If you turn back to 1 Timothy
chapter 3, I've entitled this message, Great Boldness in the
Faith. Great boldness in the faith.
Let's read verse 13 again. For they that have used the office
of a deacon. And that word office actually
is not in the original. It's literally, they that have
ministered well. That's what a deacon is, a minister,
a servant. They that have ministered well
purchase to themselves a good degree. They acquire a good standing,
a good grade, as it were, and great boldness in the faith which
is in Christ Jesus. Now, I want that, don't you?
I want this good degree, whatever it is, this good standing, this
good grade. And I want great boldness in
the faith that is in Christ Jesus. Now, we're going to look at what
the Lord had to say about deacons. Now, we first read of the establishment
of deacons. Let me say this before I go on.
I'm going to be preaching the gospel. I'm not just going to
talk about the office of a deacon. I'm preaching the gospel. But
the office began in Acts chapter 6, if you turn back there. Now, at this time, the church
in Jerusalem had thousands and thousands of people, maybe 10,000
at this time. That's hard to imagine, isn't
it? But it happened. There were thousands of believers.
Verse 1, and in those days when the number of the disciples was
multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians, the Greeks,
against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in
the daily ministration. There was a problem. The Jewish
widows were being treated better than the Gentile widows. You
know, whenever you got men, you got problems, don't you? It's
always gonna be that way. And the Jewish widows were being
treated better. It wasn't fair. And there was
a murmuring that took place in the church at that time. People
were upset about it. Verse two, then the 12 called
the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, it is not
reason, that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Now the serving of tables is
very important. Helping those in need, helping
the sick, visiting the sick. Helping, but it's, Peter says
it's not reasonable for us to be continually burdened by that
to where we have to leave the preaching of the word. That's
what our main focus is. Now, the serving of tables is
important, but our focus has got to be prayer and the preaching
of the word. Wherefore, brethren, verse three,
look you out among you seven men of honest report, full of
the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business,
but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry
of the word. Deacons. Turn with me to Matthew
chapter 20. Now all a deacon is, is a minister. He's a servant. As a matter of
fact, Phoebe, remember in Romans chapter 16, Phoebe is called
a deacon of the church, a servant of the church. And every believer
in a sense ought to be a deacon, every believer. Now look here
in Matthew chapter 20, verse 20. Then came to him the
mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshiping him
and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her,
what wilt thou? She saith unto him, grant that
these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand and the
other on thy left in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said,
you know not what you ask. And he's talking to the James
and John now, are you able to drink of the cup that I shall
drink of and to be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized
with? And they said, we're able. You know, that was an incredibly
arrogant statement to make, wasn't it? They didn't know what they
were saying, but you know what? They did, because what Christ
did, they did. So he doesn't ball them out.
He says, and he saith unto them, verse 23, you shall drink indeed
of my cup and be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized with.
That's going to happen because you're in me. But to sit on my
right hand and on my left is not mine to give. but it should
be given to them for whom it's prepared of my father. And when
the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the
two brethren." I love to think about that because you know these
fellows, they thought they ought to be on the right hand of the
left. That's why they were moved with indignation. They were upset.
How dare them so presumptuously try to irrigate a place like
that to themselves? Well, that's what they were wanting
to, you know that. Verse 25, but Jesus called them
unto him and said, you know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise
dominion over them and they that are great exercise authority
upon them. That's the way the world works,
but it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great
among you, let him be your deacon. your minister, your servant. And whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your slave, your servant. Even as the son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his
life a ransom for many. Now the eternal son of God says,
I didn't come to be served. I came to serve. I came to minister
and to give my life a ransom for the many, the elect of God. Now, the Lord came to serve and
he said, if you want to be great, if it's what you want to do,
be a servant. Now, it doesn't take good looks
to be great. It doesn't take great talents to be great. It
doesn't take a lot of money to be great. All it takes is being
a servant. That's greatness in the kingdom
of heaven. And we ought to all aspire to
greatness in the kingdom of heaven. All it takes is being a servant. In this passage of scripture,
Paul tells us the qualifications of this man that is to be a servant,
a minister, a deacon. So if you turn back to 1 Timothy
chapter 3, verse 8. Likewise, must the deacons,
the ministers, the servants be grave, reverent, respectful. sincere, dignified, seriousness
of purpose. He must be grave, not double-tongued. What's that? Somebody that's
double-tongued gives a different report to different people about
the same thing. You've run across that. Perhaps you've been guilty
of it. You tell one group one thing,
another group another thing about the same thing. And that person
who does that is a person who cannot be trusted. He can't work
in the office of a deacon. This implies some bad motive.
It's less than honest. While I don't want to be brutally
honest, because that usually just means mean, I still want
to be honest. Honest. This deacon must be honest,
not double-tongued. Next, it says in verse 8, he's
not given to much wine. He's not a drunkard. Be not drunk
with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. He's not a drunkard. He's not
controlled by substance abuse. He must not be greedy, it says,
of filthy lucre. Money. Turn with me to 1 Timothy
chapter 6. If a man is going to be a servant,
he can't be somebody who is greedy, a filthy lucre, who's a money
grubber. Look in verse three. If any man
teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, even the
words of our Lord Jesus Christ into the doctrine, which is according
to godliness, he's proud. knowing nothing but doting about
questions and strifes of words whereof cometh envy and strife,
railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt
minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain, financial
gain, is godliness. From such withdraw thyself, but
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into this world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out. I love that statement, when somebody
died, they said, well, what did he leave? Everything, everything. And having food and raiment,
let us be there with content. Literally, yeah, but what food
we have in Christ and what clothing we have in Christ. But look what
he says next, but they that will be rich, that's their desire,
that's their agenda. I want to have a lot of money.
They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is the
root of all evil. Now the Bible says that. The
love of money. is the root of all evil. What's money get you? It's not
just money, it's the love of money. It's the love of what
money provides, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
the pride of life, pleasure. Popularity and power. Those three
things is what that means. That's what people think money
gets them. And Paul tells us the love of
money is the root of all evil. And a deacon cannot be somebody
given to that. Now turn back to our text in
1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 9. Holding. This is what a deacon
must be. And this is what I want to be.
This is what I want you to be. Holding the mystery of the faith. in a pure conscience, holding
the mystery of the faith. Now, I want you to listen to
me real carefully. I want to say this the way it
ought to be said. The gospel is a mystery religion. It's mysterious,
isn't it? It's a mystery religion. It's
not something that you can figure out. A mystery is something that
God has brought down to us and made Himself known. The gospel
is a mystery religion. God only gives it to those He
initiates into this mystery. In other words, if God has saved
you, if God has revealed the gospel to you, you've been brought
into the secret. You've been brought into the
mystery. You know things that other people don't know. You
understand things and see things that other people have never
seen. It's a mystery religion. And it speaks of mysteries that
we could not possibly known unless He was pleased to make it known.
Now let me give you some Scriptures. The Lord said, I thank Thee,
O Father. Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hid these things, the mysteries of the gospel. You
have hid these things from the wise and the prudent. You've
chosen to not tell them, but you've revealed them. Revelation,
you've revealed them to babes. The Lord said to His disciples
in Matthew 13, 11, it's given to you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom, but to them it is not given. Do you have any
idea, do I have any idea what a blessed privilege of grace
it is to know the mysteries, to be initiated into the mystery
of the kingdom of God? Truly, this is a mystery. Religion
in Romans chapter 16 verse 25 Paul spoke of the revelation
of the mystery Which was kept secret since the world began
and if you believe the gospel, you know the secret God has made
himself known to you. Not everybody does you know to
the natural man? The gospel can't understand it. The Bible's a closed book. He
can't understand the message of this book. The natural man
can't do it. He may be as smart as Einstein, but he can't figure
out the message of this book. It can only be known by revelation. God revealing to you the mystery. Now, I think of what the Lord
said. He said to the Pharisees, why
don't you understand my speech? because you can't, because you
cannot hear my word. He said, if I say the truth,
why don't you believe me? He that's of God, heareth God's
words, you therefore hear them not, because you are not of God. Now what a blessed... This is humbling, to think that
the Lord would make himself known to me. Why me? Why me? Why do I know this mystery,
this glorious mystery? I like what the Lord said, you've
hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them
unto babes, even so father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. That's why it takes place. Now
the gospel is a mystery religion given only to the initiated,
yet it's opened to anybody who wants it. I want you to think
that both those things are true. The gospel is given. It's only
to those that God has chosen and revealed himself to, that
are initiated into the mystery, and yet it's open to anybody
who wants it. I'm so thankful for that. Now,
Colossians chapter 2, verse 7, Paul says, we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom. which God ordained
before the world into our glory. Now, I can't make anybody see
this mystery, but he can. I hope he makes me see. Now,
think of these scriptures. 1 Timothy 3, verse 16. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Matt, you just said it. A man
died for me. A real man with flesh and blood. A real man. The man, Christ Jesus. Great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. What a great mystery that God
became a man. That can't be understood. Just believe. In Ephesians chapter
1, verse 9, it says, He made known unto us the mystery of
His will. Now listen to this. I know the
will of God. I know the will of God. He's made known the mystery
of His will. Here it is. Our Lord told us,
I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will
of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I should
lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. It's the
will of God for all the elect to be saved. And this is the
will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son,
they see he is the only way to the Father. Everyone that seeth
the Son and believes on him should have everlasting life, and I'd
raise him up at the last day. I just gave you the will of God.
He's made known it, and I know that. You know, Ananias said
to the apostle Paul, the God of our fathers that's chosen
thee, that thou mightest know his will. That's not just talking
about knowing His will for your life or His will for what job
you can take. No, I know His will of redemption. I know the
will of God, and we wouldn't know it unless He made it known.
We read in Colossians 127 of the glory of this mystery among
the Gentiles, which is Christ in you. The hope of glory. What a mystery. Christ in me. I know this, if I love God, it's Him in me. If I believe, it's Him in me. You know, Paul said, when I pleased
God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
His grace to reveal His Son in me, not just to me, You see,
it's not enough for Christ to be revealed to me because I'll
forget Him. I'll lose Him. I need Him revealed in me. Christ in you, the hope of glory. And then we read in Ephesians
chapter 5, verses 30 and 31, the two talking about marriage.
The two shall be made one flesh. I speak a great mystery. But
I speak concerning Christ and the church. The mystery of union
with the Lord Jesus Christ. How could we ever... I'm one
with Him. Both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are
all of one. Whatever He is, I am. It's always
been that way. And who can understand that?
I've always been in the Lord Jesus Christ. I've always been
one with Him. I've always been united to Him. I've always had
personality before God. He's always known me in His Son.
That's a mystery, isn't it? It's a great mystery. And it's
glorious. I've always been in the Lord
Jesus Christ. We read in 1 Corinthians 15,
51, where Paul said, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall
not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye. at the last trump, for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible."
Now that's, I'm going to be raised. Everybody in Christ is going
to be raised incorruptible. Without sin. Perfect in Christ
Jesus. What a glorious thing to think
about. One of these days I'm not going to be a sinner anymore.
One of these days I'm not going to have any experience of sin.
I won't even remember what it's like to be a sinner. Revelation 17, 5, we read of
the mystery of Babylon, the mother of harlots, which is the mystery
of iniquity that Paul wrote of in 2 Thessalonians 2. And here in our text, they hold
to the mystery of the faith. Now, here's a great mystery. Here's a great mystery. It's
glorious. This is the gospel. This is the mystery of the faith.
To him that worketh not. but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." That's the
mystery of the faith. How God can be just and justify
me through what Christ did and given me the grace to believe
it. That's a mystery that I hold on to. Now, the deacon must hold
tightly the mystery of the faith. Verse 10, in a pure conscience or a cleansed
conscience, a conscience cleansed and purified by the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I've said this before regarding
the conscience. I've never experienced the time
when I don't feel guilty. Never have. I always feel guilty
about something. But I don't have anything to
feel guilty about. Because the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
has washed away all my sin. He's made an end of sin. Somebody
prayed that to her. I heard that somewhere during
this. He's in that song. He made an end of sin. He made
an end of sin. Now while I feel guilty all the
time, I don't have anything to feel guilty about. And I can
lay my head down in peace and sleep because I know that all
God requires of me, I have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's
that pure conscience. And look what he says next in
verse 10. He says, And let these also first be proved, let them
be tested. let them abide their time, then
let them use the office of a deacon, or then let them be a minister
being found blameless. It's the same thing as the bishop
that we considered last week. He can't be an office. He can't
be a new believer. Now, this thing of being tested.
You know, I thought of, when I was thinking of this testing,
I thought of the parable of the sower. The sower went out and
sowed the word. Some seed fell by the wayside
and was gobbled up. Same seed. Some seed fell in
stony ground. It got hot because of the stone.
It sprung up quickly, but it was scorched quickly, and it
didn't abide. There was others that fell among
thorns, and the thorns choked them off. And then there were
some that fell on good ground and brought forth fruit. Now,
you and I are going to be tested. And we're going to be seen as
to what kind of hearers we are. You know, somebody receives the
word. I don't know how many times I've had people come up to me
who came to the church maybe a couple of times, once or twice
or three. This is the greatest thing I've ever heard. I believe
this. I want to identify this. That's happened just in the last
six months. A guy came up to me. He came
two or three times, said, this is great. This is great. Where
is it? Fell away. Persecution because of the Word.
He thought, well, it's not worth this. I mean, I didn't sign up
for this. He quit. Others, oh, it's such a sad thing,
the thorn choked here, where the cares of this world, the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things choke
the Word, and He brings forth no fruit. No fruit. Now, this person, unlike the
stony ground here, he doesn't leave. He's still here, but he
bears no fruit unto perfection. And then there's the good ground
hearer. He hears the word. He believes
it. He rejoices in it. And by the
grace of God, he brings forth fruit. That's the good ground
here. Now we're gonna be tested to
see what kind of hearers we are. And this deacon must first be
tested, then let him use the office of a deacon being found
blameless. And then he says something about
the deacon's wives, verse 11. Even so, must their wives be
brave, not slanders, sober, faithful in all things. Their wives must
be grave, reverent, respectful, dignified. That's what he's saying.
Their wives must be that way. Not slanders. Now, I learned
something in this. I always look up the words.
And do you know that the word slanderer is the same word that's
translated devil? And it's also translated a false
accuser. And the word devil means the
slanderer, the accuser of the brethren. A thought finder who
spreads innuendos and criticisms in the church. The deacon's wife
cannot be a slanderer. Sober. Temperate. Temperate. Not drunk with this world. Temperate. Faithful in all things. You know,
if somebody's just faithful in most things, they're not faithful,
are they? Faithful in all things. Verse 12. Let the deacons that
let the deacons be the husbands of one wife ruling their children
in their own house as well. I touched on this. What that's
a reference to is they can't be polygamous. They can't be
polygamists. That doesn't mean that if someone
was unconverted and got a divorce, well, most unconverted people
do get divorced. That's not right, but that's
what happens. And would you say the Lord saves him and says,
well, he can't be a deacon because he was divorced his past life?
Well, that's ridiculous. What this is talking about is
you can't be a polygamist. You can't have two wives. You
can only have one wife, a deacon. And that was a problem in the
church. They had all kinds of wives back then. It's hard to
imagine a culture like that, isn't it? But they did it, I
guess that's why they were all so miserable. Verse 13. If you had a bunch of, I mean,
it's hard to, Lynn's not in here, is she? She's in the nursery. That's funny, she's in the nursery. It's hard enough, that's why
I can say all I want now. No, I mean, being married's tough.
I mean, it's a joy, it's a privilege, it's a blessing. Anybody who's
married will tell you, there's things that's tough. So can you
imagine having four, five, six women to deal with it? He said,
to be the husband of one wife, ruling their own, their children
and houses well, verse 13, for they that have used the office
of a deacon, they that have ministered well, will purchase to themselves
a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ
Jesus. Now the deacons that have ministered
well, that have been true servants, that have been servants of the
church, and that's what a deacon is, a servant of the church. The ministers, the servants that
have used the office of a deacon well, purchase to themselves
a good degree. They acquire a good standing. They earn respect, is what that
means. They earn the respect of the
church. They're highly admired. Now you
think about this. In the church, you have people
who are unbelievers, you have people who are believers who
act like unbelievers, you have people who are unbelievers who
act like believers, and you have people who are believers that
act like believers. I'm thankful for that, aren't
you? But you know, you think about what Paul said to the church at Corinth. He said, are ye not carnal? and walk as men. He said that
to him. He said, you're carnal. You act
like, where there's envying and strife and divisions among you,
you're carnal. You walk like men. Now he was
saying that to believers. He called them faithful brethren
in Christ Jesus. And then you have someone who's a certain,
you got some who act like unbelievers and you have some who glorify
God as servants to the church. Which one is gonna have the greatest
reputation and standing in the church? Now, obviously, the man
who's a faithful minister, a faithful deacon, a faithful servant of
the church. Now, does that mean one's going
to have a higher reward in heaven than the other? No, not at all.
Christ is my Lord. Christ is my righteousness. And
the very thought of something that I do or something that I
say or some kind of conduct I perform, I can add that to Christ and
make it better, that's blasphemous. That's blasphemous. All believers
are the same because we have the same, we're one in Christ.
But here on earth, this person's gonna enjoy Christ more. He's
gonna have a better life, really, in that sense. He'll purchase
to himself a good degree, a good standing. He gets an A. But look
what it says next. For they that have used the office
of a deacon well purchased to themselves a good degree and
great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. And this
is what I want. I want to be a servant. And I
want to have this great boldness. This great confidence. in the
faith that is in Christ Jesus. I love that scripture in Acts
chapter 4 verse 13 when Peter and John had been preaching and
it says, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they were
struck with the boldness of these men in proclaiming the gospel.
And they perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men.
They took knowledge of him that they had been with Jesus. Now, this is where boldness comes
from. Boldness in the faith. First
of all, that means they'll speak boldly without ambiguity and
without waving back and forth. They speak with confidence. Now,
when I preach with boldness, that means I preach knowing I'm
preaching the truth. knowing I'm actually speaking
God's Word. And I know it's so. And you can
say, well, I don't agree. Well, I don't care if you don't.
I know it's so. That's what it is to speak with boldness. You
know the truth, and you have confidence that what you're saying
is the truth. But there's more to boldness
than that. Just speaking with boldness. Ephesians 3.12 says,
in whom we have boldness. Confidence. and access. I've got access into the very
presence of God. In Christ, I'm bold. I don't
have anything to even worry about in Christ. If Christ really is
everything in my salvation, I can come into God's presence with
boldness and expect to be heard. We're called upon to come boldly
to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. It's not just talking about bold
speaking. It's knowing I can come in and He's my Father. He's
my Father. I'm His Son. Christ is my Savior. And I can come into His presence
with boldness knowing I'm not going to be kicked out. Knowing
I'm accepted. Knowing I'm received. That's
boldness. Oh, for boldness and coming to the Lord. Lord, I'm
coming to You boldly because You told me to. You said to come
boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. You said to do that. I'm
doing it. That's boldness. Hebrews 10,
19 says, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Jesus. We have boldness to enter into
the very presence of God by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I like to read the one, this
is my favorite, 1 John chapter five. I refer to this, I'm sorry,
1 John chapter four. Verse 17, herein is our love
made perfect that we may have boldness, confidence in the day
of judgment. Now I want you to think about
standing before God in judgment and having boldness and confidence. Now do I have boldness and confidence?
Because I've been faithful. Do I have boldness and confidence
because of the personal obedience that I've worked out? Do I have
boldness and confidence because of how I have kept down sin and
I've walked the straight way? Is that where my boldness and
confidence is from? Not on your life. Not on your life. Here's where my boldness and
confidence comes from. It says, because as he is. So are we in this world. As he is righteous, I'm righteous. As he is altogether lovely to
God, I am altogether lovely to God. As he is accepted by the
Father, I'm accepted by the Father. As he is holy, I am holy. He is my holiness. As He is well-pleasing
to His Father, I am well-pleasing to my Father. Because as He is
whatever He is. And here's my boldness. It's
not something in me. As He is, so are we in this world
right now. Now, may we all serve well. May God teach us to be servants,
servants one to another. I'm afraid I'm one of those type
of people that think, you know, they need to learn that. That's not
the, no, I'm the one that needs to learn it. May God teach me
truly to be a servant. And in serving well, we will
acquire or purchase to ourself a good degree and great boldness
in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Let's pray.