable, something that is respectable, esteemed, or worthy. And it's closely related to another Greek word that means respectable. And this is a qualification that's given for elders as well in chapter 3, verse 2. In other words, a deacon must be mature. A deacon must be mature. A deacon must be, as I said, respected in the eyes of the congregation. We should never put a man into office who the majority of the congregation says, I can't respect that guy. It's hard for me to take that guy seriously. No, he must be dignified. You know, Paul says in his famous love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11, when I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. There's an immense level of wisdom there in Paul's declaration. A deacon must be mature. It goes without saying that he doesn't need to be perfect, whatever that means, but it does mean that he properly feels the gravity of the office and approaches it accordingly. He is not childish. He is teachable. And that doesn't mean in not being childish that he doesn't have a sense of humor. That doesn't mean that he takes himself too seriously. Some people take themselves too seriously, right? I think the kinds of people that take themselves too seriously are the kinds of people that are always offended at everything that you say. Everything that you say, they read into it in some way or another, some dig at you, or dig at them, when really that's not the case. Really, the characters were not on the table, it was the content of the discussion that was on the table, but people tend to get offended. Why? Because they take themselves too seriously. But a deacon isn't going to take himself too seriously, but he's certainly going to take the role very seriously. You see, honor is a tricky thing. On the one hand, we ought to equally honor everyone since everyone has the image of God stamped onto their very being. So we show respect and dignity to everyone. There's just like a common denominator of honor that you should show to everybody. But on the other hand, even the apostle Paul recognizes that more honor is due to some than others. Now this is Paul. I mean, he says, for example, in 1 Timothy 5, 17, let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. There's certainly a higher level of honor that all elders should be given, but Paul says that even among the elders, the elders who rule well, especially those who preach and teach, should be shown double honor. There's a reason why in this place we call our pastors Pastor, there's a reason why we use that title. It's not because we're obsessed with names and titles or because we maliciously desire or covet the wrong kind of honor, but because we recognize that God has indeed placed roles in both society and the church that are not only to be recognized, but also to be respected and appreciated. Parents, it's good for you to teach your children to address those who are older than them as sir and ma'am, okay? This kind of, I think there's a cultural tendency to sort of, especially today, sort of level the playing field with our superiors. You know, we're just on a first name basis. No, there's a statement that you make when you do something like that. There's a statement that you make. But this tendency really doesn't have much grounding in Scripture. The whole fifth commandment assumes that there are superiors and inferiors with respect to how things flesh out in society. And one of the things that we draw from that is that we are to show respect to those who are our superiors, and superior could be in any context. Whether that is your manager, whether it is somebody who is a hoary-headed senior citizen who's older than you, you show them respect, you show them deference, and that certainly has to do with how you address them. Another example of showing honor, Peter says in 1 Peter 2, 17, honor the emperor or king, or in our case, president. As much as you may agree or disagree with our Commander-in-Chief, biblically we recognize that he was put there by God and is to be shown a tangible level of honor. So honor is incredibly important. And so a deacon should have a good reputation. He should be honored by those, and let me just say under this heading, not only those inside the church, but by those outside the church. And this is true for elders as well. He specifically said in chapter three, verse seven, about elders, moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. Now, generally speaking, as a broad observation here, anytime you see a moral character expounded at the level of elder, It's assumed at the level of deacon unless Paul goes out of his way to say, oh, this doesn't apply to deacons. You just assume the same thing, okay? And so an elder and a deacon should be honored and respected both inside the church and outside the church. You know, there's a word for somebody who has a good reputation in the church but a questionable reputation outside the church. You know what that word is? Hypocrite. That's what that word is. One of the pillars of honor is integrity. I am in the church. I am in the church what I am in my work. I am in the church what I am in my home. I am in the church what I am in the public square. You see, Christianity is holistic. We don't hermetically seal off our witness at work and our witness in the public square and our witness on the freeway and our witness with our relatives from our witness inside the church. Christianity permeates every single hat that you put on your head in every single context of society. You are to be consistent. You are to be a Christian. And so a deacon must have a good reputation both inside and outside the church. This may come as no surprise to you, but you know, honor is earned. Honor is earned. I don't think it's a wrong thing to desire honor, as long as you're desiring it for the right reasons and in the right way. And I think in the context of the church, I think that there are men who desire the honor that comes along with being an elder. But here's the thing, if you're desiring that type of honor for honor's sake, and not in the sense that you say, I want to be a transparent vessel or instrument through which the glory of God and my service to the church at the capacity of elder or deacon brings glory to God and recognition to God and a higher esteem of God in the eyes of others. If that's not your desire in seeking honor, it's probably not a good desire. It's probably not a good desire. So you shouldn't covet honor, nor should you demand honor, but you can expect that to the degree that you are faithful and dignified, it will be recognized in the church. It will be recognized. Don't rush it. Don't demand it prematurely. Show it. Show your diligence, show your faithfulness, and honor will come in time. So number one, a deacon is to be dignified. Number two, and this is gonna go very quickly, verse eight, a deacon is not to be double-tongued. Now, those who are double-tongued say one thing to certain people but then say something else to others or say one thing but mean another. This is what double-tongued means. They are two-faced and insincere. Their words cannot be trusted. They lack credibility. Now, why? is it so important that a deacon not be double-tongued? Why is it so important that a deacon have integrity? Why is it so important that a deacon know how to show discretion in what he does and does not share with other people about the people that he's serving? Well, there's a few reasons for this. I mean, number one, Deacons are going to help those who have fiscal needs. And we've seen this, even in the last three years in the life of our congregation, that sometimes there are people in the church who are hurting financially. And so one of the things that the deacons do is they get together with those people. And one of the things that they ask with the permission of the saint is, would you mind if we talked about your finances? Because we want to help you, but maybe one of the challenges is the way you're approaching your finances. So can we tell? Somewhat of a humiliating thing, isn't it? To get all those things out, to get kind of your private information out before the deacons, but they're trying to help you. But now, what if the person coming to the help of the deacons wasn't sure that the information that was divulged in that room wasn't going to make it out to the rest of the congregation? They're going to be reluctant, are they not, to go receive help from the deacons? Absolutely. And so a deacon must not be double-tongued. He must be a man of integrity. He must be willing to keep closed lips when it comes to the people that he's helping and not gossip about them. Number three, deacons are not addicted to much wine. There's really not much to say about this except a few qualifications. While the Bible clearly clearly condemns drunkenness and even an unwise use of alcohol, it stops short of condemning any use of alcohol. Even here in the Greek, it literally says something like, not given over to much wine. It doesn't say not given over to wine. It says not given over to much wine. And while it is certainly possible to enjoy alcohol in moderation, after all, our Lord did in his time here on earth, a deacon and an elder need to be incredibly sensitive, not only to their own proclivities, their own inclinations, what they're drawn to. I mean, you can like alcohol a little too much, just like anything else. You can have that third or that fourth drink, or maybe even that second drink, depending on your body weight, that you should not have had. They need to be careful about that, okay, for a few different reasons. Number one, they're standing as a leader in the church before the eyes of the congregation, and what they do matters. It affects how people think of the glory and the majesty of Christ. But there's another reason why elders and deacons need to be incredibly careful about their consumption of alcohol. Not everybody's conscience in the church is the same. There are some people who think that it's a sin to drink alcohol. And while you may engage in a friendly debate with that person about whether they're right or wrong, the fact remains is that that's where their conscience is. And if Paul tells us anything about this area, what he tells us is you better respect their consciences. They may be wrong, but you need to respect their consciences. For you to flaunt your liberty to drink alcohol in front of them is not love and turns quickly into sin. And so a deacon must not be given over to much wine and he must be very careful with his consumption of alcohol if indeed he uses it. Fourthly, deacons are not greedy for dishonest gain. You know what's interesting about this in verse 8? What's interesting about this qualification is that nowhere in the New Testament does it command or even hint that a deacon is to be physically compensated for his work as an elder is. An elder is to be compensated, but nowhere does it say a deacon. So why is Paul concerned about a deacon not being greedy for dishonest gain? Well, I believe that the reason why Paul gives this qualification is because it's the deacons who handle the finances in the church. I've lost count of the internet articles that I've read where deacons were convicted of embezzling funds from the church. It happens. It happens. And that's why one of the things that we're intentional about here at Grace Covenant Church is creating, if you will, networks of accountability in our handling of funds, how it's done, when it's done, with whom it's done, so that there can be, at every single level, accountability so that no man is ever by himself in that little back room counting the money so that a assembling block might be put before him to just pocket it. Now, we would all like to believe that nobody in this church would do that, but we all need to remember that we're Calvinist too, and the T in tulip is total depravity. And so we believe, okay, we believe in total depravity. Even though a man and a woman is recreated by the work of the Spirit, they still deal with the vestiges of the old man. So a deacon is not greedy for dishonest gain. Fifthly, deacons are sound in faith and in life. Paul says in verse 9, Look at the text. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. They must hold it with a clear conscience. This phrase, the mystery of the faith, is simply one way Paul speaks of the gospel. You can reference 1 Timothy 3.16 where he mentions a similar phrase and it's referring to the gospel. I wouldn't say it's limited to that. I think that it's both narrow and broad in its use. You could say the mystery of the faith is, broadly speaking, the Christian worldview, Christian doctrine, Christian conviction, but it has a pinpoint or a culmination, and that culmination is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But consequently, this statement refers to the need for a deacon to hold to the true gospel without wavering. Yet this qualification does not merely involve one's beliefs, for he must also hold these beliefs, as the text says, with a clear conscience. That is, the behavior of a deacon must be consistent with his beliefs. Now, because everything else in his role flows out of this one thing, and I believe it does, I believe that if you were to put on a boilerplate, if you will, the main qualification of a deacon, I don't think it would have to do with, you know, can he do math, you know, to count the finances? I don't think it would have to do with, you know, does he know how to, does he have some semblance of personal skills that he knows how to talk to a widow, he knows how to talk to somebody who has final chains? No, I think the boilerplate of his qualifications has to do with verse nine. He is to hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. So let me just unpack this concept a little bit more, the mystery of the faith. I would submit to you that this has to do with two things. In other words, you can look at this phrase, the mystery of the faith, from two different angles. Number one, it's content. It does refer to the gospel revelation of Jesus Christ, which was hidden in the old covenant or more obscure in the old covenant. They knew that a Messiah was coming. He knew that he would redeem his people from sins. They didn't know who it was. They didn't know when it would be. They really didn't even know how all that would work out. They didn't know if there would be two Messiahs or one Messiah. There was all this ambiguity, mystery in the old covenant about how it was gonna work out. And then when Christ comes, Paul constantly refers to Christ's coming and his fulfillment of these gospel promises as the mystery of the faith. So with respect to content, I think that's principally what it means. But secondly, I would say practically what the mystery of the faith refers to is is that the Christian worldview changes people and causes them to walk in righteousness and good works. What do I mean by that? I remember years ago when I was at a junior college back in the Central Valley in California, I was in this class, I can't even remember what the class was, but they told us that we would get extra credit if we went to this symposium, 6 p.m. on a Tuesday night, where an ex-white supremacist was going to give his talk and something of a testimony about how he changed his views and became a non-white supremacist, okay? So of course I needed extra credit, so I went. And what was fascinating about this, and I was a Christian at this time, is this guy kind of gave his testimony about how he, I won't go into the details, but the light bulb went off one day and he realized this racism stuff is just stupid. It's not helping me, it's not helping society, it's not helping my family, et cetera, et cetera. So he turned the corner on it. But then after he got done, a panel came up of scholars. And they were discussing racism in society. And what I found to be so weird and fascinating at the same time is one of the people in the audience said, how can we avoid racism? How can we work past racism? How can we teach the masses as it were to not be racist? You know what the answer of the scholars were? Well, I just think that awareness and education will help people not to be racist. That was their answer. I mean, that's depressing. Because the fact of the matter is, you could bring awareness to white supremacists all you want about how you think what they're doing is wrong, and they're just going to counter that with, oh, we recognize that we hate, and we're totally fine with it. Because convictions come out of a worldview. You see, education is not going to solve the problem of man's racial proclivities. Government is not going to solve the problem of man's racial proclivities. instituting laws from the top down that'll put you in jail if you're racist, if you say something that hurts somebody's feelings. What is going to change somebody is the mystery of the gospel. What's going to change somebody is a changed heart. You see, what society needs to not be racist and not be murderers and not murder babies and not be wicked men and women is a change of heart. They need to be transformed by the grace of God. That is the mystery of the gospel at the practical level. And that is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. The scholars say, you think the gospel is? No, no, the gospel is not there. Peer-reviewed journals and education will help people not to be racist. No, no, they think the gospel is foolish. They think it's foolish that a man would stand up in the pulpit and proclaim the excellencies of Jesus Christ. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, listen, it is the power of God. The power. What power is there in the gospel? every power to change people from being sons and daughters of Adam to sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, and changing them. And a deacon must not only have a deep conviction in his heart and mind of what he believes, and what his doctrine is, and who is God, and who is man, and how they are reconciled, but that knowledge should translate into a life that is captivated by the love and majesty of Jesus Christ, a life that has changed. So the conscience of the deacon is always and ever given over to the life-transforming power of the gospel. It's what fuels everything that he does. You see, the deacon's not content to just keep the lights on at the church or pay the bills or give aid to the needy. He is determined to give to the needy not only things that meet their physical needs, but the gospel which meets their spiritual needs. Number six, a deacon is to be blameless. He says that deacons are to be, verse 10, tested first, then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Blameless is a general term referring to a person's overall character. That's all Paul's getting at here. A deacon should not desire the office just to have a title. He should actually do the work of a deacon and carry out his responsibilities with vigor and industry. And we have done this in the vetting process of our deacons. We have given them tasks and seen if they actually did them, if they did them in a timely manner. And we were very pleased that they had. Now verse 11, I'm going to skip over verse 11. I'm going to tell you why. Not because I'm shirking it. To the contrary. Verse 11 deals with females, and the question is, are these females the wives of deacons, or are they female deacons? Next week, I'm going to address that matter in a sermon entitled, What About Female Deacons? So in the meantime, we're going to pass over that, and we're just going to go on to verse 12. So seventh, a deacon is a husband of one wife. This does not mean that he has only been married once. You know, what about a widower who is remarried? Paul tells us that such a man is free to marry in 1 Corinthians 7 39. So there's no indication that such a remarriage would disqualify a man from being a deacon. I think the best interpretation of verse 12, husband of one wife, is that it's referring to the exclusive faithfulness of a husband toward his wife. In other words, he's faithful to her. He's a one-woman man. He's not given over to porn conception. He's not given over to hard-hearted, ongoing, unrepentant lust. He's not given over to adultery. He's not even given over to emotional affairs, but he is committed to his wife. Number eight, a deacon must manage his children and household well. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. I've spent a lot of time on this and just talking to the general population here at Grace Covenant Church. If you don't disciple your children to be Christians, you shouldn't be surprised if they grow up not to be Christians. You must wash your wife and your family in the water of the Word of God. You must do it more than on Sunday morning and Sunday evening. It should be a constant, daily thing. This is what Deuteronomy 6 and Deuteronomy 10 gets at. In those passages, Moses is telling the fathers and the mothers of Israel, listen, as you're walking down the path, as you're at the store, as you're in the car, as you're going along the way, teach your children about my precepts. Remind them of who they are. Remind them that they have a covenant Lord. Remind them that they're alienated from God and that the only way to get to God is through Jesus Christ. It's just an ongoing thing. We must wash our children and our wife in the water of God's word. And then finally this morning, let me just give an application, two applications to deacons. Number one, deacons, both present and future. Glory and revel in the privilege of being gifted to be a deacon. I tell you, one of the things that you are given over to as a deacon is to manifest to all those who are watching the disposition of our Lord in meeting the needs of the saints. Jesus said, I am among you as he who deacons, as he who serves. I then your Lord and master wash your feet, wash other people's feet. Do you see how you're putting on display the servant attitude of Christ, the servant example of Christ? You have the official title in the church of being that to the people of God, of being that to people outside the four walls of this church. You get to, in some sense, display Christ to those who are watching, and what a glorious thing that that is. When we hold the towel in the basin of the diaconate, we highlight the immense privilege of displaying the disposition of the Son of God. Again and again, service is used to describe elders and apostles, but specifically in the diaconate, we have the specific role manifested in the church. But then secondly and finally, what I'd submit to you is this. What awaits faithful deacons? Paul says in verse 13, 1 Timothy 3, 13, I would say that, deacons, you have two things awaiting you, blessings, if you will, a temporal blessing and an eternal blessing. What of this temporal blessing? to the degree that you carry out your role as deacon well, you have the immense temporal privilege of seeing your faith in Jesus Christ fleshed out in a very tangible way. You see, the needs of the saints met, and you know, and they know, that in the execution of that task, the principal motive driving it was not necessarily to see hungry bellies filled, or broken ACs fixed, or budgets met, or widows served, but to see the glory of God shine more brightly through those actions by giving somebody a cup of cold water. That's what you're doing. That's the big picture. You are on the path to see God being glorified through physical, tangible acts. Then finally, When is your eternal blessing? One day you, as well as all of us, are going to stand before the Lord and He's going to utter these words. Well done, my good and faithful servant. My good and faithful deacon, well done. Just all of us this morning, aren't those words that we want to hear? I mean, if you just think about it for one second, you're always looking for motivations to spur you on to greater holiness. Here's one for Monday. Whatever I do in this day, whatever comes out of my words, wherever my feet take me, whatever my hands do, wherever my mind goes, I want it to go in the direction such that as a result of those things, on the last day, I hear these words from my Lord, well done, my good and faithful servant. I want that to characterize me. Do you want that to characterize you this morning? And why would you not want it to characterize you based on what God has done for us in Christ through sending his son to be the propitiation, the turning away of the wrath of our sins, giving us his righteousness and giving us a firm standing on the last day with the Father. May that be all of our hearts desire this morning. And may the Lord bless our efforts, not only generally as servants in this place, but specifically as the deacons do their service. Let's pray. Father God, we do thank you for your word this morning. We pray that as the congregation considers these qualifications, we come up to our meeting, Father, that you would give us clarity of mind and soul as a congregation as we put these hands on these deacons. We ask these things in your son's name. Amen.