Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Another Look at the Checklist │ Msg 810 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

Transcript

Another Look at the Checklist │ Msg 810 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: It's easy to overlook one essential ingredient among leaders in
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Speaker 1: our day. That's because we have grown accustomed to shrugging
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Speaker 1: off secretive and deceptive lifestyles. We've heard so often that
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Speaker 1: finding people who value honesty, who promote fairness, and who
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Speaker 1: hold to strong.
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Speaker 2: Convictions is simply not possible. It's just not realistic.
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Speaker 1: Oh really, call me old fashioned or idealistic, but my
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Speaker 1: passionate plea is that we restore the importance of character,
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Speaker 1: and now that's essential.
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Speaker 2: It must be a non negotiable among those.
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Speaker 1: We place into leadership positions, whether in our schools or
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Speaker 1: our cities, our government, and absolutely in our churches. In
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Speaker 1: our previous message, we spent some time examining the verse
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Speaker 1: two verses the First Timothy Chapter three.
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Speaker 2: I'll read those verses.
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Speaker 1: Again today and then continue on through verse seven. That's
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Speaker 1: First Timothy Chapter three, beginning with verse one. It is
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Speaker 1: a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office
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Speaker 1: of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.
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Speaker 1: An overseer then must be above reproach. The husband of
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Speaker 1: one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not
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Speaker 1: addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from
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Speaker 1: the love of money. He must be one who manages
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Speaker 1: his own household well, keeping his children under control with
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Speaker 1: all dignity. But if a man does not know how
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Speaker 1: to manage his own household, how will he take care
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Speaker 1: of the Church of God? And not a new convert
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Speaker 1: so that he will not become conceited and fall into
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Speaker 1: the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have
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Speaker 1: a good reputation with those outside the church so that
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Speaker 1: he will not fall into reproach and the snare of
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Speaker 1: the devil.
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Speaker 3: Tucked away in what a friend of mine calls the
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Speaker 3: Pots and Pans section of the Old Testament are a
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Speaker 3: couple of very interesting verses that don't seem as though
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Speaker 3: they would be related, but they are. I'd like to
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Speaker 3: have you look at both of them, and then I
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Speaker 3: want to make some comments.
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Speaker 2: About these two verses.
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Speaker 3: The first is in Second Chronicles, chapter sixteen, and the
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Speaker 3: other is in Ezekiel chapter twenty two.
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Speaker 2: I'll give you about twelve to fifteen.
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Speaker 3: Minutes to find Second Chronicles and Ezekiel not too familiar
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Speaker 3: to many people, but they contain some very rich morsels,
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Speaker 3: not the least of which would be those two verses.
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Speaker 3: I want you to look at with me Second Chronicles,
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Speaker 3: not Corinthians in the New Testament, but Second Chronicles, chapter sixteen.
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Speaker 3: And when you find that chapter, locate verse nine. Then
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Speaker 3: turn over to the Prophets Ezekiel chapter twenty two and
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Speaker 3: put your finger on verse thirty. Even though the verses
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Speaker 3: are in different books, they convey a similar subject. Second
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Speaker 3: Chronicle sixteen to nine reads, for the eyes of the
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Speaker 3: Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that he
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Speaker 3: may strongly support those whose heart is completely his.
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Speaker 2: Let me stop right there.
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Speaker 3: The Living Bible says, the eyes of the Lord search
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Speaker 3: back and forth across the whole earth, looking for people
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Speaker 3: whose hearts are perfect toward him. I keep that in mind,
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Speaker 3: and look at Ezekiel twenty two thirty. And I searched
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Speaker 3: for a man, says the Lord. And I searched for
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Speaker 3: a man among them who should build up the wall
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Speaker 3: and stand in the gap before me for the land
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Speaker 3: that I should not destroy it.
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Speaker 2: But I found none.
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Speaker 3: In each passage, God is on a search, and he's
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Speaker 3: not just spanning the earth looking for or sort of
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Speaker 3: inadvertently trying to find this person or that he knows
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Speaker 3: what he's looking for. And in both these vers we
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Speaker 3: read that God is in search of stand in the
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Speaker 3: gap people, wall building people, leader types, salmon who swim
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Speaker 3: upstream against the current rather than catfish that just sort
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Speaker 3: of feed on the bottom.
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Speaker 2: God is in the.
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Speaker 3: Business of searching for certain kinds of people, Not those
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Speaker 3: who make a good impression. Are those who look good
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Speaker 3: in public, or those who have away with words, or
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Speaker 3: those who have the charisma to.
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Speaker 2: Move the masses. Not those people.
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Speaker 3: God is looking for a certain kind of person whose
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Speaker 3: heart is right, and his standard of excellence will not
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Speaker 3: be reduced because the number of people are few who qualify.
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Speaker 3: He keeps the standard where it has always been, and
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Speaker 3: he keeps on searching for those few people who will
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Speaker 3: match the standard. The search isn't over, by the way.
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Speaker 3: There's still a gap to be spanned. There are still
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Speaker 3: walls to be built. Spiritually speaking, there is still the need,
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Speaker 3: and there always will be the need on this earth
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Speaker 3: for those special individuals whom God reaches into the ranks
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Speaker 3: of humanity and seizes and chooses.
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Speaker 2: And uses for his purpose.
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Speaker 3: Now a brief word regarding those leader types in the
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Speaker 3: New Testament. When you get over into that section of scripture.
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Speaker 3: There are really three passages that describe the standard that
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Speaker 3: God has in mind. I want to look briefly at
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Speaker 3: two of them, and then land at the third.
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Speaker 2: One.
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Speaker 3: First is in First Peter chapter five. If you'll go
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Speaker 3: from Ezekiel to First Peter five, I would like to
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Speaker 3: have you locate the first four verses. Let me just
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Speaker 3: read them for you. This is the first of the
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Speaker 3: three lists that describes what it takes to be that
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Speaker 3: kind of a church leader.
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Speaker 2: One Peter five.
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Speaker 3: Therefore I exhort the elders among you as your fellow
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Speaker 3: elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a
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Speaker 3: partaker also of the glory that's to be revealed, Shepherd
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Speaker 3: the flock, Shepherd the flock of God among you. Now
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Speaker 3: look at the requirements, not under compulsion, but voluntarily according
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Speaker 3: to the will of God, and not for sordid gain,
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Speaker 3: but with eagerness, nor yet as lording it over those
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Speaker 3: allotted to your charge, but proving to be a model
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Speaker 3: or an example to the flock. Take a moment and
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Speaker 3: review the three negatives. Not under compulsion, not for the
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Speaker 3: money you get out of it, and not for the
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Speaker 3: purpose of being the Lord over people, not for those things,
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Speaker 3: but on the positive side, voluntarily with eagerness and living
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Speaker 3: an exemplary life of a servant. And then you can
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Speaker 3: count on verse four, when the chief Shepherd appears, you
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Speaker 3: will receive the unfading crown of glory. That verse is
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Speaker 3: offered to all all who qualify to be elders, pastors,
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Speaker 3: overseers in the Church of Jesus Christ. Stand in the
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Speaker 3: gap men, leader types, wall building types.
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Speaker 2: The Lord's looking for now.
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Speaker 3: The next list is in Titus chapter one, first and
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Speaker 3: second Thessalonians first and two. Timothy Titus, don't those things
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Speaker 3: come in handy? I always do that when I start
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Speaker 3: getting into those books of the Bible. I always review
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Speaker 3: those lists that I have memorized. And I know you
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Speaker 3: do it too. Titus Chapter one, verse five and down
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Speaker 3: through verse nine is another list. It's a list of
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Speaker 3: a different kind, but it's talking about the same people.
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Speaker 3: Stand in the gap people, wall building people. Titus one five.
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Speaker 3: For this reason I left you in crete, Paul is writing,
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Speaker 3: Titus is receiving the letter the purpose for which he
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Speaker 3: was left, that you might set in order what remains,
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Speaker 3: and the second purpose that you might appoint elders in
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Speaker 3: every city.
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Speaker 2: As I directed you.
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Speaker 3: Now, Titus, I don't want you to go looking for
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Speaker 3: people that are tall, dark and handsome. I don't want
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Speaker 3: you to look for people that are successful in business.
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Speaker 3: I don't want you to find people that have traditionally
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Speaker 3: a good religious background.
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Speaker 2: I don't want you to find those that are in
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Speaker 2: great physical shape.
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Speaker 3: I don't want you to look for people that make
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Speaker 3: a great impression when they get in front of folks.
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Speaker 3: I want you to look for men who have these qualities.
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Speaker 2: Verse six.
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Speaker 3: If a man be above reproach, the husband of one wife,
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Speaker 3: having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.
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Speaker 3: For the overseer must be above reproach is God's stewart,
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Speaker 3: not self will, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine,
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Speaker 3: not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but on the
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Speaker 3: positive side, hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just devout,
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Speaker 3: self controlled, holding fast the faithful word, which is in
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Speaker 3: accordance with the teaching. That he may be able both
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Speaker 3: to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
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Speaker 3: For there are many rebellious men, and he describes the
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Speaker 3: times in which they live very much like our own times.
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Speaker 2: And because the times.
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Speaker 3: Are so severe, it will take tough minded men, it
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Speaker 3: will take strong character, it will take.
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Speaker 2: The qualities that I've just described. That's the second list.
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Speaker 3: The third and the most complete list is in First
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Speaker 3: Timothy chapter three, where I'd like us to spend the
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Speaker 3: balance of our time still talking about the same kind
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Speaker 3: of men mentioned in Second Chronicle sixteen Ezekiel twenty two,
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Speaker 3: but now they're described as overseers. In our previous study,
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Speaker 3: we looked at the first couple of verses, and so
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Speaker 3: there's no reason to go back over them. We have
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Speaker 3: the list to remind us an overseers to be above reproach,
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Speaker 3: the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, and
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Speaker 3: able to teach. And by the way, these things give
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Speaker 3: me a couple of ideas by way of a practical
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Speaker 3: implication as I read over these lists. First, God has
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Speaker 3: definite ideas. He has specific ideas about who is qualified
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Speaker 3: to serve as a leader.
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Speaker 2: There are no generalizations.
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Speaker 3: He has specific requirements, and he won't he won't yield
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Speaker 3: because there are few. He stays with the standard. The
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Speaker 3: list says let's get specific, and so we want to
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Speaker 3: do that. The second implication of a practical nature is
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Speaker 3: that these qualities now hear this, are not synonymous with
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Speaker 3: spiritual gifts. Some have been taught about spiritual gifts, the
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Speaker 3: gift of teaching, the gift of being a pastor, the
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Speaker 3: gift of faith, the gift of giving, the gift of
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Speaker 3: ruling or organization, the gift of showing mercy, and other
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Speaker 3: spiritual gifts. One man writes wise words, Paul did not
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Speaker 3: say look for men with the gift of pastor teacher,
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Speaker 3: or the gift of administration, or the gift of helps
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Speaker 3: or exhortation. In fact, there is very little reference to
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Speaker 3: an ability or skill. Rather, out of the qualifications listed
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Speaker 3: and he mentions twenty in all. In all these lists,
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Speaker 3: nineteen have to do with the man's reputation, ethics, morality, temperament, habits,
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Speaker 3: spiritual and psychological maturity. The other one has to do
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Speaker 3: with his ability to lead his own family. Isn't that
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Speaker 3: significant that in all of the lists he doesn't mention
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Speaker 3: spiritual gifts per se.
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Speaker 2: So when we look for individuals.
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Speaker 3: Who are to be the leaders of our church across
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Speaker 3: the world of our churches. We don't just look for
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Speaker 3: spiritual gifts. We look for character qualities. We look for morality,
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Speaker 3: We look for stability, We look for marks of maturity,
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Speaker 3: we look for wisdom. We look for things that cause
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Speaker 3: our respect to grow rather than to decrease or lessen.
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Speaker 2: Well, so much for the implication.
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Speaker 3: Let's get back at the list, because I want to
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Speaker 3: spend a little bit a longer time in these third
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Speaker 3: through seventh verses, so let's continue on. The Next quality
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Speaker 3: is that the person who is a stand in the
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Speaker 3: gap or wall building person is not to be addicted
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Speaker 3: to wine. Interesting Greek word combining two terms. The first
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Speaker 3: word is beside and the other word is wine. Beside wine,
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Speaker 3: it's the idea of sitting long beside the bottle too
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Speaker 3: much time with wine over drinking.
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Speaker 2: Is the idea.
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Speaker 3: God's leader is not to allow himself to be caught
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Speaker 3: in the throes of alcoholism, because that creates a mental
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Speaker 3: and an emotional instability. He no longer has his faculties,
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Speaker 3: He no longer has his full senses. They are no
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Speaker 3: longer as sharp as they once were, or as they
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Speaker 3: could have been. If you'll turn back to First Peter,
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Speaker 3: chapter four, you'll see a parallel thought that this kind
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Speaker 3: of lifestyle is not for the Christian First Peter four,
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Speaker 3: verses one to three. Therefore, since Christ has suffered in
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Speaker 3: the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because
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Speaker 3: he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
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Speaker 3: meaning continuation in habitual sinful lifestyle, so as to live
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Speaker 3: the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer
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Speaker 3: for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
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Speaker 3: Now the verse for the time already past is sufficient
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Speaker 3: for you, meaning the days in which you were lost,
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Speaker 3: those days are sufficient for you to have carried out
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Speaker 3: the desire of the gentiles. And then he describes that
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Speaker 3: lifestyle having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals,
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Speaker 3: drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. Interesting that's described specifically as
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Speaker 3: a part of the New Testament standard of living for
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Speaker 3: the child of God. That's no longer the world in
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Speaker 3: which you traffic. That once may have been your gentile lifestyle,
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Speaker 3: that is no longer your style of life. So we
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Speaker 3: shouldn't be surprised when one Peter three includes in the
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Speaker 3: list not addicted to wine. Let me give you another
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Speaker 3: thought that grew out of my study. It's interesting that
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Speaker 3: the same Greek term for addicted to wine is a
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Speaker 3: synonym for being quarrelsome and violent elsewhere, and the same
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Speaker 3: term used for being sober is a synonym for being
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Speaker 3: alert and watchful. In other words, if you put those
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Speaker 3: thoughts together, the individual who becomes addicted to alcohol carries
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Speaker 3: with it the great possibility of becoming increasingly more quarrelsome
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Speaker 3: and even violent when under pressure. Often and opposed to that,
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Speaker 3: a person who is sober tends to be more watchful
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Speaker 3: and alert. You want people in leadership of the church
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Speaker 3: who are alert, not sluggish, who are watchful, who are discerning,
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Speaker 3: who have crisp clear thinking. As a byproduct of this,
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Speaker 3: you have a respect for that person. Not much is
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Speaker 3: said about this, but it's been my observation that when
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Speaker 3: young people talk to me about parents who drink heavily,
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Speaker 3: there is a very clear message that comes through that says,
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Speaker 3: I don't have any respect for that person. And by
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Speaker 3: the way, that that's true pretty much across the board,
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Speaker 3: people tend to lose respect for those who drink heavily.
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Speaker 3: I was over at a place of business several weeks ago,
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Speaker 3: and when I finished there, I was really thirsty and
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Speaker 3: the only place to get a cold soft drink was
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Speaker 3: the local store across the way, which happened to be
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Speaker 3: a liquor store. So I went in and I found
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Speaker 3: a diet coke, I think, and I walked up to
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Speaker 3: the counter. Just in front of me was a very
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Speaker 3: pathetic site that you've seen, and I've seen many times.
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Speaker 3: Was a woman probably in her in her mid thirties,
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Speaker 3: may be late thirties, who looked, no doubt older than that,
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Speaker 3: but I have a suspicion she wasn't even forty. And
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Speaker 3: she was checking out with a four or five jugs
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Speaker 3: of liquor, and along with it a six pack, and
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Speaker 3: along with that a couple of bottles of vodka. And
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Speaker 3: the guy checked her out and put it all in
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Speaker 3: the bag, and she slipped out, and she had all
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Speaker 3: the all the signs of struggling with alcohol.
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Speaker 2: And he kind of shook his head. Here's a guy
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Speaker 2: who makes his living selling it.
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Speaker 3: And he frowned and shook his head, like, man, what
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Speaker 3: a weekend she's got in front of her.
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Speaker 2: You know, friend, it's it's time to stop.
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Speaker 3: Laughing about it.
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Speaker 2: It isn't funny.
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Speaker 3: It isn't even funny seeing it chanced on the high
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Speaker 3: school and the junior high campus. And we're not so
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Speaker 3: much a drug society, that's a big part of it,
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Speaker 3: but we are really and we are really an alcohol
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Speaker 3: in Bibing County and region. Our high schools and even
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Speaker 3: our junior high campuses are struggling with that among their students. Parents,
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Speaker 3: don't assume that your child knows how to handle it.
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Speaker 3: Don't assume that because your child gets through school and
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Speaker 3: gets on into college where the real test comes, and
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Speaker 3: then gets into business and takes those plane rides and
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Speaker 3: goes to those conventions that you and I have been
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Speaker 3: a part of all through our lives and can handle
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Speaker 3: automatically the temptation of the free drinks or all that
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Speaker 3: goes with that. Don't think they can just automatically handle
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Speaker 3: that because you can. Unless you have helped them know
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Speaker 3: how to handle it, very likely they will not be
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Speaker 3: able to know on their own.
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Speaker 2: Help them know. Talk sensibly, quietly, alone, graciously, sympathetically.
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Speaker 3: Take those opportunities when your children are very young and
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Speaker 3: very impressionable to cement into their mind the standard of
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Speaker 3: life that you expect that God wants of them.
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Speaker 2: They're they're they're the leaders of the church coming up.
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Speaker 3: Don't assume that because you've got a handle on it,
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Speaker 3: they'll have a handle on it. Very likely because you
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Speaker 3: have a good handle on it, they won't. Who knows
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Speaker 3: why we respond psychologically in that backwash. They need help
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Speaker 3: in knowing how to how to handle it. Now it's
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Speaker 3: talking about being addicted to wine. And the next uh
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Speaker 3: in the list is pugnacious. I give you a half
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Speaker 3: dollar if you've used the word pugnacious this last week.
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Speaker 3: I imagine you have not used pugnacious in a half
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Speaker 3: a lifetime. It's not a term that we toss around.
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Speaker 3: In fact, it's not a term we even understand. But
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Speaker 3: you'll understand the synonym. It means striker, not a person
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Speaker 3: who walks in a picket line, not that kind of striker,
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Speaker 3: but somebody who fights back, quick with the fists, ready
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Speaker 3: with a blow, easily angered, short tempered. Those are all
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Speaker 3: synonyms fierce and bruising. It's the idea of a short fuse. Now,
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Speaker 3: it's been my observation when working with people who are
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Speaker 3: pugnacious that they are either assertive in their pugnaciousness. They
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Speaker 3: literally are the type that crawl out of their car
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Speaker 3: with a wrench in their hand to come around to
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Speaker 3: the guy behind and that honked ready.
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Speaker 2: To you know, beat his lips off.
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Speaker 3: They're that type, or they're the manipulative type. And these
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Speaker 3: are more often the ones in the church, those that
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Speaker 3: do a slow burn and they're mad for two weeks.
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Speaker 3: If you've ever had one of those guys on the
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Speaker 3: elder board, you don't want him back on the elder board.
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Speaker 3: You're grateful that they're off in three years. You wish
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Speaker 3: it were one year. This person does a slow burn
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Speaker 3: and he's angry, and he is taking it out on
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Speaker 3: the group because he's mad. It's a mark of immaturity. Actually,
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Speaker 3: it's a selfishness that's on display. It also is a
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Speaker 3: mixture of insecurity and unresolved conflicts. So a person like
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Speaker 3: that is not only dangerous, but he's disastrous to a board,
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Speaker 3: disastrous as a church leader. Ever been under a pastor
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Speaker 3: who was pugnacious, don't say amen, just keep it to yourself.
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Speaker 3: I've been in a church that was governed by a
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Speaker 3: pugnacious pastor and I've seen it, so I know wherever
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Speaker 3: I speak. I've seen him pick fights from the pulpit.
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Speaker 2: I've seen him challenge.
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Speaker 3: Certain people from the congregation. I've seen congregational members stand
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Speaker 3: up and answer back. Let me know, I want to
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Speaker 3: tell you about that. Let's not look at that illustration.
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Speaker 3: Let's look at First Peter chapter two. That's a better
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Speaker 3: illustration because it's right from the scriptures.
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Speaker 2: It's not a good foundation to.
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Speaker 3: Have leadership that will pick a fight with the congregation
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Speaker 3: that leads to misery. Look at First Peter chapter two,
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Speaker 3: down toward the end where it talks about Christ, verse
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Speaker 3: twenty one, Such great section here you have been called
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Speaker 3: for this purpose since Christ suffered for you, leaving you
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Speaker 3: an example for you to follow in his steps.
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Speaker 2: And what were his steps?
26:09
Speaker 4: Like?
26:10
Speaker 3: He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in
26:13
Speaker 3: his mouth. Keep reading who, while being reviled, did not
26:20
Speaker 3: revile in return. He didn't strike back while suffering, He
26:27
Speaker 3: uttered no threats. You just wait till I get off
26:32
Speaker 3: this cross. You didn't hear that from him, You just
26:36
Speaker 3: wait till I come back. You didn't hear that from him.
26:41
Speaker 3: They slapped him, and they struck him, and they spit
26:45
Speaker 3: on him. And he never slapped or struck or spit back.
26:51
Speaker 3: It says he kept in trusting himself to him.
26:56
Speaker 2: Who judges righteously. That's the kind of leader you respect.
27:03
Speaker 3: Now, ladies and gentlemen, part of the job of leadership
27:08
Speaker 3: means you've got to handle the pressure. And pressure comes
27:11
Speaker 3: from people who often don't have all the facts, and
27:15
Speaker 3: so operating from partial facts, they come at the leader.
27:20
Speaker 3: The leader, if he is given to fighting back, will
27:23
Speaker 3: have a lot of ammunition. And furthermore, being in.
27:27
Speaker 2: A high profile position, he's got.
27:30
Speaker 3: The maximum hammer, the pulpit, or the maximum vote.
27:36
Speaker 2: He's an elder.
27:39
Speaker 3: If you get a body of angry men running at church,
27:42
Speaker 3: that thing is going to split right down the middle.
27:47
Speaker 3: You can't even afford to have one person who is
27:50
Speaker 3: a striker, one who is quick with the threat, because
27:56
Speaker 3: the others in the group have to keep putting water
27:59
Speaker 3: on the use.
28:00
Speaker 2: You have to keep thinking how you're going to keep
28:02
Speaker 2: this guy settled down.
28:04
Speaker 3: While you work through this issue. So back to one
28:07
Speaker 3: Timothy three. Remember the value of having someone who is
28:15
Speaker 3: under control. Now it's time to get positive. But the
28:18
Speaker 3: person is to be gentle and uncontentious. Let's take these
28:23
Speaker 3: two together. The first term is the opposite of being unbending.
28:28
Speaker 3: So let's use the word bendable, reasonable, not rigid, not stubborn,
28:38
Speaker 3: being fair. Now, you know the term is even clearer
28:45
Speaker 3: than that. If I can find my deal, Yeah, this.
28:52
Speaker 2: Is my deal. Is my note.
28:55
Speaker 3: That's what you say when you're a grandfather. You can't
28:57
Speaker 3: remember the word note. Here is what I want to
29:00
Speaker 3: read from some of these guys.
29:02
Speaker 2: Listen.
29:03
Speaker 3: Trench said, the word means retreating from the letter of right,
29:11
Speaker 3: to preserve the spirit of right.
29:16
Speaker 2: Keep listening.
29:18
Speaker 3: He said that it was the spirit which recognizes the
29:22
Speaker 3: impossibility of cleaving to formal law, that recognizes the danger
29:31
Speaker 3: that ever waits upon the assertion of legal rights, lest
29:38
Speaker 3: they should be pushed into moral wrongs. A gentle person
29:43
Speaker 3: has the spirit which rectifies and redresses the injustice of justice.
29:52
Speaker 3: Aristotle describes in full the action of the term to
29:57
Speaker 3: pardon human failings.
29:59
Speaker 2: To look to the lawgiver, not to the law, to
30:03
Speaker 2: the intention, not the action.
30:06
Speaker 3: To the whole, not just to the part, to the
30:11
Speaker 3: character of the person in the long run, not in
30:14
Speaker 3: the present moment. To remember the good as well as
30:18
Speaker 3: the evil, to bear being injured, to wish to settle
30:24
Speaker 3: a matter by words rather than deeds. How ab, I'm
30:28
Speaker 3: not losing you. This is great, great insight from this man.
30:33
Speaker 3: A gentle person is one who doesn't just take the
30:37
Speaker 3: letter of the law and filter people through the letter
30:41
Speaker 3: of the.
30:42
Speaker 2: Law and then categorize them.
30:45
Speaker 3: A gentle person sees the spirit of truth and then
30:51
Speaker 3: with wisdom, massages the decision so that you're not left
30:57
Speaker 3: hung out to dry on the basis of strict black
31:01
Speaker 3: and white law and legal rights.
31:06
Speaker 2: Have you ever seen a church run like that? So
31:09
Speaker 2: have I. It's an awful place to exist.
31:14
Speaker 3: What you want in your leaders is an individual who
31:17
Speaker 3: understands the truth of scripture, but understands the truth of
31:23
Speaker 3: human nature also and has enough calm, resolve, and wisdom
31:29
Speaker 3: to see the whole picture in light of what's being
31:33
Speaker 3: wrestled with. I wish I had the terms to make
31:39
Speaker 3: it even clearer. The person who lacks gentleness is usually
31:44
Speaker 3: not a team player. This person likes to be captain.
31:48
Speaker 3: This individual likes to call the shots and will not negotiate,
31:53
Speaker 3: will not listen, has strong opinions, states the opinion, and
31:57
Speaker 3: then when it's discussed, takes it as a person the
32:00
Speaker 3: front that you don't agree with his opinion. That's again
32:06
Speaker 3: very damaging on a board. If you have a parent
32:10
Speaker 3: like that, don't nod kids, Just keep it straight.
32:13
Speaker 2: Okay.
32:13
Speaker 3: If you have a parent like that, you know how
32:16
Speaker 3: hard it is to do business with your parent.
32:20
Speaker 2: You know that a rule is a rule is a rule.
32:24
Speaker 3: And regardless of the reason that rule stands, there's something
32:29
Speaker 3: that happens in the negotiation of some of your human
32:33
Speaker 3: failings where you begin to lose hope of ever coming
32:38
Speaker 3: out on top, ever being understood. A gentle leader is
32:45
Speaker 3: one who has the ability to round the corners, a
32:50
Speaker 3: gentle conqueror.
32:51
Speaker 2: That's the savior. That's a great description of him. He
32:56
Speaker 2: took a woman who had been in adultery.
32:59
Speaker 3: There was no quest question, and the law spoke directly
33:03
Speaker 3: about what you do with one taken an adultery, and
33:07
Speaker 3: he stood in her defense, and he said, the first
33:10
Speaker 3: one without sin, you throw the stone.
33:14
Speaker 2: That's gentle.
33:17
Speaker 3: You know that they were so taken back they left
33:20
Speaker 3: in silence. He didn't compromise with sin. He hates the adultery.
33:27
Speaker 3: But there was something gentle about his style that even
33:31
Speaker 3: an adulterer knew there could.
33:34
Speaker 2: Be pardon in his presence.
33:38
Speaker 3: Elders who hear these words, take a very, very straight look.
33:44
Speaker 2: At how gentle you are.
33:49
Speaker 3: Before you cut and hang out to dry those decisions
33:53
Speaker 3: that you're wrestling with. Look at the whole picture, and
33:58
Speaker 3: remember you are also not free of sin.
34:03
Speaker 2: See the whole scene.
34:06
Speaker 3: Ah, if there is a matter of debate, it can
34:11
Speaker 3: be settled in law, or it can be settled in.
34:15
Speaker 2: Love, writes one man.
34:19
Speaker 3: The whole atmosphere of many a church would be radically
34:22
Speaker 3: changed if there were more gentleness within it. Well, the
34:30
Speaker 3: other word is uncontentious. It means willing. It means cooperative,
34:35
Speaker 3: ready to listen, thinking of everyone as equal in the
34:39
Speaker 3: family of God. All are serving the one head, who
34:44
Speaker 3: is Jesus Christ. So much of this comes out in
34:48
Speaker 3: an attitude, doesn't it, And you will see that. Now
34:51
Speaker 3: let's press on. He must be one who is free
34:55
Speaker 3: from the love of money. The Greek term means fond
35:01
Speaker 3: of silver. Literally it means fond of silver. It doesn't
35:09
Speaker 3: mean that a person who is a spiritual leader is
35:12
Speaker 3: to live on poverty row.
35:15
Speaker 2: It doesn't talk so much.
35:16
Speaker 3: About income as it talks about motive. It has to
35:22
Speaker 3: do with where the heart is, with regard to finances.
35:27
Speaker 3: A person who has his eye on the buck is
35:31
Speaker 3: not a good spiritual leader. A person whose first concern
35:36
Speaker 3: is the money is tipping his hand regarding his leadership.
35:44
Speaker 3: Both Titus one seven and one Peter five two talk directly,
35:48
Speaker 3: as we just saw, about this particular subject. It is
35:53
Speaker 3: a very significant part of a leader's life. Now, if
35:58
Speaker 3: you wonder just how can assuming money can be, tune
36:02
Speaker 3: in to your television, pick most any religious broadcast and listen.
36:09
Speaker 3: If you can listen, tune into your radio and just listen.
36:18
Speaker 3: If you can just listen to how much time is
36:22
Speaker 3: devoted to money.
36:26
Speaker 2: And there will be.
36:29
Speaker 3: Guilt tactics and white lies and half truths, and don't
36:33
Speaker 3: you feel sorry for me in you windows coming from
36:36
Speaker 3: the person who is speaking. All of those approaches are
36:44
Speaker 3: to get money from your pocket book into that account. Now,
36:52
Speaker 3: because you can't judge anyone's motive directly, you have to
36:56
Speaker 3: listen over the long haul to this and come to
36:59
Speaker 3: some kind of conclusion. But it seems to me that
37:04
Speaker 3: since where our treasure is there, our heart is also,
37:07
Speaker 3: and that we talk about what's on our heart, it's
37:11
Speaker 3: sort of you put the syllogism together. It seemed as
37:14
Speaker 3: though the treasure on many a minister's heart is money.
37:20
Speaker 3: Watch the tendency to greed. Had a man pass on
37:24
Speaker 3: to me a very helpful thing. I'll never forget it, said,
37:26
Speaker 3: there are four essays that you have to wrestle with
37:28
Speaker 3: as a spiritual leader, sex, sloth, and silver. For some reason,
37:37
Speaker 3: it just seems to be a reminder, and I can't
37:40
Speaker 3: forget it, Sex, sloth, and silver. I was watching a
37:49
Speaker 3: television program some time ago, very very seldom watch religious programs,
37:55
Speaker 3: but that Sunday evening I couldn't find anything. So I
38:00
Speaker 3: turned on and I listened to this particular person who
38:03
Speaker 3: had bought a plane, and he was really really coming
38:08
Speaker 3: down on the listening audience, the viewing audience, because they
38:12
Speaker 3: were not helping him pay for the plane that God
38:15
Speaker 3: had led him to buy. And he really wanted them
38:19
Speaker 3: to know that they were disobedient to him for not
38:23
Speaker 3: I mean, God did not want him to turn that
38:26
Speaker 3: plane back in unpaid for. And I understand within about
38:30
Speaker 3: three to four weeks time, he got all the money
38:32
Speaker 3: he needed to buy his plane free from the love
38:39
Speaker 3: of money.
38:44
Speaker 2: We dare not be in it for the money. We
38:47
Speaker 2: dare not make.
38:48
Speaker 3: Money the focal factor of our ministry. Watch that, and
38:55
Speaker 3: now a couple of verses here that set aside.
38:58
Speaker 2: For the home.
39:00
Speaker 3: In fact, I'm intrigued this is the only reference in
39:02
Speaker 3: all the lists to management. Now, you guys in business,
39:06
Speaker 3: you probably would be more surprised than I. You'd think
39:09
Speaker 3: that would. They would talk a lot about being a
39:12
Speaker 3: good manager. After all, many a church.
39:14
Speaker 2: Is a is a.
39:16
Speaker 3: Management challenge, some of them management nightmares.
39:20
Speaker 2: And you would think a person.
39:21
Speaker 3: Really ought to have first and foremost management skills that
39:25
Speaker 3: come right out of business.
39:27
Speaker 2: No, he doesn't.
39:28
Speaker 3: Doesn't talk about that. He needs management skills that come
39:32
Speaker 3: right out of the home. Why because the church is
39:36
Speaker 3: more like a home than a business. Church is a family,
39:41
Speaker 3: it's not a corporation. The activities of the church are
39:46
Speaker 3: much more family like than business like. And so he
39:49
Speaker 3: must be one who manages his own household well, keeping
39:53
Speaker 3: his children under control with all dignity. Parenthesis, And what
39:58
Speaker 3: a parenthesis it is. If a man does not know
40:02
Speaker 3: how to manage his own household, guess what how will
40:08
Speaker 3: he take care of the Church of God?
40:11
Speaker 2: There it is.
40:15
Speaker 3: We're to watch with a great deal of interest how
40:19
Speaker 3: a person manages his home. Be careful with this. Okay,
40:24
Speaker 3: here we have to be gentle. I don't know of
40:27
Speaker 3: any person who has a child that's under control with
40:30
Speaker 3: all dignity twenty four hours a day. I'm scared to
40:34
Speaker 3: death of a child like that. I'm scared to death
40:37
Speaker 3: of a home that tries to leave that impression. So
40:41
Speaker 3: you've got room to breathe here. It's not talking about
40:44
Speaker 3: a brief period of time where you're going to have
40:46
Speaker 3: kids on the outs, or where you're going to have
40:49
Speaker 3: a struggle or argument with your wife. It's not talking
40:52
Speaker 3: about being free of all of that. There's no such
40:55
Speaker 3: home that I've ever seen or been a part of of.
41:01
Speaker 2: That's not reality.
41:03
Speaker 3: But over the long haul, does this person reflect good management?
41:07
Speaker 3: Does he know how to love his wife? Does he
41:12
Speaker 3: use her to the maximum, not using the sense of abuse,
41:17
Speaker 3: but really help her reach potential? Does he see in
41:20
Speaker 3: her value and does he affirm that? Does he release
41:24
Speaker 3: her to be that? Do you see in her a
41:28
Speaker 3: devotion to him that has been built over the years
41:32
Speaker 3: of their marriage. Do you see children who see their
41:35
Speaker 3: dad as someone they're proud of, someone that they would
41:38
Speaker 3: love to see in leadership and not laugh over the
41:41
Speaker 3: fact that he had been invited to join the team.
41:46
Speaker 3: Children are terrific barometers. They seldom lie about the character
41:52
Speaker 3: of their parents if they know they're secure to tell
41:55
Speaker 3: the truth that the situation is secure. I know some
42:02
Speaker 3: very very capable ministers who have heartbreaking situations right now
42:06
Speaker 3: in their home, and they keep going back to one
42:09
Speaker 3: Timothy three, four and five, wondering if they ought to resign.
42:13
Speaker 2: And that's a toughie. That's a tough one to answer.
42:17
Speaker 3: I've had elders come to me and say, you know, Chuck,
42:20
Speaker 3: I've got to get a very very tough situation at home,
42:23
Speaker 3: and then they'll spell it out and they'll say, I
42:26
Speaker 3: want to know if I need to resign. I'm wrestling
42:31
Speaker 3: over sometime. We've agreed that perhaps it would be wise
42:34
Speaker 3: for the person to take a.
42:35
Speaker 2: Leave of absence to get that together.
42:37
Speaker 3: Maybe he's spending too much time at the church doing
42:41
Speaker 3: church business that can happen. Maybe there's been a snag
42:46
Speaker 3: that's not been cleared up, and it takes attention, and
42:49
Speaker 3: it takes concentration, and the person has the kind of
42:52
Speaker 3: integrity to face it and to say I'm struggling with
42:55
Speaker 3: whether I'm really a good manager of my home. You know,
43:00
Speaker 3: when you interview pastors, you ought to interview wives when
43:03
Speaker 3: you candidate them. Need to interview sometime the older children
43:07
Speaker 3: to see what they think about their dad, to see
43:10
Speaker 3: the relationship that's going on between mom and dad and
43:13
Speaker 3: between parent and youngster. It's very revealing and sometimes it's
43:19
Speaker 3: even surprising. How you take care of your wife is
43:26
Speaker 3: very revealing. How you take care of your children is
43:28
Speaker 3: very revealing. And the general overall atmosphere of a home
43:31
Speaker 3: is revealing of the atmosphere you'll have in the church.
43:38
Speaker 3: Let's be realistic and fair, however, with what this is saying,
43:44
Speaker 3: May I get in my two extra shots here with
43:48
Speaker 3: no extra charge for this?
43:49
Speaker 2: Just drop it on you.
43:51
Speaker 3: And by the way, it's a pleasure ministering here because
43:54
Speaker 3: it isn't the pressure that I face that many a
43:56
Speaker 3: man I know does. Don't expect perfection from the PK
44:01
Speaker 3: preachers kids. Preacher's kids run around with.
44:05
Speaker 2: Elder's kids, that's where they go bad. And deacon's kids. Oh,
44:14
Speaker 2: it's deacon's kids who.
44:20
Speaker 3: Don't feel it's your job to straighten out the preacher's
44:24
Speaker 3: kids or the elder's kids if there's a problem you
44:26
Speaker 3: talk to the preacher, or you talk to the elder.
44:30
Speaker 2: There's some real war stories and.
44:31
Speaker 3: Stuff that's said to kids by people in the church
44:35
Speaker 3: who are laying their trip on them. Back off, it's
44:40
Speaker 3: not fair. You don't want somebody else doing that. If
44:43
Speaker 3: you got a problem in the neighborhood, you don't want
44:45
Speaker 3: your neighbor taking the strap to your kid, do you
44:48
Speaker 3: you want your neighbor.
44:49
Speaker 2: To talk to you.
44:51
Speaker 3: And if there's a child that's not under control, talk
44:54
Speaker 3: to the dad, don't talk to the child. Well, and
45:00
Speaker 3: I say again, it's not a problem we face here,
45:02
Speaker 3: thank the Lord. Yet, so just preview of preparation in
45:09
Speaker 3: case it happens to come verse six. Not a new convert.
45:14
Speaker 3: This person is not to be a novice spiritually speaking.
45:17
Speaker 3: Now that's obvious, but he says it to bring it
45:20
Speaker 3: right out. The role of an elder calls for roots,
45:23
Speaker 3: It calls for perception, It calls for experience, It calls
45:26
Speaker 3: for wisdom. It calls for a person who knows failure
45:29
Speaker 3: and heartache and brokenness and loss and fracture in his life.
45:34
Speaker 3: And so this person, with the job of a leadership
45:38
Speaker 3: on his shoulders, can't dare not be a brand new convert,
45:43
Speaker 3: fresh out of the womb, a brand new born Christian,
45:48
Speaker 3: lest he become conceited. That's another part of it. Pride
45:51
Speaker 3: can slip in in a young Christian's life and he
45:55
Speaker 3: fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. The next
46:01
Speaker 3: is extremely helpful. Not does any adds he must have
46:06
Speaker 3: a good reputation with those outside the church.
46:10
Speaker 2: That seems a little surprising.
46:13
Speaker 3: What do the neighbors of a church have to do
46:15
Speaker 3: with the operation of a church?
46:17
Speaker 2: You might be surprised.
46:20
Speaker 3: What does the elders or the pastor's neighbor have to
46:23
Speaker 3: do with the qualifications of this person. Well, that person
46:27
Speaker 3: reveals his real self around the house and in his
46:33
Speaker 3: neighborliness or lack of it. It's there that he reveals
46:39
Speaker 3: compassion for those who are in need. It's there that
46:43
Speaker 3: there is a test on honesty. Such simple things as
46:46
Speaker 3: borrowing tools and taking them back, or keeping your word,
46:54
Speaker 3: or paying for your part of the fence, or doing
47:00
Speaker 3: business with your finances and the bank or the loan company.
47:08
Speaker 3: Those people know a whole lot about Christians. Now, sometimes
47:15
Speaker 3: Christians are simply assaulted because they're Christians, And sometime they're
47:21
Speaker 3: attacked because they're preachers. I'll take just a minute to
47:26
Speaker 3: tell you that that happened to Cynthia and me. We
47:28
Speaker 3: were looking for a clothes washer a washing machine several
47:34
Speaker 3: years ago and went to this place.
47:36
Speaker 2: She went and scoped the place out.
47:38
Speaker 3: I always have her go and look that stuff over,
47:40
Speaker 3: because she's a lot better at that than I am.
47:42
Speaker 3: Then I'll have to hassle all those little buttons and
47:45
Speaker 3: collars and deals and stuff. I hassle the bottom line stuff.
47:51
Speaker 3: You know, how much does it cost? Anyway, she'd done
47:56
Speaker 3: all of this, and so she told the guy, you know,
47:58
Speaker 3: I really like this. When he said, well, let's the
48:00
Speaker 3: last one I've got. They always tell you that, And
48:03
Speaker 3: so she said, well, if I put a little money down,
48:08
Speaker 3: could I sure? He says, you get your money back.
48:10
Speaker 3: We'll just put sold on it. She said, well, it's
48:12
Speaker 3: not sold yet because my husband has to look at it.
48:15
Speaker 3: She said, he said, what that's fine. Uh, if he
48:18
Speaker 3: comes in and doesn't like it, we'll we'll just take
48:21
Speaker 3: the soul sign off and and give your fifty bucks back.
48:24
Speaker 2: Great.
48:26
Speaker 3: So, uh, that weekend we carved out time and we
48:30
Speaker 3: went and we looked, and after we looked, at it.
48:34
Speaker 3: I said to her, you know, I saw one just
48:36
Speaker 3: the other day that's got this feature that this one
48:38
Speaker 3: doesn't have. Furthermore, did you notice it's got a scratch.
48:42
Speaker 2: On the side. She said no, I didn't notice that.
48:46
Speaker 3: So I said, well, why don't we just get our
48:48
Speaker 3: money back and we'll start over. She said, well, that's
48:50
Speaker 3: no problem, because he said it wouldn't be a problem.
48:52
Speaker 2: So I said fine. She said, why don't you go
48:55
Speaker 2: ask for it?
49:04
Speaker 3: So I walked back and I met this guy who
49:07
Speaker 3: was pugnacious, and I knew I was in trouble when
49:14
Speaker 3: he said yes, looked over his glasses yes, I said, Hi,
49:18
Speaker 3: I'm Chuck Swindle and I I'm yeah. Are you ready
49:23
Speaker 3: for it? I said, no, sir, we've decided that we are.
49:28
Speaker 3: We're not going to buy it.
49:29
Speaker 2: You're what.
49:31
Speaker 3: We decided that we're not going to buy it. He
49:36
Speaker 3: stood up, took his glasses off, and he said, you
49:41
Speaker 3: realize how many times I could have sold that machine?
49:43
Speaker 3: And I said no, I don't know how many times
49:47
Speaker 3: you could have sold it.
49:49
Speaker 2: And I began to feel pugnacious at.
49:52
Speaker 3: That point, and I said, all I'd like you to
49:56
Speaker 3: do is just return the check, like you said to
49:59
Speaker 3: my wife.
50:00
Speaker 2: She's in the car, she's out in the car, and the.
50:04
Speaker 3: Three blocks away. And so he reaches in the drawer
50:11
Speaker 3: and he finds the check and he's he tears it
50:15
Speaker 3: about thirty pieces.
50:16
Speaker 2: And he throws it down. He says, your preachers are
50:19
Speaker 2: all alike. I said, I beg your pardon, what is
50:30
Speaker 2: this all about? And he told me.
50:33
Speaker 3: In no uncertain terms, to get out because we used
50:37
Speaker 3: to put reverend on the check. We don't put reverend
50:41
Speaker 3: on the check anymore because we found that when they
50:44
Speaker 3: know you're a preacher, you're tagged. That says something, by
50:49
Speaker 3: the way about our kind, doesn't it. And we've never
50:55
Speaker 3: been back. And I'm afraid that this church might someday
51:00
Speaker 3: check with that local fellow to see what kind of
51:03
Speaker 3: person I am, because he would have another opinion than
51:07
Speaker 3: other people would have about me. But you see, there's
51:10
Speaker 3: that side too. So when you get the comments from
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Speaker 3: the neighbors, be sure you've done your homework, not just
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Speaker 3: one person who happens not.
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Speaker 2: To like you. Because we've had some people.
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Speaker 3: In our neighborhood say, look, we don't want a preacher
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Speaker 3: living here, and we found out you were a preacher.
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Speaker 3: We just want to kind of set some things straight,
51:35
Speaker 3: and they did I want children in their lawn, and
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Speaker 3: our children did get on their lawn and they call
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Speaker 3: the police, and that kind of fun stuff, really fun.
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Speaker 3: That's part of what you have to deal with. But
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Speaker 3: my point here is simply having a good reputation with
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Speaker 3: those outside the church generally speaking, is a very important factor.
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Speaker 3: Down to the people who work at the dry cleaner store,
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Speaker 3: people you do regular business with, in your finances, all
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Speaker 3: of that is very revealing of character. Now, God's searching
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Speaker 3: for these kind of people. By the way, do you
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Speaker 3: notice that the purpose of that is that you not
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Speaker 3: fall into reproach and the snare of the lest he
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Speaker 3: fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Notice
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Speaker 3: twice the reference to the devil verse six and verse seven.
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Speaker 3: Devil really has got the Christian leader in his crosswires
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Speaker 3: of his scope, doesn't he seize the Christian Leader? And
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Speaker 3: he's scoping in on him because he doesn't want any
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Speaker 3: wall builders, He doesn't want any stand in the gap
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Speaker 3: guys available.
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Speaker 2: He wants to shoot him down.
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Speaker 3: Three questions I suggest to be asked of potential leaders personally,
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Speaker 3: do his internals square with his externals. Do his internals
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Speaker 3: fit his externals? He speaks well in public, he looks
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Speaker 3: pretty good. He handles himself well under pressure. But behind
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Speaker 3: the scenes are those internal things in place that takes
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Speaker 3: time to find out? Second, Domestically, would his family vote
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Speaker 3: for him?
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Speaker 2: Ah, I didn't mean that to be funny.
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Speaker 3: Domestically, when his family heard that you're asking about his
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Speaker 3: being on the elder board, would they chuckle? Or would
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Speaker 3: the kids say and the wife say, why not? Makes
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Speaker 3: good sense? He would be a real contribution.
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Speaker 2: To our church.
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Speaker 3: Third, publicly, will the community be surprised or affirming? God
53:58
Speaker 3: is still.
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Speaker 2: On a search and it's going on.
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Speaker 3: To this very day, and he cares so much about
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Speaker 3: it that he gives us black and white lists to
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Speaker 3: follow to find his men.
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Speaker 2: It's a very sensitive task.
54:22
Speaker 1: Will you join me in prayer as we go before
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Speaker 1: our heavenly father, Lord, remind us again and again that
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Speaker 1: your eyes do move to and fro throughout the earth,
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Speaker 1: that you may strongly support those whose hearts are truly yours.
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Speaker 1: And you're still on a search for such people, not
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Speaker 1: simply leaders, but godly leaders, not just folks who stand
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Speaker 1: there and Phillip's space, but those who will make a
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Speaker 1: difference in this world that's lost its way, and your
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Speaker 1: standard really has not in any way been reduced because
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Speaker 1: of the rarity of people like this. We've very carefully
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Speaker 1: worked our way through a list of qualities that are
55:16
Speaker 1: so very important among the kind of people you want
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Speaker 1: to use to lead your kind of work. And I
55:25
Speaker 1: pray today that we will not lose heart as we
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Speaker 1: continue to search for those who can fill the gap,
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Speaker 1: those who can build a wall, those who can represent
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Speaker 1: you in a time and an era when so many
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Speaker 1: have forgotten you, are turned against you. Give us a
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Speaker 1: great sense of determination, Lord, and confidence that you will
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Speaker 1: lead us in the locating of individuals like we have
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Speaker 1: just discovered today, just analyzed, working our way through this
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Speaker 1: very important set of qualifications. May we be reminded again
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Speaker 1: that your standard of excellence is still excellent.
56:16
Speaker 2: Guard us from.
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Speaker 1: Diminishing what you would never reduce to just a low
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Speaker 1: level of mediocrity or just the average. May we hold
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Speaker 1: your standard high. Your church deserves nothing less, and your
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Speaker 1: people long for such leaders. Father, I pray finally that
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Speaker 1: as a result of locating individuals like this, that you
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Speaker 1: will give those people the courage, the temerity, the determination
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Speaker 1: to step into the gap and to represent you, regardless
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Speaker 1: of the price it will require and the cost it
56:58
Speaker 1: will demand. Give us, our Father, the confidence that you
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Speaker 1: will use these individuals in strategic ways in this desperate
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Speaker 1: age in which we live, when there has been such
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Speaker 1: compromise and such lowering of the standard. Thank you, Father,
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Speaker 1: that you've given us your word that guides us into
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Speaker 1: all truth. May we embrace it and draw strength from it.
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Speaker 1: May you guide us in the way we should go,
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Speaker 1: not in the way we would choose to go, And
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Speaker 1: may we obey you from start to finish in the
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Speaker 1: process of the selection of those who will lead your
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Speaker 1: ministry for your glory. I pray this in the name
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Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ, our Master, our Lord, our God.
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Speaker 2: Amen.
58:00
Speaker 4: The preceding message, Another Look at the Checklist, was copyrighted
58:05
Speaker 4: in nineteen eighty four, and the sound recording was copyrighted
58:07
Speaker 4: in twenty fifteen by Charles R. Swindell, Inc. All rights
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Speaker 4: are reserved worldwide.