All right, well, I'll ask you to turn in your Bibles please to 1 Timothy chapter three. We're going through this letter verse by verse. And this morning I'm gonna read the first seven verses. 

It is a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity. But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God? And not a new convert so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. and he must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 

This morning we're looking at what is required of elders. We've been on this for the past two times that I've preached on this and hopefully we're gonna finish this passage this morning. It's rather a daunting list for those aspiring to the office of elder or for those already elders. And so the standard here is not perfection. We're all headed for that. Eventually we will all be perfect. But to be above reproach in all of these different characteristics. 

So before you read these and say, well, that's just, that's not me. I'm not that kind of Christian. Let me remind you that it's pride and presumption to presume that you bring any goodness to Christ. in order to be saved, you actually have to repent of that. You have to abandon that, that whole idea that you're bringing anything good to Christ. It's not pride and it's not presumption to expect or even presume, I might use that word, that he brings goodness to you. That's actually faith. That's actually humility. That's actually right, that you should expect that Christ brings, that he brings goodness to you. 

So the good news of the gospel is that Christ not only forgives your sins, and if that was all the gospel was, that would be wonderful enough, that Christ forgives your sins. But the gospel is that Christ not only forgives your sins, but he also takes you by the hand, and he takes you here. He takes you into these characteristics that define what an elder must be. 

So the character qualities of elders is something that Christ takes you deeper and deeper into since elders are to lead in the church by examples of the same kind of godliness that the elders are for the rest of the church as well. So these character qualities, and I'd summarize them as being self-controlled, or spirit-controlled, and loving leadership. Those are the character qualities of this. And those character qualities map out the Christian journey when the Lord takes you by the hands. And I would say especially for Christian men, because these are the character qualities of those who are called to lead, and every Christian man is called to lead to some extent. And these are the character qualities of those called to lead in the church. 

So, Christ is leading you into this character, if you're a Christian, in whatever way is appropriate for what he's given to you. And that's his gift to you. Every good and perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, in whom there's no variation or shadow of changing. And so it's his gift to lead you into this kind of goodness in a way that's perfectly suited to you. In a way, that he has perfect timing, and it's perfectly suited to your circumstances as well. And so he's gonna bring out these characteristics of godliness, of godly leadership, in a way that's unique to the character that he created you with. Those who are characterized by these are all characterized in slightly different ways, because the Lord brings that out especially.

So especially to men, my challenge this morning is aspire. to make these traits to be your character, and then to be strong and to take courage, knowing that the Lord is with you as you go in these, and then to make every effort to follow Christ's leading of you into this character, to make it more and more your own. And if you endeavor to do that, you won't be disappointed. You won't be put to shame because that is God's gift to you. You may bite off more than you can chew by aspiring towards these characteristics, but not more than the Lord is giving you, not more than Christ himself is giving to you.

So, this morning we're looking at the last three of these characteristics, which is that an elder must manage his own household well, that's verse four to five, must not be a new convert, that's verse six, and must have a good reputation with those outside the church, and that is verse seven. And for whatever reason, these aren't just listed briefly like the others, but there's a little bit of explanation that's given along with these last three. So we'll look at those this morning.

And the first is that an elder must be one who manages his own household well. And that's in verses four to five. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity. But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God? So he has to manage his own household well. It doesn't rule out a man who is single or childless any more than it rules out a man who only has one child because it says children. It says children plural here, that he's to be one who manages his own household while keeping his children under control with all dignity.

That being said, for a man, The primary way to live a selfless life of love and serve by leading others is in the household, in the family, by being the head of the household. And so that's why this is mentioned here for elders. It's not the only way for a man to lead in his life without being an elder of the church, but it's the primary way. And so it is mentioned here. And the thought here is this, that the character it takes to be a good husband, to be a good father, to be a head of the household is directly transferable. It's directly transferable to the character it takes to be a good elder. And that's a very important thought. It's a very important insight here. And that's why I think it's explained and not just listed.

Well, he has to be, It doesn't just list it. He's gonna manage his own household well, but it tells you why. It tells you why. He needs to be one who manages his own household well because that's what transfers very directly into being an elder, is those same qualities and abilities to manage the households well. That connection, that thought is explained in terms of being obvious. because it's drawn out with a question like you already know it. If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God? So this should be something that is common sense, something that you already know, that if you think about it, you'll say, well, of course, of course. The way that a man manages his home is gonna tell you the way in which he's gonna also manage the church if he's put in a position of authority there.

So if a man is not a good husband, not a good father, he's not gonna be a good, as an elder. If a man is a good husband, is a good father, you should expect him also to be a good elder, and he will be. And that's according to, what's sometimes called the Matthew principle, because it's taught in Matthew 25, as well as a number of other places in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus taught it. He who is faithful in a little will be faithful in much. If a man's faithful in his own household, to lead in his own household, then he's also gonna be faithful in God's household, which is the church as well.

So if the character it takes to be an elder, is directly transferable to the character it takes to be a husband and a father, and it is, that's what the scripture says, then it seems to me that not only elders, but also husbands and fathers in the church, who may or may not be called on to be elders, should make a special focus of their efforts to cultivate all the character qualities that we've been looking at in the past weeks. The reason they're given is because they're character qualities of an elder. An elder must be all of these things. But since being a head of a household requires the same sort of characteristics as to lead the church, also husbands and fathers should make this a special focus.

That is to be totally devoted to one wife in every way possible, totally faithful to her, to be self-controlled in mind. That's the next traits that are given. Not following impulses, not following fits of irrationality, but to be disciplined in your thinking, to be hospitable in the way that you share your home, to be able to teach, to be not addicted to wine or controlled by anything, to be able to resolve conflict well and engaged to do it, to be free from greed and content with what you have. So if you're an elder, for sure, you should make that your special study if you're a head of a household. These are also the characteristics by which you'll manage your household well, and so you should make that your study. Make that your pursuit. Make that your focus, your meditation. Ask the Lord to help you with these things, and He will bring it about.

So we have here a description of a man who manages his own household well. And that word manage, it's a good word for leadership. It's translated manage in my translation, others translate it as govern or rule. So it means to lead everything about a household. This is what an elder must be, one who manages, leads his own household well. That means he provides for the physical, spiritual, emotional needs of everybody in his house. Body, soul, and spirit. He ministers to all. He's responsible for all. He's responsible for leading each one in his home.

So he must be one who manages his own household well in order to know how to manage the households of the church of God. And I want you to notice a little clue about what it means to manage well. There's not a lot of detail, or how to, in this passage. It's mostly about results. Is the man managing well in his home? Well, then he's gonna manage well in the church as well. But this word for managing, Paul, the way he explains this thought, he could've just said it three times in a row. He could've said, he must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity. 

But if a man does not know how to manage, same word, second time, his own household, how will he also, and he could have said manage, third time, the church of God, that's the thought, because he's making it equal. those things, but instead he uses a different word when he comes to it the third time. If a man does not know how to manage, to rule his own household, how will he, and he uses a different word, take care of, take care of the church of God. 

I don't know if Paul just decided not to use the same word three times for the sake of variety and used another that was very much like it, but he uses this word to care for. And he makes it kind of a synonym with to manage, and especially to manage well. If he doesn't know how to manage his own household, how will he also take care of the church of God? 

This word for to take care of, it's used I think only one other time in scripture with the parable of the Good Samaritan. And the Good Samaritan took the injured man and he did this, he took care of him. He obviously loved him and showed that love by taking care of whatever he needed. And so this is a term for sacrificial love that seeks the highest good. prefers to caring about those who are under your leadership and loving them and having it on your heart. 

So this is what elders do. They not only manage in the church, but they... care about the people that they're leading in this way. So Paul just puts them together. He says them both in the same breath because they're both a huge part of what the elders do. So the elders, same as someone managing a household, manages with love, or leads, I should say, with love. It's not one size fits all. it's individualized because the elder, the head of the household, cares about those that he's leading, whether it's a family member for the head of the household or whether it's an elder. 

And so with this little variation in the way that Paul puts this, he puts his finger on a huge difference between how the world uses authority and looks at leadership and how Christians use authority and think about leadership. And of course, Christ himself talked about this and connected it with what is most profound in the Christian faith, which is the cross of Christ and what he came to do. 

Matthew chapter 20, verse 25, Jesus called his disciples to himself and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and their great men exercise authority over them. The world, they have their own way of exercising authority. They lord it over. It is not to be this way among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. 

The highest authority is Christ himself. He's King of kings and Lord of lords. And he came on the cross, not so that those under his authority would serve him. He came to serve and he paid the ultimate sacrifice to lay down his life in place of those that he was in authority over. So this is the opposite of the world. The disciples had a hard time. with this because they were used to what the world does and the way the world thinks about and aspires to authority. The world says if I find myself in a position of authority, it means I'm better than whoever I'm in authority over. It means that they exist to serve me, because I'm in authority. That's the way the world thinks about authority. And the cross itself, the way the Son of Man came, turns that completely upside down. and says, if I find myself in a position of authority, it means I put myself last. And it means I put those under my authority first. It means I'm given authority to serve them and to love them in that way. And so leadership is not for a high exalted position. Leadership is, and leading others, is service. It's a way of serving others, and it's to be done in love. 

And so here's Paul, he's talking about managing, leading, he's using that word for that, and same breath, same thought, he's talking about caring for those that are under his authority. 

This church, I think has been marked by good parents, good parents in the past and in the present, I should say, as well. I'm sure it's more of a struggle for some than others. Each child is different. Each parent is different. Each situation is different. But when parents in a household love their children, not only are authorities over their children, but love their children. The kids generally thrive when they have a mom and a dad who love them. In fact, it's a tragedy when a child doesn't have either one of those, a mom or a dad who loves them. God is a father to the fatherless and he's able to make that up in our fallen worlds. But children generally thrive when they are loved. 

And in the same way, church members are meant to be loved by elders and not just managed. 

And so when a man is managing his household well, and when managing his household well means caring about those who are under his care, he's a man who's also qualified to be an elder. to manage well, to lead, is to love in the home and also in the church. So it's a good reminder, even for the good parents that are here, when a parent disciplines a child, ultimately it's not to make the parent's life better. It's not ultimately so the parent can have some peace and quiet. I'm sure there's a place for that at times, just a discipline for that, but ultimately, the purpose is not for yourself. The purpose is for the good of the child, and so it's to be done in love and in care, and that's to direct all of the ways in which discipline is set up. 

In the same way, an elder, an elder brings the same mentality into leadership in the church, and so an elder becomes a leader in the church, makes decisions that affect other people, and his question when he makes those decisions is not, well, what do I want? What do I prefer for this decision? It's not, well, I'm in charge and so that means my preferences and my tastes all get a voice. So the curtains get to be the color that I want the curtains to be or whatever the decision is. The question on the mind of the leaders, what is gonna be best for the people that are under my authority. What's gonna be best for the church and what's gonna be best for where we're all headed together as a church because the managing well is not to be done just with efficiency or something like that in mind, but it's to be done with love in mind as well. 

Okay, so here's the picture and I'm filling out of this qualification for an elder. He must be one who manages his own household well. I hope I've put a picture of that. It's leadership and it's done together with taking care, with loving as well. But there's a further phrase, for managing his own household well, there's a special focus and it could include a lot of things for managing the household well, but there's a special focus on the kids, on children. Managing his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity. That's the description that's given for managing the households well. So there's a special focus on children.

If a man is a good father to his own children, he'll be a good elder to church members. If he's not a good father to his own children, then he won't be a good elder to church members as well. Now, this isn't, one to one. In other words, authority over children, being a good authority over children is different from being an authority over adults. And so, and the Bible speaks of it differently. For a child, Authority over a child is because a child is not able to think for himself, not ready to think for himself, and so authority over a child, to a large degree, is so that you can think for the child, make life simple for the child so the child can live a child's life as he's ready and not be given an adult's life before he's ready.

For adults, the purpose of authority, I think, according to scripture, is either to lead as a group. You're given a task that one person can't do alone, but only a group can accomplish together. There's a lot in life that's like that, and it requires coordination, and that requires an authority to come and give order to the group, and then the group is able to accomplish a lot more than any single one could give, and so authority for adults is for that, or also to give advice. care to someone with love and care and a sense of responsibility for that person as well. And so that's why authority is given over adults.

In the multitude of counselors, there is a safety. But if you see a man who wields authority well with children, he's also gonna be able to wield authority well with adults. He's gonna be able to make the switch and wield that authority appropriately. And so the one is a testing ground, the way that a man wields authority over children. his own children is a testing ground for whether he's to be given authority in the church as well.

So this is a man who is a good father to his children. And specifically it says this, he's keeping his children under control. with all dignity. So that's the picture of this man. I'm sure Paul understands that kids are kids, that this is not gonna be a perfect picture all the time. But in general, the children of a man who manages his own household well, in this way that he keeps his children under control with all dignity, they're gonna do what he tells them to do. you're gonna see with the children that they have lines that they don't dare cross, that are not negotiable to them. And it's because the father is managing his household well and providing that structure for the children.

So this is not a man who's exasperated when he's around his children, can't keep his children under control for longer than he's watching, or only when he's nagging at them, telling them what to do. but one who's able to keep his children under control. It says, with all dignity. 

Okay, it says, with all dignity, and that's an important description here, because it says, with all dignity. In other words, not just the appearance of dignity, but through and through. So what does this word mean, with all dignity? It's a word, this word dignity in my translation, it's an important word in Greek thought. There's kind of a whole concept that goes along with it. And there's a number of words that are like this that Paul tends to gravitate towards for whatever reason in the epistles of 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. 

The Christian version of it, I'm sure doesn't swallow it whole, but has its own sort of version of it. But there's a number of words, and this is one of them, that are difficult for translators to capture in one word. And so you'll find the clue on this, you'll find different translations use different words. So my translation says, here he's a man who keeps his children under control with all dignity. Others have said, with all gravity. or with all reverence, and it means all those things, all those things together. 

I'll do my best to kind of capture what I think is the main thought of this word, and that is it refers to all that is elevated or elevating in the human spirit, with all dignity, all that is worthy of admiration. There's a verse that this appears in, Philippians chapter four, and verse eight is a great verse for what we're to occupy our minds with. And it says, finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there's any excellence and anything worthy of praise dwell on these things. 

So it's how you're to occupy your mind. And the word that's given here that I'm talking about is the second one. Whatever is honorable, whatever is honorable, whatever is worthy of admiration. The New King James gives whatever is noble. And so this is the way that a man is to manage his home, is keeping his children under control with all that is worthy of admiration. that's elevated in the human spirit. 

And I think there's a kid version of that, and there's an adult version of that as well. And actually, I don't know which exactly is Mitch. Is it the father that's managing his children with all dignity? Or is it the children that are being kept under control and all dignity is, with them as they're under control. It's probably the children, although it certainly applies to both and the father is leading by example here as well. 

But when there's discipline, and love in the home, it calls out what is best in the human spirit, in the family, and in the children as well. It calls out what is noble, what is elevated, what is honorable in the children. The children thrive. and do so because they're being led well and being loved in that way. Proverbs chapter 20 verse 11 says, even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure and whether it be right. And so an elder's home and an elder's children are to be kept under control in a way that brings out those things and with all dignity. 

So he's to keep his children under control with all dignity. And I think this looks different at different ages for the kids. So younger children need to know the meaning of the word no. Children are much happier when there's structure and there's discipline in an environment of love and it's not negotiable. It's just because I said so. Just because your mom said so. This is the way we're gonna be doing this. 

Ephesians chapter six verse one is a verse that's especially given to children. Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. And I think there's a sense in which children should just be allowed to focus on one thing. Just children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. That's to be certainly the main focus for a small child, for a man who's managing his household well and keeping his children under control with all dignity.

Through that one command, children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. A child can learn obedience, can learn about authority, can learn consequences, can learn that they're a sinner, which prepares their heart for the gospel as well.

Older children being kept under control with all dignity in a way that's appropriate to their age need to be thinking about more than that. So I'm thinking of like teenagers here need to be being trained in how to think as a Christian. without rebelling against their parents' authority.

Older children should be being given small opportunities to succeed or fail on their own, be given responsibilities, kind of like the Lord trained his disciples. He trained them maybe at first as children and then, spiritual children, and then also gave them opportunities to go out and minister, to stand or fall upon their own, then come back and talk about it.

And so that's the way in which an older child, I think, in the home would be kept under control with all dignity, calling out what is honorable in a child for that sort of age. So this is what it means to manage your own household well, or at least a picture of what it means, and keeping your children under control with all dignity.

And this is what an elder must be. The next characteristic of an elder, we'll spend a little less time on the last two, but let me go through these as well, verse six, is not a new convert, verse six.

And not a new convert so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. This is not necessarily age-related. Timothy was young and he's told in another place, don't let anyone despise your youth. But it has to do with maturity. And the thought here is that that maturity takes a little bit of time. And so a new convert should not be made an elder.

There is the touch that comes from experience, comes from wisdom, comes from fighting a few spiritual battles. And an elder must have that sort of experience.

Now, new converts have a great deal to offer the church, a great deal to offer the church in terms of joy, in terms of their freshness, in terms of their zeal, and sometimes they have a certain kind of joy that even the more mature in the church don't, that lack, or at least lack in the same way as a new convert.

So what Paul wants for new converts is not just, well, just be quiet, don't contribute anything. Let the older Christians or let the leadership contribute everything to the church. No, they have plenty to contribute, but not this. Not leadership, not being an elder. It's not appropriate for a new convert to be an elder.

New converts do contribute, but not this. And let me give you some examples of new converts ministering right away, but not being involved in leadership. And one is Paul himself. Paul, as soon as he was converted, preached in the synagogues of Damascus, that Jesus was the Christ, preached with power. He didn't serve as a leader in the church until much later. And so there's kind of like a decade where Paul is being trained by the Lord. And it's at the end of that decade that he becomes a leader, although he was ministering important ways before that.

Andrew, on the day that he met the Lord Jesus, found his brother Simon and said, we found the Messiah. So he's able to do ministry, important ministry, but he's not put into the role of leadership.

The demon-possessed man, the man whose name was Legion and had a legion cast out of him, was sent to do ministry right away. But he wasn't made an elder of a church. Christ told him, Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you. And so he's able to have significant ministry, but would not be one who's ready to be an elder.

And I think today as well, there's new converts, there's ones I can think of even, that have been saved. The Spirit seems to be at work in some ways, some important ways today that are saved and that are speaking out. And they're sometimes not getting everything quite right. Sometimes a little bit rough around the edges. And I think it's good that they're speaking out. It's okay that they're speaking out.

New converts have much to offer the church. But let me put it this way, the church has much to offer them. and especially elders, to provide stability for new converts, to provide direction, to provide protection, so they don't go off track or get sucked into a cult, as new converts often do. And so it's important that elders not be new converts themselves. And so this is the qualification that is given here. Not a new convert, and here's the reason, it's a specific reason, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

The reason for this that Paul gives, gives us a little glimpse into the angelic realm. And from various places in the Bible, although none of them may be totally directly, kind of like this one, there's a story that emerges of Satan and Satan's origin, that he was created as the most beautiful, the most powerful of all of the Lord's angels. And early on, probably very shortly after he was created, he allowed his position to puff him up with pride and he tried to usurp the place of God. And so he was cast out of heaven and judged along with all the angels that were involved in that rebellion as well. And so a new convert who's made an elder right away, without the maturity to be an elder, it's gonna go to his head in the same way it went to Satan's head. That's Paul's point. Not a new convert to protect him from that temptation, that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

How much time should pass before a new convert is ready to be an elder? Well, he doesn't say, Paul doesn't say here, he just says not a new convert. And I would say this, I think it's relative to the situation. In other words, in some churches, it might be a shorter time. When Paul and Barnabas went on their first missionary journeys, They immediately returned the same way, and they appointed elders in every place, and those were all new churches. Everybody was a relatively recent convert, and so I'm sure they appointed those who had been Christians a little bit longer than some of the others.

Titus, when he's ministering in Crete, Paul writes a letter to him at about the same time as this, and he doesn't give this as a requirement, that an elder must be not a new convert. Those churches were newer, than this church. The church in Ephesus was about 10 or 15 years old that Paul writes this letter to. And so it existed long enough for there to be people there that were not new converts, existed long enough for false teaching and false doctrine to emerge there as well. And so especially in their case, he says it's important that an elder be appointed who's not a new convert so that he will not be conceded at being given authority over those that have been Christian a lot longer than he has been.

Okay, last one, last one. and it is having a good reputation with those outside the church, verse seven. He must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Now this one might seem a little odd. You might think those outside the church should not have a say in who becomes an elder. and in a way they don't, but it's not as if their opinion doesn't matter. Paul says it does matter. It matters that an elder have a good reputation with those outside the church.

Earlier in this chapter, Paul was concerned with outward-facing prayer, that he was concerned that the church's prayers make contact with those that are outside the church and be praying for their salvation. And this is, Something that happened when they departed from the gospel is they became insular as a church and sort of inward facing. And so Paul's very concerned. in this letter that the church have a good testimony with those outside the church.

And so this is the final characteristic for an elder, is that he have a good reputation even among unbelievers, among those who are outside the church. Now Paul certainly knew about persecution. He knew that those outside the church can oppose the Lord's people and so, takes that into account, but he believes that the elders, that there should be a certain amount of respect that those in the church, maybe even a begrudging respect that those in the church have for an elder to say he's not a fake, he's not a phony, and the world is quick to pick up on that, and in some senses are a good judge of that.

And so a man who serves as an elder must have a good reputation, with those outside the church and he gives this reason so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. The thought here I think is a little bit hard to catch, and sometimes it's spoken of as almost kind of a two-step thing, that if a man is appointed as an elder who has a bad reputation outside the church, then he's gonna be more prone to fall into whatever the snares of the devil for him all are.

It's kind of a complicated thought. I think it's better to understand it as kind of a one-step thing. If a man is appointed who has a bad reputation for the church, or a man who is an elder, loses his reputation outside the church, he's fallen into a reproach, and he's fallen into the snare of the devil.

That is the snare of the devil, and so the devil sets snares For the church, for elders of the church, as well, he wants to ruin the reputation of the church, and so it's important an elder must be one who has a good reputation, because if he doesn't, he's fallen into reproach, which is the very snare of the devil himself.

So these are characteristics. of an elder. This is what an elder must be. This is the leadership that God wants for his church. This completes the picture, at least in this letter of 1 Timothy, of what an elder must be. He must be above reproach in the following ways. The husband of one wife. temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money, must be one who manages his own household well, not a new convert, and must have a good reputation with those outside the church. 

Say, wow, what a responsibility to be all of these things. What a privilege. to be given the ministry of an elder and to be a good steward of these things. 

What is required of elders in the church is the same as that which is expected of Christian men, which is not great skill in leadership, not great technique, not great ability, but faithfulness, faithfulness, faithful character in all of these ways. 

Last time we read a verse and it's actually a prophecy for the nation of Israel and the kind of leadership for them from Jeremiah chapter three, verse 15. Then I will give you shepherds after my own hearts who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. That prophecy, it's fulfilled in part in the church. It's fulfilled in part in the church. 

This is the kind of leadership that the Lord provides for his church and requires for his church, is leadership that is after his own heart. So this is the kind of leadership that he wants for his church because it's what he's like. I'm gonna give you shepherds after my own heart. 

So he gives the requirements here because this is a reflection of God's own heart as well. So for elders, for myself, for men that are here, as well as we go through this list, work our way through it, be challenged. and be encouraged. 

If you make it your project to know the Lord, to know the Lord, to know His heart, to know Him personally, to delight in His presence, to read and meditate on His word, to speak to Him in prayer, to walk circumspectly before Him, He will bring it about that you become like Him in your heart, that you become a shepherd in whatever the Lord has called you to lead after the Lord's own heart. 

And then in whatever assignment He gives you, whether great or small, you'll be able to hear at the end when you lay down your burden and you're done with the course, well done, good and faithful servant. 

Let's pray. Dear Father, We thank you for who you are, and we thank you that your heart is reflected in these requirements for elders. We pray that you would cause us as elders to measure up to these things, to be above reproach in all of these things, to be growing in all of these ways, and we pray this for all who are called to leadership. in any way, which is really all of us in the church, and especially the men of the church. 

And so we pray that you would help us to set our hearts on these things, because we've set our heart on you, and set our heart on being a shepherd after your own heart. Pray that you would make us faithful, pray that you protect us from sin, and pray that you would cause us to grow in a way that honors you, and that prospers your church. 

And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.