God's Waiters Who Serve the Church Part 1 by Dr. Rod Mattoon

About this sermon

1 Timothy 3:8-13... Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul provides the church traits to look for in a man who is to serve as a deacon. What in the world is a deacon anyway? Have you ever been in a restaurant and had a waiter take your order and serve you? Have you ever seen someone in a business who gave orders to people who worked for him? These folks worked and served the boss or the owner of the business. Well, that is what a deacon is. The word "deacon" comes from the Greek word diakonos {dee-ak'-on-os} which means "one who executes the commands of another; a humble servant or attendant; one who waits on tables." In the early church, they distributed the necessity of the saints of God to the church family who were poverty-stricken. A deacon is NOT to be a person who bosses the pastor around and gives him fits. Unfortunately, that goes on in many churches. Deacons who behave this way dishonor themselves. Bossing the pastor would be like a waiter telling the boss of the restaurant what to do. A deacon is to help the pastor, not hinder him, hamper him, or hurt him. A deacon has the important task of helping the pastor with the work of the ministry. He helps take some of the load off the pastor so that he can devote his time to studying the Word of God, preparing messages, praying, and ministering to the church. The first deacons were appointed to be assistants to the Apostles. In this message, we will look at the traits of a deacon and their meaning. This message was preached on Sunday night, February 19, 2023, at Lincoln Land Baptist Church.

Topics

• Service & Ministry
• Church & Fellowship
• The Church