Well, let's turn to Acts chapter 1, the book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter number 1. We're going to take the reading from verse 12 of the chapter, and so let's give attention to the Word of God as it is read in our hearing. The Word of God says, Then returned they, speaking of the eleven disciples unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, They went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zealots, and Judas, the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the woman, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of names together were about 120, men and brethren, The scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of David, spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and hath obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field, with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch as That field is called in their proper tongue, acdelmia. That is to say, the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his habitation be desolate and let no man dwell therein, and his bishopric let another take. Therefore, of these men which have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John on to the same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed to Joseph called Barsabbas, which was surnamed Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Lord, thy Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry, an apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven. Amen. We'll conclude at the end of the chapter. Let's briefly pray. Time is going on, but let's seek the Lord, our gracious Father. We come now to preach the word that has been given for this hour. We pray, Lord, that now thou would give us the attention required and the understanding, the understanding of heart and of mind as we come to deal with the matters that are before us as a congregation. Help now this preacher. fill him with thy spirit I pray Lord we look to thee to guide in all things we offer prayer and through the Savior's precious and great name amen as announced back in the month of May after successful application was made to the General Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster for moderation to elect new elders for this congregation. The communicant members will meet on Thursday the 3rd of October to elect suitable men to such an office. Before that election takes place, as the teaching elder of this congregation, it is my soul responsibility to set before you the biblical teaching regarding the role of elders within the governmental structure of Christ's church on earth. Writing to the Corinthian church, Paul refers to various offices that existed during the early years of the fledgling New Testament church. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and the verse 28, Paul wrote, and God has set some in the church. first apostles, secondarily prophets, Thirdly, teachers, that after that miracles, then gifts of healings helps governments, diversities of tongues. We believe that with the death of the apostles and with the coming of the complete canon of Holy Scripture, the miraculous gifts or the sign gifts such as miracles, diversity of tongues, healing, they have now ceased. But what is to be noted, however, that within the church, the apostle Paul writes about governments. Now, the word Paul employs comes from a verb which means to govern, and it was often used to apply to the governing or the government or the steering of a ship. Within the church of Christ, there are men who are tasked with governing her, steering her away from the rocks of heresy and from the quicksands of worldliness, and steering her into the deep and into the blessed channel of biblical truth. Now, before we look at the qualifications of an elder, in today's message, I want to focus on those who have the tremendous responsibility of electing officers to the church of Jesus Christ. Whenever you come to read the book of Acts and the pastoral epistles of Paul, you come to find that the membership of a local church plays an important role as to who comes to occupy the offices of the church. Now, we're all aware that God is sovereign in these matters, and that is something that we're all going to have to remember as we make our way through this particular process. But it is also a reminder to us that God is pleased. God is pleased to use His church And those who belong to the community and membership of the church, God is pleased to use His church in the process of electing officers to His church. Rather than men being appointed by those in spiritual leadership within the church, Rather than those within the spiritual oversight of a local congregation appointing men to such an office, or the general presbytery dictating who is to fill those offices, it is the collective responsibility of a church's membership to elect to office suitable men, spiritual men. to be elders within the local assembly of the believers. It is only for the presbytery to ratify the decision of the communicant membership, and then for them to ordain such men and to see them installed into the church session of the local church, and thus it is the members of the church on the basis of the Word of God's teaching on the matter, who are entrusted, who are designated by the head of the church, Christ himself, they are entrusted by God to choose who its spiritual leaders should be. Now, in the passage of Scripture we've read just a few moments ago, we find the New Testament church gathered into the upper room, driven there out of fear for and off the Jews. The risen Son of God had ascended back into heaven, and the disciples, they were now awaiting the promise of the Father. And so in Acts chapter 1, we have the church of Jesus Christ in that 10-day hiatus period between the ascent of the Son of God and the descent of God the Holy Spirit. And it is whilst they were gathered and whilst they were praying together, waiting for the coming of the Spirit of God, that the elephant in the room was dealt with. If I could use that terminology. What I'm speaking about here was the vacancy that was left by Judas Iscariot in the apostolic band. Whereas before there had been 12 apostles, there were now only 11. And Peter, he comes to address this particular matter, informing the church that the vacancy had to be filled. Now, while Acts chapter 1 deals with the selection of a man to be an apostle, what you need to remember is that the apostles were also elders. They were de facto elders. Because they were apostles, they were also elders within the church of Jesus Christ. And I can say that for a number of reasons. In Acts chapter 15, the church came together, a special presbytery meeting was held, and they were meeting to debate on a particular matter. The matter was a key fundamental doctrine and continues to be, how a man is justified. You see, there were those who were teaching that for a man to be saved, for a man to be justified, he not only had to experience a new birth, but he also had to go through the rite of circumcision. And therefore there is tension within the church, a Jewish church and a Gentile church. These people coming from Judaism, they were circumcised and they were looking on at their fellow brothers who were Gentiles and they were not circumcised. And so the church gathers together. There's going to be a schism within the church over this particular debate and upon this particular theological matter. Does a man need to be circumcised in order to be justified? Well, the church they gather together. In the next chapter 15 and the verse number 4, we come to read who were present at that particular Presbytery meeting. And when they were come to Jerusalem, that's speaking about Paul and Barnabas and certain others who came up with them to the city of Jerusalem, they were received off the church and off the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. And so the apostles were present in the presbytery meeting. Well, why was that allowed? Well, it was because they were elders. They were de facto elders within the body and with the church of Jesus Christ, but we can also say it because of what the apostle Peter says about himself. Remember Peter was an apostle, so if you want to turn to 1 Peter chapter 5 and the verse number 1. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse number 1. It says there, the elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. And so Peter, he, as one of Christ's apostles, he calls himself here an elder. He's also an elder. And so he is a de facto elder. And so what we have in Acts chapter 1 undoubtedly is an election to the apostleship, but also I believe it is a blueprint for what takes place whenever men are elected to the office of eldership. Having said all that I've already said by way of introduction, what I want to do then is to do something that I believe isn't often done. whenever we come to speak about electing men to the offices of the church. Or if it is done, it is very quickly done. Because what I want to do today is different because what normally happens when a church comes to elect people to these positions, men to these positions within the church, what the minister does is he begins to preach on those passages that deal with eldership, those passages that deal with the biblical requirements for those who desire to serve Christ and His church as either elders or as deacons. And this is the case. We'll come to that. We'll come to those particular passages of Scripture, and we'll be preaching on those particular key passages. 1 Timothy 3, Titus chapter 1. However, what I believe the Lord would have me to do today is to speak to those who are going to make the decision. Because I'm not making the decision. I am not a member of this church. I am a member of Presbytery. The minister does not vote. in any of these matters, but every communicant member is going to make an important, a vital decision in coming weeks, and we need to be guided in this matter. And so we're not preaching particularly to the men who desire the office of elder, but rather we're coming to deal with those who are going to make the decision. We're going to speak to the membership of the church. And so that's what I want us to do as we come to think about this matter. As we look at this passage in Acts chapter 1, we come to see a number of things about the members of the Jerusalem church. The first thing that I come to see about the members of the Jerusalem church who came to elect officers within the church, I want you to notice that they were saved. They were saved. Luke is very precise in the language that he comes to use as he comes to describe the spiritual composition of the gathering here in Acts chapter 1. A gathering that is going to come to elect a man or men. our man to the apostleship. Those who were gathered together were called disciples. Look there, verse number 15. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of names. And so there is a role here. There is a membership register. Their names are recorded. The number, it doesn't say the number. It says the number of names. The number of names together were about a hundred and twenty. The disciples of Christ, those who had trusted in Christ for salvation, were given the great responsibility and privilege of electing a man to the apostleship. Now for these people to gather in such a way In light of what has just occurred some 40 days previously to the Savior, in that very city in which they were now gathered, the city of Jerusalem, evidence that these people were genuine followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their identification with Jesus Christ placed them on the hit list of not only the Roman authorities, but also the Jewish authorities. This is later seen in the book of Acts. Whenever we come to read that James was beheaded by Herod and Peter was arrested with the intention that he too was going to be murdered for the faith. And so serious thoughts, serious thought was given before becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ in the first century. And so what we have here is that the church was gathered together. It was a church with a sea of membership. And they're gathered together to elect a man to the office that had been vacated by another. They were disciples who were involved in this selection process. The Free Presbyterian Church has a born again membership. Only those who have a credible profession of faith are admitted into the membership of the church. And it is from that membership that men who are genuinely born of the Spirit of God and dedicated to the extension of Christ's kingdom are elected to be its ministers, its elders, and its deacons. Now, a number of questions need to be asked to everyone gathered in this house today. Question number one, are you a Christian? Have you been born again? You might well identify with the visible church here on earth, but do you belong to the church invisible? You see, what you need to understand is not everyone that is associated with a church belongs to Christ. Not everyone who comes to church is a Christian. Not everyone who visibly appears in a church actually belongs to the number of the redeemed. The visible church comprises of those who claim to be or identify as followers of Jesus Christ, but the invisible church comprises of those who are really, genuinely followers of the Savior. And so you need to ask yourself the question this afternoon, am I one who has truly repented of my sin? And am I a follower, a disciple? Am I a one who is pursuing after Christ in my life? If not, then make sure you settle that matter today. The second question then that needs to be asked, having come to Christ for salvation, have you taken then the next step in your Christian life and been baptized and be joined to the local church as a member? In Acts chapter 2 in the verse 41 we read, Whether it's a matter of baptism or whether it's a matter of church membership, Let me encourage you, if those matters are still outstanding with regard to you as a believer, let me encourage you to make approach to the spiritual oversight of this congregation and obey the very clear teaching of Scripture by being baptized and becoming a member of the local church. You see, the basis of a church membership can be argued from many, many different angles. It can be argued from the example of the early church. The early church, they joined together. They joined themselves. They went to their own company. They submitted themselves to the governing structures of the assembly and of the church. And so, from the example of the early church, we find church membership argued. We also find it with regard to the existence of church government. Well, why is there a minister? Why are there elders? Why are there deacons? if there is not to be a government within Christ's church? And then members come after that. And then what about the exercising of church discipline? It must be done. And how is it done? It is done by those to whom God has appointed. And then we have the exhortation to mutual edification that can only ever take place within the corporate body of Christ. And so really it's a matter of obedience. When it comes to the matter of church membership, every Christian ought to be a member of the local church. And so are you a member? Are you a member? Because every Christian, as they do so, as they join the church, it is a reflection of and a witness to their position as a member of the mystical body of Christ. Yes, I belong to Christ, but Christ is the head of the church, and therefore I belong also to the church. I am a member of Christ's church. And so I encourage you, I exhort you to obey the Lord in this matter. Now, later on in the book of Acts, just a few chapters from Acts chapter one, a need for deacons arose within the church. They were to help with the practical needs of the congregation. And the instruction was given by the 12 apostles in Acts chapter six in the verse three, that those who belong to the church those who belong to the church, notice what they were to do. In verse number three, Wherefore, brethren, look ye out from among you, from among you, there is a body referred to here, from among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. From among its own membership, a membership that, by the way, membership that were continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. In other words, they showed up at all the meetings within the church, including the prayer meeting. From among that body, men were chosen to become its deacons. One of the marks of the deacons, they were to be men that were full of the Holy Ghost. And you can only ever be full of the Holy Ghost if you're first indwelt by the Holy Ghost. And the Spirit of God, He comes to indwell those who are truly His. And so it was from a saved membership that saved men were chosen to fill its offices. And so the membership was a saved membership. that went about this decision. Secondly, the members of the church who came to elect officers within the church were supplicants. They were supplicants. Look, he comes to fill in the details as to what the corporate body of the church was doing in the lead up to this selection process that resulted in a man being chosen to be an apostle. If you look there at the verses 13 and 14 of Acts chapter 1, you read, With regard to this decision, that it was a decision that was bathed in prayer, bathed in prayer. Acts chapter 1 verses 13 and 14, And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew and Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, In the wake of that prayer meeting, two men, Joseph or Barsabbas Justice, and Matthias stood for election. Out of a membership of 120, only two men stood for election that day. Having spread the matter out before the Lord in prayer, and the process taking place in the form of a ballot, or the casting of lots, Matthias was elected to the office of apostle. The point that I simply am trying to make is that the church in Jerusalem, it's an important decision that would see the work of God in the coming days and years. There were no hustings that took place. No manipulation of individuals by the leadership. Hope for one man over another. Simply the spreading of the matter right before the Lord. And as a result, no fallout occurred. It was done spiritually. You'll see what it says in chapter 2. The process has taken place. The election has taken place. They made their way through the process unscathed as a body of believers. Why? Because they prayed. because they prayed about them. Every decision should be for a Christian. It should all take place after earnest prayer. It should only ever be made after praying to God. I trust you have been praying about this matter privately, that God would direct you to the man or to the men of His choosing to occupy the positions that have been left by faithful elders who have now entered into their eternal reward. Let me encourage you, if you haven't been praying, to start to be of this matter in earnest prayer. It's interesting to notice something in Acts chapter 1, because not only did the members of the church pray prior to the congregational meeting, but they prayed during it. Look there, the words of verse 24, and they prayed. The sense of the word is, and as they were praying, and said, thy Lord, which knows the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen. What does that show us? It shows us something very simple, but it shows us that these believers, they were conscious of their own limitations. They were conscious of their own prejudices. They were conscious with regard to their own limitations when it came to this important matter, Their brain was a contender for their part that they lacked the wisdom they could. They were unhappy with it. They were men, I don't know. They couldn't, I don't know where, what did you say? They put a piece of paper between them. But they were men, civilized. But here, couldn't they pray because they thought that they were relying on the Lord to guide them in the choice that was going to be made. For every member of this congregation, I exhort you to attend the Communion and Membership Meeting on Thursday, the 3rd of October. I encourage you to attend it prayerfully, not just that day. I say to all eligible men, show the might of God in this matter with regard to standing for action. You want to quickly remove your name off the list? Have you prayed about it? Have you prayed about it? Have you got the mind of God in this matter? You may say, I'm not able for it. I tell you, you're maybe the man God would love. Have you prayed about this matter? Do you know the mind of God in this matter for you as a brother? as an individual, I and then for you who are going to cast your vote, know the mind of God in the matter. Talk to God about it. Oh, how easy it is to pick up the phone, talk to everyone else about it, talk to God about it, and allow Him to guide you in this particular matter. So I say these men or this communicant membership, they were saved, they were supplicants, they were in praying ground. Get on to praying ground, brother, sister. Get on to praying ground. Thirdly, the members of the church who came to elect officers within the church, they were scripturally taught. They were scripturally taught. Peter stands before the congregation here in Acts chapter 1 and he begins to preach from the Word of God. His appeal is to the scriptures. Look there at verse 16. men and brethren this scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the holy ghost by the mouth of david spake before concerning judas which was guide to them that took jesus and then look down there at the verse 20 for it is written in the book of psalms let his habitation be desolate and let no man dwell therein and his bishop bishop rick let another take In his preaching, Peter comes to set forth the scriptural basis as to why the position left by Judas Iscariot was to be filled by another. God willing, over the next number of weeks, I, as the teaching elder of the congregation, will come to simply remind the congregation here, I will remind you of the requirements and the roles and the responsibilities of elders. And on that basis, and on that basis alone, you are to make your decision. The scriptures must guide you, and nothing else. Now, I don't need to say this, I know, to this congregation, but I'll say it anyway. Relecting elders, is not some kind of spiritual beauty pageant. Electing elders is not some kind of popularity contest. Electing elders is not the opportunity to get a family member or a friend into a position within Christ's church. Brethren and sisters, this is most serious. You must sense the gravity of this. a congregation, and you must not usurp your responsibility as a member. You must attend the meeting. You must know the mind of God in this matter. God has given you this tremendous responsibility and this tremendous privilege to see the work of God go forward. This is a serious matter that requires serious and prayerful consideration with regard to what the Scriptures say. And so, I would encourage you to read the passages of Scripture that are relevant with regard to the eldership. and pray over them and allow the Scriptures of truth to guide you in this matter. They were scripturally taught. Peter brings them to the Scriptures. You pray that God will help me as I bring you to the Scriptures, as we consider this particular matter. Fourthly and finally, the members of the church who came to elect officers within the church, they were submissive. They were submissive. The members of the church were submissive to the will of God. As I've already said, it appears that two men came to the fore to fill the office that was left vacant by Judas Iscariot. Both men appeared to possess the credentials and to meet the requirements, at least in the minds of the church, that were needed to be an apostle and thus to be an elder within the church of Jesus Christ as well. and yet only one man was chosen. Who chose the man? Who chose the man? Well, you see, you might say the membership chose the man, and you would be partially right in that. They had a role. Because if you look down there at the verse 26, the closing verse you'll read, And so what we have here is there is a ballot that takes place. And Matthias' name, he's the one that comes forth. As a result of that, we find then, As a result of that, we find the Matthias was placed into the position that was left by Judas Iscariot. And so the church membership voted, they cast their lots, and Matthias was chosen rather than Barsebas. But don't miss what the church prayed in the verse 24. Because it tells us there, and they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen. Thou hast chosen. Oh, the church chose, but God had already chosen the man to fill the position, and as a result, God having had his choice, that choice was then verified by the congregation and their choice. And the lesson is this. We can be sure, we can be sure when we approach this election scripturally and prayerfully, that the Lord's will will be done. God's choice will come forth in the congregation's choice, and in that you must be submissive. Regarding the matter of submissiveness, the present leadership within the church at this time, we're speaking here about in Acts chapter 1, the leadership submitted themselves to the will of God. God's mind has been shown And as the spiritual oversight, we are submitting to that. They didn't run an election the next year. They submitted themselves to the outcome, the spiritual oversight. And not only that, but the church members submitted themselves to God's will. For they're now in the one place and with one accord. There's no fussing over the matter. because they have submitted themselves to God's will, the membership. And someone else, he submits himself to God's will. Matthias, he submits himself to God's will. As he comes now to fill this position, the will of God has now been shown to me in this vote. As I now come to be elected, and someone else submitted themselves, And it was Joseph Varsavis, the man who wasn't chosen, he submitted himself to God's will. He didn't create havoc within the church. He didn't resign his membership. He submitted himself to the will of God. bringing to your attention is most important, there was a submissiveness to the will of God by the Spiritual Oversight Congregation and candidates along with their families. And that needs to take place in coming days. Everyone in the process needs to submit themselves, resign themselves to the will of God. I don't know what the outcome will be. God may be pleased to give this church two new elders. God may be pleased to give us one elder. God may be pleased to give us no elders. At this time, we must be submissive to his will. We must be submissive to the will of God in this matter. And so let our prayer be, thy will be done, You see, when you come to the place that you have resigned yourself to God's will, then brother, if you're not elected, you must then accept that it's not God's will for you to be elected. You'll have to say, and the grace of God will require you to say it. But you'll have to say, the Lord's will has been done in this matter, and I and my family are accepting it. And if you are elected, then you must say, the Lord's will has been done, and I must give myself wholeheartedly, wholeheartedly to the work of eldership within this assembly. giving everything to it as God, by His grace, will give me. And so, as I've already said in this message, I trust that you're beginning to see the gravity of the choice that we're coming to make as a congregation. But can I say, it's a good thing. It is a proper thing. It is a proper thing for a church to have elders. It is biblical. It is the maturing of a church to see men placed into positions, minister, elders, deacons. It is proper. It is right. It is a good thing. Don't become so anxious with regard to this matter. We must leave this before the Lord. We must know the mind of God in this matter. And whatever His will is, we're going to say, The Lord's will has been done. For this is what they came to do. This is what they came to say. The Lord's will has been done. We want to know the mind of God. We want the Lord's will to be done. Of course, the session needs to be strengthened. Of course, it does. There needs others to come and help. Of course, there is. But we leave that matter with the Lord. We're simply trying to do that which is right and proper in the church of Jesus Christ. And so may you approach this matter prayerfully. And may God give us all grace to submit to His will as we make our way towards this most important decision. And then the church advance, because when all things were in place, Then the Spirit of God came, and revival came, and the church was expanded and blessed, and the work of God went on and advanced and started to reach into the four corners of the world, because all things were now in place, and all things were proper. Oh, pray, pray, pray. Pray, and God's will will be done. And may God give us grace in these days, for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. Our eternal and everlasting Father, O God, we often come to think about these matters from the viewpoint of the candidates, and yet we fail to understand what what we need to be as members of the church. Oh, help us, Lord, to be saved. Help us, Lord, to be supplicants, supplicating ones. Help us, oh God, in these days to be scripturally taught. Help us to be submissive. Guide the membership of the church. We pray, oh God, that thou will give us the man or man of thy choosing Whom thou hast chosen, O God, we pray that thou wilt guide in this matter. We commit it all to thee. Come and answer prayer, and may the word continue to live on in every heart. For we offer prayer in and through our Savior's precious and holy name. Amen.