Latest revision as of 14:49, 13 March 2023

Introduction:

Today we have a special opportunity to recognize the calling of a man to diaconal ministry.

This special ordination is a recognition of the work that God is already doing in the life of Scott Hunter and I want to emphasize that we as a church are not calling Scott to serve as a deacon but rather that we as a church are recognizing the call that God has already placed on Scott's life.

I also want to emphasize that this special time should be a time where we each reflect on God's call on each of us.

It doesn't matter if you have been called as a deacon, pastor, or member of this church, you have been called and your life should reflect the calling that God has placed on your life. In order to set the stage for today's service I would like to invite Pastor David and Chris DeJabet to the stage to read two passages of Scripture.

Setting the Stage:

Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 3:1-14 read by Pastor David

Scripture Reading: Acts 6:1-7 Read by Chris DeJabet

Body

Today we are going to dig into the topic of Calling. Let me begin by telling you that

Every Christian has been called to serve Christ.

You probably agree with me right now. After all, the statement that every Christian has been called to serve Christ passes the smell test, it feels right. So let me go just a little further and tell you that every Christian is called to serve in an office. Okay, now you might disagree with me a little. After all, you might argue, I have not been called to serve in the office of pastor or deacon so I am off the hook. To this my answer is no you are not off the hook, let's look at what it means to have an office.

Charles Hodge, a very prolific theologian writes that an office is "something which cannot be assumed at pleasure by any and every one. A man must be appointed thereto by some competent authority. It involves not only the right, but the obligation to exercise certain functions, or to discharge certain duties; and it confers certain powers or prerogatives, which other men are bound to recognize and respect."^[1]

Hence, we have

An office is a position that cannot be assumed, has not just rights but responsibilities, and confers powers or prerogatives.

and guess what, church membership checks all of those boxes! Turn with me to Hebrews 10:24-25.

Some Christians are called to serve as church members (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Every Christian has been given the right to be part of the family of God but also has a responsibility to

Meet together

Encourage one another

These are responsibilities we each possess. Don't let this idea slip by. We have a responsibility to encourage each other. It is not the pastor's or deacon's job to encourage, it is the job of every member of the church!

Every Christian has the power and prerogative to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

The Greek word παροξυσμὸν (spur one another) carries the idea of not just encouraging but actually irritating, provoking

Spur is a good translation because we are not supposed to be making sure everyone is comfortable we are supposed to be driving each other to love and good deeds. Our prerogative is to push one another out of our comfort zone and into a deep love and striving to do what is good.

Image: Spurs on a horse.

Picture a horse and a rider. The horse might not really feel like going forward, after all, it takes energy and work. However, the rider knows what needs to happen, the horse, despite it's own desire needs to move forward and so the rider digs in with the spurs, the uncomfortable feeling the horse experiences from the spur is enough to encourage the horse to overcome the discomfort of having to push forward and so the horse pushes on accomplishing the mission.

Being a church member is not a position that can be assumed, instead an individual must be called to salvation, be baptized, and enter into the covenant with the body.

MTR: If you are here today and you have not formally joined Southview Baptist Church then it is time to accept your commission as an officer, come and talk with us during the invitation!

Some Christians are called to serve as pastors (Ephesians 4:11-13).

If you have been called as a pastor then I want to remind you, your calling is to equip the church and build up the body!

Pastors have a lot of responsibilities vying for their attention but must not neglect equipping and building!

Many of the responsibilities of a pastor are important responsibilities but each of these responsibilities must be performed with equipping and building in mind.

Don't let administration interfere with equipping and building

The minute administration becomes just administration you are at risk. For example, as a staff we work hard to ensure that prayer and Bible study are part of our meetings, we don't just meet to administer, we meet to grow and build up each other so that we are better positioned to build into the church.

Don't get so caught up in the community that you neglect the body.

Don't get so caught up in personal study that you neglect the body.

Don't let counseling become anything but biblically building the body.

Don't allow deep theological discussions to move you away from the practical work of equipping.

As you can probably see, there are a lot of things that a pastor needs to balance but in this act of balancing, they must remember that their responsibility is for the equipping of the body.

Now let's examine the third office we have to discuss, the office of deacon.

Some Christians are called to serve as deacons (Acts 6:1-7).

We already read through Acts 6:1-7, but you might want to turn there anyway. I want to point out a couple of important, key, elements of this passage.

Deacons were chosen because the needs of the congregation took away from time for the ministry of the Word.

This fact is huge and has enormous implications. First, we need to realize that life happens, people have needs, and sometimes the answer to these needs is not a sermon from a pastor. Second, the needs of the congregation may interfere with the pastor's ability to carry out his responsibility (which we just covered). Third, these needs can create problems with unity.

Deacons function to serve the needs of the congregation and preserve unity.

As a church our deacons accomplish this in a number of ways.

Our deacons,

Attend to special projects that come up at member's houses.

Manage our benevolence fund providing financial help to those in the church with needs.

Visit church members who are in the hospital.

Call church members to find out what their needs are.

Arrange for visits with those who have visited the church and want to learn more.

Work to encourage individuals to get connected with a Sunday School class or small group.

On a personal note: the deacons often help me by reminding me that I cannot and should not do everything but that I have a primary job, equipping the body!

God designed our church and it works best when we follow the design. Members encourage one another to love and good works, pastors equip the members to serve Christ, and deacons serve the church.

MTR: Rededicate yourself to serving in the role to which you have been called.

I have just argued that everyone is called to serve Christ but now I want to transition because I want you to see that

Some Christians are officially recognized to serve in a special capacity (Acts 6:1-7).

The role of deacon and pastor is an important role and the early church following earlier traditions in Israel had a method of officially recognizing the work of God through an individual. Specifically, we call this tradition ordination and if we look back at Acts 6 we will see how the church ordained its first deacons.

Ordination marks a point of officially recognizing the work of God in an individual's life (Acts 6:6).

In Acts 6:6 the apostles laid hands on the new deacons in order to recognize that they were being entrusted with a new role and responsibility.

However, this is not the first instance we see of the laying of hands being used to recognize a new role or responsibility. In fact, we can go all the way back to Moses to see examples

The laying of hands was used by Moses to recognize God's call on Joshua as the next leader in numbers 27:15-20

Today we are continuing the biblical tradition of laying on of hands in an act of officially recognizing someone who God has called to serve as a deacon.

We also practice ordination because

Ordination serves to safeguard the ministry (1 Timothy 5:22).

In 1 Timothy 5:22 Paul reminds Timothy that care should be taken to ensure that care is taken not to hastily ordain

In context, this passage is about practical rules for ministry. How do you care for an alder, what do you do with an elder who is caught in sin. What we learn is that ordination gives us a way of safeguarding ministry.

Ordination serves to encourage the ordained (Acts 6:7).

The early church reaped great fruit from their decision to ordain seven deacons, the number of disciples grew.

Ministry is hard, but ordination serves to remind the individual that as a church we recognize that God has chosen to use this individual and we are behind them.

Turn with me to one final passage, Acts 13:1-3. Church I want us to understand today that we are fulfilling one of God's tasks for us as a church. You see, in Acts 13:1-3 we see that.

The local church is tasked with recognizing those whom God has called to serve in a special capacity (Acts 13:1-3).

In this passage the church commissioned Paul and Barnabas to the work God had called them to perform, but I want you to understand the process that took place behind the scenes. First notice that

The church in Antioch had time to observe Paul and Barnabas (1)

We tend to compress time when thinking about the books of Acts. In fact, a lot of time passes in Acts.

Paul came to Christ in Acts 9 (probably AD 34 or so)

Paul traveled to Arabia for several years as discussed in Gal 1:17)

Paul returned to Tarsus after visiting Jerusalem

Barnabus brought Paul to Antioch in Acts 11

Paul and Barnabas sent to Jerusalem with a gift from Antioch (Acts 11)

Herod Agrippa I dies in AD 44 (end of Acts 12)

Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch in Acts 13

Paul and Barnabas sent out in Acts 13

So you see, the church actually had a significant amount of time to observe Paul before they commissioned him.

The Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to ministry (2)

There is not a whole lot to say here other than to emphasize that the church did not call Paul but rather the Holy Spirit called Paul. As a church we do not call an individual we simply recognize the call that the Holy Spirit has already placed on an individual.

The church in Antioch laid hands on Paul and Barnabas in recognition of God's call (3).

We have already talked about the laying of hands but I want to remind you that the church acted to recognize what God had already accomplished.

MTR: Join me today in officially recognizing the call that God has placed on Scott Hunter's life to serve as a deacon.

Today we are going to invite the other ordained men of the church to come forward as representatives of you, the local church, to lay hands on Scott Hunter.

We are also going to invite Sarah to come forward as Scott's helpmeet and biggest supporter.

But before we do that, I have one last action for you to complete.

MTR: Don't just walk away today without first asking yourself, "How has God called me to serve?"

1. ↑ Charles Hodge, Discussions in Church Polity (1878; repr., New York: Westminster Publishing House, 2001), 346.