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QUALIFICATIONS OF A DEACON

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KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Timothy 3:8 ” Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;”

We would consider the qualifications of a deacon in detail. 1st Timothy 3:8-9 reads “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre. Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”

Acts Chapter 6 introduces the basic qualifications of the deacon. Act 6:3 KJV Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. To be full of the Holy Spirit means one is controllèd by the Holy Spirit. The full dominance of the Holy Spirit is the one who enables the Christian to manifest all the Christian virtue.

The deacon must be grave. This means they should act honourably or be honest in all their dealings. They should be men and women of strong conviction about the importance of leading an upright life.

The next virtue is that they must not be double-tongued. This means they must say the same thing at all times. They should not call a thing ‘.A’ today in the presence of Mr. D and at another time in the presence of Mr. F he says it is B. This is not a trustworthy individual. It is the character trait of a serpent. He must always speak the truth. The tendency to say the truth at all times is what makes one to be trusted.

The third qualification is that they must not be given too much wine. In the qualifications of a bishop or an Elder, the Bible said he must not be given to wine. The qualifications of a bishop or pastor are no different from that of a deacon. It therefore holds that the deacon must likewise not be given to wine. In Leviticus 10:9 the Jewish minister was not to take wine in the service of God. Why should it then be any more proper for a Christian minister to drink wine than for a Jewish priest to stay away? Shall a minister of the gospel be less holy than the Jewish minister? Wine is addictive and I will always advise Christians to stay away from it.

The next was that he should not be greedy of filthy lucre. He should not be greedy about money. The deacons, by their functions, are the ones who normally handle church monies, and therefore, it is just right that they are people who are not greedy about money. Judas, one of the disciples of our Lord Jesus, betrayed his master because of his greed for money.

He must also hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. This means he must be sincere about the teachings of the bible. 2nd Corinthians 4:2 informs us that the Apostle Paul renounced all hidden things of dishonesty and, as a result, did not walk in craftiness.

PRAYER

Father, I pray for all deacons who serve in your house. May they be committed to you and discharge their roles to honour your name in Jesus’ name I have prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES.

2 Corinthians 4:2 ” But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”.

1 Timothy 3:10. “And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless”.

THE DEACON

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KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Timothy 3:8 ” Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;”

We continue looking at other services in the house of God. We consider deacons in this study. A deacon is defined as one who executes the command of another. Another meaning for a deacon is a servant or an attendant. Please note that no role played by anyone makes one more important or superior to another. For the sake of effective functioning and order in the body of Christ, God has instituted levels of honour. Each person must serve God and the people of God in humility and fear for God and love for God’s children.

In the book of Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6, there arose some controversies among the brethren concerning the sharing of food. The apostles decided that they would maintain their role in ministering the word of God and prayer, while others were to be chosen who would man the affairs of the food. (Acts 6:1-10). These men were the first deacons of the church.

In 1st Timothy 3:8-12 apostle, Paul made a list of the qualifications of a deacon. They were not very different from that of the elder or pastor. These qualifications talked about the character of the individual. I do not see any of the supernatural gifts being said here. Many people are very fascinated by the gifts of the Holy Spirit without taking time to let the fruit of the Spirit bear in their lives. Please note this; in every kind of service in the house of God, the pure or real servants are those who manifest or bear the fruit of the Spirit. There are cases of those who live sinful lives, yet the gifts manifest in their lives. If you are such a one, do not take that as God’s approval for your wrong ways. God, out of love for his children would allow the gift to manifest so his children who may be praying for healing would be healed, and those who need direction may receive a word of wisdom and have that direction they need.

Remember the story of Moses in Numbers 20:8. The Lord God asked Moses to speak to the rock, to give out water so the Lord’s name would be sanctified. Moses out of anger hit the rock. He did the wrong thing, yet water came. The Lord said to Him in Numbers 12:12 that because he did not obey His instruction, he would not go to the Promised Land.

Good godly character is the only criterion to have an acceptable ministry or service before the Lord. May every servant in God’s house take heed to these things.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I pray for all servants in your house, especially the deacons. May they understand your ways and yield themselves to you to serve you uprightly with no selfish motives.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Galatians 5:22-23 ” But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law”.

1 Timothy 3:11 ” Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things”.

MINISTERIAL GIFTS: THE TEACHER

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:8, 11 “Wherefore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers”.

We continue with our studies on the ministerial offices. This time, we look at the teacher. In all these discussions, I have tried to make it clear that none of these ministerial gifts is made in a classroom. The scripture said “He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men, and he gave some pastors and teachers. All these offices are divine gifts. Nobody makes himself one. Your availability and devotion to God would allow Him to place that gift on you.

Although none of these gifts is made in the classroom, schooling greatly polishes the gifts of God. One’s ability to present these truths clearly and understandably is all because of the training he obtained from school. Schooling, therefore, is very necessary, yet it is not schooling that makes anyone either an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor, or a teacher.

A teacher happens to be placed at the tail end of the ministerial gifts, yet it is in no way the least. Please note this, a false teacher is more dangerous than a false prophet.

A prophet may deceive a person or group of people, while a wrong teacher will destroy generations. The teachings of Jehovah Witnesses about the Holy Spirit, blood transfusion, and the deity of our Lord Jesus have influenced and affected generations of people. Dying people have refused blood transfusions because of their teachings. Many of them died as a result of that.

Teaching is programming an individual or a group of people to think, and act in a particular way. It is a very important gift or office that God gives to men.

The Bible is the teaching material. Every teacher of the bible must know the scriptures exceedingly well. He must read the Bible very well. 2nd Timothy 2:15 says “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a Workman that need not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth”. The word study is not just telling you to read the scriptures. It is the Greek word “Spoudazo” and it means to be diligent, make haste, and exert one’s self. The teacher must be diligent in searching for the truths of the scripture. Many Bible teachers realise that after they have studied the scripture, the Holy Spirit keeps expounding on them even when they are not in their study times. The teacher receives a divine insight into the scriptures as the Spirit compares scripture with scripture.

Does the teacher function in any of the nine supernatural gifts of the Spirit? Yes, he may function in any of the gifts of the Spirit as he avails himself to the Lord in dedication and prayer. A diligent life of prayer is the simplest means for the Spirit to function freely in an individual. The teacher must communicate enough grace that would break satanic powers that hold the minds of people bound.

PRAYER

I pray for all teachers of the word of God to gain more insight into the word of God to bring out truths that would affect our world and the lives of many.

FURTHER STUDIES.
Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”

1 Timothy 1:7” Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

MINISTERIAL GIFTS: THE PASTOR

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:8, 11 ” Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

Pastors are indeed one of the most common ministerial gifts that one may find around. Anytime a man or a woman completes bible school, he or she is called a pastor. Are pastors made from Bible schools? Is Pastor a name or title given to young men and women who have a zeal for God?

The idea that anyone who completes bible school is called a pastor gives our communities a large number of such people. The truth is that many such people have not been called into the office of a pastor.
This also comes along with many who are not ready for the high demands of the pastoral office.
The challenge of getting men and women as pastors to act rightly to an appreciable degree is made possible when certain right systems are in place to monitor the activities of such people. If a man or woman starts gathering people with no external supervision, it gives the tendency for excesses. Brethren who desire to raise a people for God must strictly submit their lives to the proper biblical standards. It is always wise for them to submit their lives and ministry to the supervision of other senior brethren who have a proven track record in the ministry.

To be a pastor is a divine call. Those who appoint people to this office must allow the Holy Spirit to give them an insight into the condition of the heart of the individuals they seek to appoint as pastors. Individuals who also decide to gather people for meetings must do so not based on any selfish motives. It is rather unfortunate to hear scandal after scandal about persons who call themselves pastors. The following lamentation from Apostle Paul depicts what I am talking about and the ultimate effect on the lives of such people. Philippians 3:18-19 ( For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ :
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Who is a pastor? The word pastor in the ancient Greek language is ‘poimen’. This means herdsman or a shepherd. As a shepherd, the pastor feeds cares, protects, and guides the sheep.
The bible gives us standard qualifications that pastors must have..1 Timothy 3:1 “This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work”. This verse says. It is a good thing for a person to desire to be a pastor. Pastors, shepherd people, using God’s word to instruct and help them grow in their faith to become mature Christians. It is a good thing for any man to desire to play the role of a pastor. The scripture gives us certain qualifications that pastors must have. (1st Timothy 3:2–7)

These qualifications are as follows:

  1. They should be Blameless
  2. They should be a Husband of One wife.

3 They should be vigilant

  1. The pastor should be Sober
  2. Must be of good behaviour
  3. He should be given to hospitality
  4. The pastor must be able to teach
  5. He should not be given to wine.
  6. Not a striker or a brawler.
  7. He should not be greedy for money.
  8. A patient man or woman.
  9. He should not be a covetous character.
  10. Able to rule his house well.
  11. He should not be a novice.
  12. Has a good report from those outside.
    (For an in-depth study into this topic, please get my book titled: Biblical Qualifications of a Pastor)

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I pray for all pastors, especially the very young ones in ministry. May your grace strengthen them to play their roles as pastors more effectively and overcome the deceptions and schemes of the evil one.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Jeremiah 3:15 “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding”

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”.

BE AN INTERCESSOR FOR ALL CHRISTIANS

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KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

In part “b” of the key scripture the apostle admonishes all believers to maintain a habit of praying for all Christians. He says they must watch there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

The church is a body of believers. We form a mighty army fighting on behalf of our master on the earth to manifest His glory by bearing fruits of righteousness and saving souls for heaven. The church is not only the congregation you belong to. It is the body of all believers in Jesus our Lord worldwide. Satanic onslaught is against the church as a whole. As much as he attacks individuals his prime motive is to weaken the bigger body so it will not be effective in its core mandate.

When you realise believers are not passionate about winning the lost, then there is a need for persistent prayers for the church. When various denominations compete with each other about how big their congregations are, or how big their church building is, then there is a great need for intercession. It becomes more serious when the church becomes lukewarm, Christian’s are worldlier and a desire for a holy life is very remote to a number of Christians.

The call to be watchful, that is stay up and not to sleep so you would pray for the church is very vital. He said we must persevere in our prayers for the saints. Why persevere? Because it is one of the areas the devil fears so much is when Christians start praying for one another. Most believers have become so selfish. ‘ It is me and my church or worse still me and my family.’

Dear child of God, God our Father does not see His body as a divided people, but one body. It is we men who see ourselves as different groupings. Before God, it is one big body. The need for a strong, body committed to its call mandate is necessary. The Lord desires that the church would be a ready bride that is awaiting His coming without spot or wrinkle. Stop looking down on other denominations. Stop saying “This or that church is weak.” “That so called weak church is that one big body with that weak part and needs strengthening.” Make it your task to seek the Lord’s face till His fire comes upon them all, so we will have that one strong body of believers.

PRAYER

O God our Father open our eyes to know and understand your passion for a well and strong body of saints, conquering the forces of darkness to lift high your banner in these last days. Touch our hearts to intercede for one another till we see that change you desire for your body.

FURTHER STUDIES

Ephesians 4:13” Till us all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”:

Ephesians 4:16″ From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love”.