00:00:00.000 - 00:00:21.740

[ Music ] [MUSIC] ♪ The birds will sing ♪ ♪ And we are here with you today ♪

00:00:21.740 - 00:00:37.600

♪ The days are gone ♪ ♪ The wind is up in the air ♪ ♪ The season's cold ♪ ♪ The fog is blurred ♪

00:00:37.600 - 00:00:50.060

♪ By the misty river ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ He's in the way ♪ ♪ The kingdom's way ♪

00:00:50.060 - 00:01:04.980

♪ I'm rising in ♪ ♪ The home of the brave ♪ ♪ He's in our way ♪ ♪ The care we need ♪

00:01:04.980 - 00:01:21.860

♪ He'll know the day ♪ ♪ Will come for me ♪ ♪ And birds and hills will sing of you ♪ ♪ And songs and songs of hope are full ♪

00:01:21.860 - 00:01:39.980

- I hope that since the shining rays fall down the future's broadening way. - I hope, yeah. ♪ You can walk unto the shining rays ♪

00:01:39.980 - 00:02:13.980

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. "Give us this day our daily bread. (music)

00:02:13.980 - 00:02:56.360

(footsteps) In the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, the 11th chapter, the portion of the 13th verse, are these words, "I magnify mine office." "I magnify mine office." The subject of the message is dignifying the

00:02:56.360 - 00:03:39.320

deaconship, dignifying the deaconship. Most of us have certain impressions and opinions concerning a deacon. We think about a deacon in the days of our childhood we think about one who sits up front sometimes we call it the Amen corner because the deacon sat in a certain section of the church it was

00:03:39.320 - 00:04:23.640

reserved. The deacon was one who would take up the offering, who would serve the Lord's supper, one who would walk with the pastor into the baptismal waters, and one who in every way was a pastoral assistant, a holy helper. Well the office of a deacon is that of a servant. The servant is employed to

00:04:23.640 - 00:04:53.200

perform specific duties for another. The servant takes orders from the master and and is evaluated by the manner in which the assigned responsibilities are performed. All of us are servants. We are servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

00:04:53.200 - 00:05:23.000

And so you who have been selected as the leaders of the laity are in a sense assistants to the servant of the servants. To use a Latin phrase, "servus ororum dei," servants of the servants of God, servant of the servants.

00:05:23.000 - 00:06:18.360

the servant seeks opportunities to render assistance. For the role of the servant is one of humility. In the world of ancient Greece and Rome, the servant was at the lowest rung of the latter. Servant was considered a very humble position according to the Greek concept of scale of persons. The highest honor was to be a philosopher. And we think of this

00:06:18.360 - 00:06:50.800

considering the same line of thinking, the high honor is to be the boss, to give the orders for others to follow. It was considered humiliating and degrading to be a servant. To be the boss is to give commands, to be the servant is to obey. And the one who has the wrong concept of servanthood as it relates to the people

00:06:50.800 - 00:07:42.320

of God may be inclined to express the kind of thinking which is given us by Milton in one of his poems when he talks about those who would rather reign in hell than to serve in heaven. Now the Greek word for servant is doulos. That's the same word for slave. The slave yields to the master.

00:07:42.320 - 00:08:01.360

The slave's task is to do the will of the master. Our master is Jesus Christ. And every one of us should say in our heart of hearts, a charge to keep I have, a God to glorify,

00:08:01.360 - 00:08:27.840

who gave his son my soul to save and fit it for the sky. Now we have had this ceremony today for the deaconship. But when we consider this office, first of all, the person ought to desire it, ought to really want to be, because if a person doesn't really want to be, he's not going

00:08:27.840 - 00:08:58.920

to be or to desire it. It's sad to say in our churches this has not always been true. We've made deacons of people because they have certain positions in the community. They don't really care about the deaconship because if they did they'd do better. But that's not the way it is in Church of Jesus Christ. I remember when I was much younger I was

00:08:58.920 - 00:09:21.500

just out of college and I had a job in McAllister Oklahoma and I was teaching preachers and they had an ordination service for deacons and I was on the council and in the old-fashioned way the deacons sit up there and you ask them questions they have to answer those questions and you graded whether you

00:09:21.500 - 00:09:38.800

pass whether you fail so since I was the youngest member of the group I didn't want to ask I was the teacher in the community of the preachers and I didn't want to ask the deacon any hard questions because they would think that I was some smarty you know and I tried to be I sat there for a long time I said

00:09:38.800 - 00:09:56.600

now what question can I ask that these brethren would search this brother was certainly know the answer it was just one brother in this case I won't ask him a question and I know he'll be able to answer satisfactorily so they won't think I'm trying to set this man up so I thought I said I'll just ask him this

00:09:56.600 - 00:10:22.520

question and I said brother why do you want to be a deacon you see I don't want to be a deacon I said oh my goodness I have asked the question that this and so that question the other brothers the other ministers they said now brother you know the Bible says that he who desires the office of a bishop

00:10:22.520 - 00:10:45.360

desires a good work and you know what the Bible says you desire if you desire it's a good thing so don't you desire he said no I don't decide you said my pastor wants me to be a deacon but I don't want to be and do you know we went on and ordain that brother? And many times you know it's because the person

00:10:45.360 - 00:11:14.900

gives a certain amount of money and sometimes a preacher recommends him you know for the deaconship but that's not what the scripture says it says that the person should desire this office should want it and if you really desire it you will do what the Apostle says here you will magnify he says I magnify mine

00:11:14.900 - 00:11:48.660

office I dignify my office I honor the office and sometimes an individual becomes caught up in pride and lust of office and seeks to gain an office not because of the honor which he or she may bring to the office but the honor which the office may bring to them. So it is this attitude that causes one to hold on to an

00:11:48.660 - 00:12:26.540

office. The idea of getting the office to keep it so that nobody else can get it and often doing nothing while one has it. But to dignify the office, how may one fulfill this idea? How may one translate it into reality to dignify the office of the deaconship? Well you see the deacon is a lay leader of the congregation. He

00:12:26.540 - 00:12:59.980

is to be a helper in the task of controlling and caring for God's people. And those who desire this task desire a good work. They are to be respected and reverent persons who possess the maturity which is necessary to exercise a fatherly oversight over the spiritual and material affairs of God's family.

00:12:59.980 - 00:13:19.020

To exercise leadership in caring for God's people is a tremendous task. A preacher can't do it by himself, and neither should he try or be expected to. The work is too great, the responsibility is too demanding. There must be helpers.

00:13:19.020 - 00:13:31.900

You remember how Moses tried to do it all by himself and Jethro came to him and said, "Look, you can't do this. It's too much for you. You'll wear yourself out."

00:13:31.900 - 00:14:00.940

So there were appointed 70 who assisted Moses and the needs of the people were promptly met, family became stronger. So the deaconship is dignified through persons who are committed to serving the Lord. We sang it a few moments ago, "O Master, let me walk with thee."

00:14:00.940 - 00:14:30.300

In lowly paths of service free, tell me thy secret, help me bear the strain of toil, the fret of care. Well when we consider an office a position, there are usually three things that we are concerned about the qualifications whether or not we meet the qualifications

00:14:30.300 - 00:15:05.660

that's number one and secondly the job description and thirdly what does it pay those are the three things that we're concerned about so let's just briefly look at the qualifications of the persons who seek this office according to scripture they are to be men who are straight a lot of difference between

00:15:05.660 - 00:15:51.880

being crooked and being straight they are to be men who are straight who walk in the straight and narrow way. Men who do not stoop to disgraceful ways of making money. They are to be persons who are concerned about fulfilling God's requirements. They are to be persons who rule well their families. They are to be

00:15:51.880 - 00:16:33.560

persons who are sober. These are qualifications. They are to be full of of the Holy Spirit. And you know so often we have a sort of a categorical ethical system. We have certain ethics for the preacher. We know quite well what his duties are, what he's supposed to do we got that down real good and then we have another set

00:16:33.560 - 00:17:04.240

of ethics for the congregation in other words many people want to preach it to walk the chalk line you know while they take the turnpike right there for all of us. God doesn't have a certain Bible for the preacher, another Bible for the deacons, and another Bible for the congregation. It's all one Bible, one set of

00:17:04.240 - 00:17:33.640

rules for all of us, and the requirement for going to heaven is the same for me as it is for you. That's the way it is. And so the qualifications full of the Holy Spirit you know interesting when you notice that those first seven that we call deacons when they were selected full of the Holy Spirit apt to teach. So I want

00:17:33.640 - 00:17:53.040

the congregation and the brethren to understand that these brothers who stood here are not just brothers been selected to count some money no no no no That's not just you know, we have reduced it to counting money and attending a meeting To know what is going on

00:17:53.040 - 00:18:12.280

For all of the Holy Spirit and and and and they were They might minister to certain needs within the congregation That's just what they were selected for and

00:18:12.280 - 00:18:44.320

they were to visit the widows and to minister to their needs and they were to slaughter slaves as a bridge in establishing fellowship within the congregation because if you read that story the people had become there was a murmuring that had developed and the fellowship was threatened and so these brothers were appointed that they might sort of serve as bridge builders

00:18:44.320 - 00:19:15.660

to build fellowship within the congregation to serve as a healing influence within the congregation that was their task and so they had these qualifications. They had a certain job description that they were given you know that they were to be helpers. You, in other words, these widows and the people,

00:19:15.660 - 00:19:43.400

the poor who were being neglected in the daily ministration, the Apostle said, "Look out among you and find persons that you feel that were committed to this task, that we may appoint them, that we may give ourselves to the preaching of the word, the cultivation of the word, and they did that. And the description is that they are to be

00:19:43.400 - 00:20:30.640

builders of fellowship, that they are to be administrators, to be helpers, doing what is within their power to give assistance to the household of God. That is their task, that is their responsibility as deacons. Well, they did this and they served well. They were just lay people. But you know the first person that was killed, became

00:20:30.640 - 00:20:57.120

a martyr, was not a preacher, was a deacon. Stephen. Some people called him the chairman of the first board of deacons chairman of the deacons he was killed he was martyred he was stoned to death doing his job that brings us to our pay

00:20:57.120 - 00:21:38.900

something that is an easy job what is the pay what can one expect to get out of it. If one is a good administrator and helper, if one is apt to teach, if one is a model in every way, what can one hope to gain? What is the pay? Paul here says as a servant I magnify my office. If you magnify your office what can you expect

00:21:38.900 - 00:22:08.380

to get? Some people say well that job is just the job of a flunky. If you're a good servant people will say you're a flunky. There was an old Greek legend concerning a scavenger man who performed his task so well he so dignified the office that the people in the town looked upon it as honorable to

00:22:08.380 - 00:22:43.380

be a scavenger man. That one can so dignify, can so serve, can be so committed that one magnifies and dignifies that office so that people look upon it and say that, "Oh, what a blessing it was that this person occupied that office. I magnify my office." Paul, as a servant, magnified the office of being a servant. He did not look upon it as something that was humiliating and degrading,

00:22:43.380 - 00:23:16.500

but he took the role of a servant and magnified that office so that people looked upon the office as one of honor. And you know, Paul does it, but the important thing is that Jesus Christ is his example. For he, he, he being the Son of God, thought it not right of being equal with God to humble himself and become obedient even to that of a servant.

00:23:16.500 - 00:23:43.660

And he died upon a cross. Well, that's the one we are to follow. Beacons, all of us, congregation, dignify the office. Serve while we have the opportunity, whatever the time may be, to serve and to serve well, to dignify the deaconship. What

00:23:43.660 - 00:24:08.340

are we going to get out of it? What will we get? Well, there's certain things that we're concerned about yes we're concerned about the pay. Apostles were quite disturbed and the spokesman for the group said you know when we look at what you're requiring of us Lord so what are we gonna get? That's a good question

00:24:08.340 - 00:25:05.440

what we gonna get? What are we going to get? Well before we ask the question what are we going to get? The question is asked about what are you going to give? But what you get will be based on what you give. If you give yourself, if you say, "Lord, here I am, I'll surrender all," then he said that you don't have to worry about what you're gonna get. Don't worry about the risk. Don't worry about the risk. There are certain risks involved in service. You don't be misunderstood. to be a servant of the Lord. Sometimes the decisions will be very, very difficult, but to be a servant there is a certain risk, but there is also certain joy. And you see what

00:25:05.440 - 00:25:30.960

we're doing right here is just sort of a little rehearsal, a rehearsal of what is to take place beyond. I talked with a lady this morning, she said, "Oh, Reverend Sidney." So you know at our choir rehearsal, Sister Kitty Whitty, she said, "We had such a wonderful choir rehearsal the other night." I said, "Rev. Sidney, I went home happy." She said, "I used to say this morning, it was going to be like it was at choir rehearsal."

00:25:30.960 - 00:25:46.460

Now that was just rehearsal. Just rehearsal. So what we're doing is just rehashing down here the kind and quality of service that we ought to give up there. [Audience agrees] It's just a reversal.

00:25:46.460 - 00:25:59.960

It pays. It pays. It pays to do good. It pays to somehow be committed to that which is true.

00:25:59.960 - 00:26:13.620

It really pays. Ask, ask, ask, ask, ask anyone who has been along the way. If we were to be able to wake up Abraham and to have him, Abraham, really does it pay you

00:26:13.620 - 00:26:26.900

left her or Calvary that you walk along the way? Does it really pay? And Abraham would tell us, yes, it pays. It pays for wherever you go, he'll be with you.

00:26:26.900 - 00:26:47.600

He'll walk beside you. It pays every step of the way. It pays. You have the satisfaction of knowing that you have pleased God. And there's nothing better than a servant who knows in his heart of hearts that he has pleased the Master.

00:26:47.600 - 00:27:09.600

No greater satisfaction than that. Oh, it pays. Oh, as we walk along the way, the way may sometimes be cloudy and the burdens may be heavy, but it pays to serve Jesus. Pays every step of the way.

00:27:09.600 - 00:27:29.440

The pathway to glory may sometimes be drear, but you'll be happy each step of the way. As we sing now the hymn of invitation, we invite you to come. You would be a servant from the king. You would somehow fulfill his will for your life.

00:27:29.440 - 00:27:37.440

That is to be a servant. You would work for that. You would like to serve. You would get to see.

00:27:37.440 - 00:28:19.940

[MUSIC PLAYING] [Music] [music] ♪ The harvest of the earth ♪

00:28:19.940 - 00:28:43.540

♪ True pleasure from home ♪ ♪ In him there is joy ♪ ♪ Without our own ♪ ♪ His heaven to trust in ♪

00:28:43.580 - 00:29:05.420

♪ I rest on his word ♪ ♪ In faith to God be all ♪ ♪ He's made ♪ ♪ In faith to God be all ♪

00:29:05.420 - 00:29:27.900

♪ He's made ♪ ♪ I'm free again ♪ ♪ It makes every step a better way ♪ ♪ Though the path may be long ♪

00:29:27.900 - 00:29:58.920

♪ There's a time when you'll be happy ♪ ♪ He sent all the way ♪ ♪ If angels are to be heard ♪ ♪ Whatever you may do ♪

00:29:58.920 - 00:30:42.780

♪ If angels be true ♪ ♪ Whatever you may do ♪ [Music] [Music]

00:30:42.780 - 00:30:48.760

[ Silence ]