>> All right, let's, let me pray for us and then we'll go into the teaching time. Lord, would you help us to understand your truths well and to apply them appropriately in our lives so that every single one of us really would be able to exhort and reprove for the purposes of the building up of your church.

We thank you for our discussion. We pray that you would help us to have a fruitful time of gleaning and learning over the next few minutes and Jesus, let me pray. So I read this in the beginning and I'll take this passage and I'll further just carve it up, okay?

So if you've noticed, I've categorized verses five and six as more private life and then seven to nine as kind of the publicly measurable stuff there. And in the middle, that for, it's a Greek word, gar. It's a very important word, right? The for is a very, kind of a vague word but it's a very important word.

And it tells me right away that an elder and an overseer are the same thing, okay? For, this kind of a person is supposed to do A, B, C, and D, okay? And so I blew up that little phrase, for the overseer must be above approach, and I blew up the bottom.

Why must he be above approach? So that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. So basically, if you're ministering in the flesh and if your character is severely flawed, you're going to corrupt everything you teach. You're going to get in your own way.

You're going to hinder the message not only by teaching incorrect things but by practicing it inappropriately, right? So that's the thing. So for me, when I look at this, the holding fast isn't the part that hinges upon so that he may be able to teach. It's the, he must be above approach so that he will be able to exhort and reprove, okay?

So that's visually and grammatically, I dug deeper but just visually I see it like that. And I have five negative traits there. And it's interesting, I just immediately thought like, oh, these are five ways that leaders, especially as they become more successful, become tempted. Okay? The woman one was covered already in the one woman man thing.

But these are ways that this leader can be easily tempted. As the church grows, this leader might have his own agenda. As the church grows and there's people who cause problems, we might lose patience and be like, let's squash that. Let's expunge that because that's what God wants us to do from the church and be very quick.

There's also a temptation to just get my mind off of the busyness of ministry and just indulge in things that are not of God, whatever it is. Pugnacious, if someone challenges me and attacks my character, I might want to fight. I might be tempted to be kinder to people who give more money to the church.

So these are ways that I can be tempted. And then there's that but in there and that there's six positive traits. And if you guys have thought it was seven, okay, it's actually six. There are six adjectives and one adverb. Hopefully you guys can visually see this. The six adjectives or virtues are all good and that holding is not an adjective.

It's an adverb. If you look at the Greek, it's adjective, adjective, adjective, adjective, adverb, okay? So that's how I get this, okay, above approach, why? So that he can teach effectively and not get in in his own way, all right? So that's the first thing that I've done. Now, some of you guys might have discussed this.

It's like, well, is elder and overseer the same thing? What's a bishop, right? We don't use the word bishop. But my friend who's also Korean, when she was in her youth group, her dad was a bishop at their church, okay? I thought that was so strange. I was like, what's a bishop?

But that's what she called her dad, okay? So is overseer synonymous to elder? The internal structure told me yes. But here, I'm going to go a little bit further just for your edification. The word elder is presbuteros, which is actually the most frequently used term for a spiritual leader.

Overseer and bishop are the same word. It's episkopos. And if you guys think, oh, it's Episcopalian church, they have bishops, okay? So overseer, bishop. It's used a lot less frequently. And then you have shepherd, pastor. It's usually used in the verb form, not the noun form. Okay, you're shepherding, you're pastoring, okay?

It's only used once in the noun form. And that's the Greek word poimen, all right? So presbuteros, episkopos, poimen, and these are all things that pop up as church leader, all right? A deacon is not a leadership position. It's an aid position. Now, oh, so many guys are busy writing.

I'm going to make all of these slides available so you don't need to scramble, okay? Now, these are the one in the -- these are one in the same New Testament office. And I'm just going to read two verses out of Acts that will show you where it's all used, okay?

From Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and -- this is Paul -- and call to him the presbuteroi of the church, the elders. And then he has instructions, and in verse 28, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you episkopoi," bishops, overseers, "to shepherd poimen," the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

So if you're like, "Well, what's all the difference? How come our church has elders and we don't have overseers? How come our church has elders and pastors?" It's -- the lines are fuzzy in modern-day practice and application, but in the Greek, it all means the same thing. So what you expect of me should be expected of the elder, should be expected of the small group leader, possibly to a lesser degree, expected of every Christian, because these are exemplary things, okay?

Hopefully, that clears up some stuff. And I'm going to just talk about a couple more things that I found are very significant. This holding fast, remember, it's not the seventh adjective or virtue, it's actually a hinge word, okay? So it literally means holding fast, holding firm, cleaving to, loyally tending to, and this is a very important word, because this is -- this man of God who does all of these things, husband of one wife, having children who are faithful, believe, right, self-controlled, loving what is good, hospitable, just, devout, loving, all of those things, holding to the faithful word.

So this is actually a very important hinge word, okay? And when I get to a word I feel like is extremely important, I might do a word study. I will compare translations, I will compare usages of that Greek word in other verses or passages, and I will just do a basic word study to whatever I can benefit from, so I can understand the mood of this word.

If I, as a pastor, am supposed to hold fast to this thing, how strong is that word, and how fiercely am I supposed to hold on to this faithful teaching, okay? So I'm going to -- so I do a little bit of a -- it's hard to see from there, but I will look at all the ways that it's used, I will look at all the different translations, and then I'm going to notice that it's only used in four times in all the New Testament.

Okay, the word is antecho, all right? Antecho, so how is this used? Matthew 624, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be antecho to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God in money, possessions.

That's a pretty strong word then, right? You either love God or you hate him. So this holding fast, antecho, is a very, very strong word. I need to hold on to this thing as if this is my only obsession in life, for which I will be judged. So this is a very strong word.

Luke has the same. First Thessalonians, now we appeal to you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the discouraged, and antechesthe the weak, cleave yourself to them and do not leave their side so that they can be helped. And then Titus. So is this a strong word just from this word study?

Oh, yeah, it's a very strong word. So this holding fast, the faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching then, is a very strong statement that I'm going to have to pay attention to, all right? As a church leader, there are many voices in this world, on Facebook, in the media, telling me as a church leader I have many jobs.

I need to be a social justice advocate. I need to help the poor. I need to be the first to speak out against racial issues. I need to be a resource for political agendas. I need to do all these things. I need to be well-read in all the theological things.

I need to be an expert in all of these things. There are many voices that are around Christendom that are telling church leaders that they need to do certain things. Would you guys agree? But what is the one thing that I'm supposed to cleave myself towards or to -- so that like my life depended on it?

It's this, okay? So this isn't just another virtue in a list of virtues. This is something that I need to devote myself to doing. Here we go. Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.

And this is actually the only action test. Everything else is a character, right? But this is something that the leader needs to visibly and measurably be held accountable to, okay? So the conclusion that I draw from this is one of the primary aims of every Christian and especially the chief duty of those who lead the church.

What is it? This verse might give me an insight into that. My job as a representative of God, as a mouthpiece for the creator of the universe, the faithful teaching of his word, the faithful dispensation of his word needs to be an obsession on my end. Matthew 28, 18 to 20.

You guys know this verse. Right? All authority in heaven and earth have been given to me. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son of the holy spirit. Teaching them to do everything that I commanded you. How long will it take for me to teach you everything that Jesus taught you to do?

A long time. I can't waste my time focusing on many other things. My primary thing has to be teaching every Berean to do, not just to know, but to do everything that I commanded you. That's part of the great commission. John 14, 15. If you love me, you will what?

Obey what I command. How do you know you're loving the Lord? Well, let me teach you. Let me walk you through what God desires. First Timothy 4, 16. Watch your life and doctrine very closely, and I'm going to go to that verse later, second Timothy 3, 16 to 17.

All scripture is God-breathed. Right? And it's useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that you may be equipped for every good work for salvation. Second Timothy 4, 2 to 3. Preach the word. So this holding fast is a very strong word, which the pastors at the church, elders too, are -- that has to be one of our primary aims to guard the pulpit, to make sure the sheep are being fed.

You guys following this? Okay. So the world -- and the culture around us does not dictate what we teach. Obviously, if we're teaching everything correctly, it will address a lot of things. Right? Not perfectly, but it will address a lot of things, and where there are things that are great, it will give us wisdom.

Okay? So that's the chief aim, primary aim of every Christian to know God and to make him known through his word, and especially for those who are in the front. We need to be biblically literate, astute, and passionate for this. So you guys hold our feet to the fire.

All right? So what is this next thing? The faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching. What is that? Is it like just the Old Testament? Well, if that's the case, wouldn't those of the circumcision say that they were the ones holding fast to the faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching?

Right? Hey, look. What about like the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, other people that use the Bible? Wouldn't they say that they have the truth? What about the Presbyterian churches? What about the Wesleyan churches, Methodist churches? Why are we like so snooty and falutey about like we alone have the truth?

No, that's not what we're saying. It's every person who says that they're a child of God, every church that represents Jesus Christ must dig deep into the scriptures and pour over every page of it to make sure what they're proclaiming is accurate to what God desires to be proclaimed.

You guys following that? And obviously, we are limited in our understanding, but we can't be lazy. So we need to hold fast scriptures cover to cover in the way that God wanted it to be dispensed. All right? You guys following me? So this is where we get the word sufficiency of scripture.

Okay? And that's something that is emphasized a lot in our church. The sufficiency of scripture means that scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.

The word of God is enough. Amen? The word of God is enough. It can change your thinking. It can change all your problems. It can do away with the very fleshly weaknesses that are in your life. It can answer all the questions that are difficult to answer about all of the things that are surrounding our lives right now, whether it's racial things, political things, ethical moral things, even to who shall I marry?

My loved one has cancer. How do I deal with that person? Should I take this job? Should I not? How should I raise my kids? Should women work outside the home? And we're going to look at that in a few weeks. Every single thing that God intended us to know of his heart are in the 66 books that we have.

And our job, not to hold on to like our opinion or how we feel about the verses. We're supposed to scrutinize the verses and do our best to know God's heart through the word of God. And it's enough to change our lives, to feed our souls, and to move us in the direction that he would have us go.

You guys following this? So that's what the sufficiency of scripture means is. And so we're not supposed to casually, loosely hold on to these things. We're supposed to dive in. And this is to be one of our chief responsibilities. So if you guys, I know some people, like this is the only Bible intake that you have.

And that's better than nothing. But preparing for our Wednesday night Bible study, it really should be bare minimum. It's kind of like saying, well, I ate once this week. Yeah, you try that, you're going to physically like collapse. Make sure in every facet of your life, the word of God is filling your spiritual body.

Feeding daily. Okay? So that's just what I'm gleaning from this. And this is consistent with Paul's exhortation to all church leadership. And I mean, obviously, to Christians as well. Why do we need to hold fast to faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching, and have all of these moral characters line up, so that we can exhort and refute?

We need to feed the sheep and fight off the wolves. Okay? So that we can feed the sheep, fight off the wolves, we need to make sure not only are we intaking the word of God regularly, we need to make sure our lives are living up to what we say we believe.

And this also applies to your guys' lives. If you have non-Christians in your family, is your life exuding the aroma of Christ? Are you getting in your own way of evangelism? It's something I can hold your feet to the fire in. Right? At work, everyone knows you go to church, everyone knows you're a Christian, but are you lazy?

That damages your witness. We're going to look at in Titus chapter 2, as a bond slave, what you're supposed to be doing. Right? So 1 Timothy 4, 16, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

I like the NIV on this one. Watch your life and doctrine closely for the rest of your life. Scrutinize every single aspect of your theology and your doctrine and the way you practice that in your life. Right? And the more you know God, the more humble you should become, the more gracious and loving you should become.

That's a natural byproduct of being near Christ. Right? So watch your life and doctrine closely. Now, the whole passage actually, though, is about elders and overseers. Okay? So I'm going to wrap with -- not wrap. I'm going to wrap this up with just a brief thought on elders and overseers.

This was a slide that was up here two weeks ago. So we're looking at what does Titus 1, 4 through 9 have to say? What does all of Titus have to say? What do the other pastoral epistles have to say? What does the whole Bible have to say about what kinds of men we put up in the front?

Okay? I made a list. And again, this will be accessible to you online. A.V., thank you. So I just wrote it all out. Okay? So if you notice, first Timothy and Titus, it's almost like very parallel, very similar. Except Timothy goes into a little bit more. All right? And he mentions only one skill.

Out of all of these things, only one skill is mentioned, and that's able to teach. But even that can also be interpreted as a character, like qualified to teach. So out of all of these things, only one word that is skill-based. And like I said, even that one skill is also a character thing.

Okay? And some other instructions. He must not be a new convert. There are a lot of passionate, gifted people who just came to faith, you should never put them up in the front, because it will destroy them. Like the devil. Okay? And I'll get to that. They must first be tested.

So deacons are supposed to be tested in chapter 3, verse 10. And that's not a leadership position. So if a service position, that person should be tested in their character, how much more so should a pastor, elder, et cetera, et cetera. And how long does it take to get to really test someone's character?

Two months? Six months? One year? I say minimum three. Because you don't really know what's inside until you squeeze them. Right? That first negative comment that they hear, the first drama that they have to face, how do they respond? Okay? So accusations are serious business, worthy of double honor, and you're not supposed to ordain hastily.

Okay? So those are the leadership qualities that we see in 1 Timothy. 1 Peter, they're more like motivations, but shepherding voluntarily, shepherding according to the will of God, not for sort of gain. Eager. Not lording it, not overbearing. And proving to be examples. So these are the lists of qualifications.

Nowhere does it say their resume, their degree, their ability to engage you with clever stories and gimmicks. Nowhere does it say how much money they give to the church. Nowhere does it say their personality strengths. Oh, they're such a people person, they can draw the masses. It doesn't say what seminate that they graduated from, or even if they graduated college.

So what the world's churches today look for in a spiritual leader, and what the Bible says we need to look for, look very different. Right? So that's just, I put this on there so you can consult this later when it gets made available online. All right? All of these are character.

Because if your character is flawed, you get in the way of adorning the gospel, adorning the doctrine of God. Okay? And this should be of every Christian, but especially those who are in the front. Now, just a couple of things. Not a new convert so that he will not become conceited and fall into condemnation incurred by the devil.

He must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. So some churches, whoever seems like they have the most fire lit under their like just spiritual wings, you try to put them up in a position.

We don't do that. Because they can become very arrogant and conceited. So if you guys are sitting here like, "How come I wasn't asked to be small group leader?" Because we have that sometimes. "How come that person was asked but I didn't get asked?" Ooh. That's one attitude that you should really examine.

Okay? Why do you want to do this? Self-willed was one of those words, right? Above reproach, not self-willed. Do you want this for yourself and for your recognition or do you really want to do that to serve the kingdom of God with fear and trembling? All right? So one of the things that we do is we don't just hastily put people into positions.

And sometimes, you know, like even if that person was a pastor and elder or this and that at some other church, they come in here, we make them do all the membership and everything, right? And part of that process is also a good test to see how they respond when they're not in the front.

First Timothy 3.10, they must be tested. And again, this is for deacons but it also, I would assume, applies upward. And First Timothy 5.22, do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sin of others. So one of the reasons we're very slow to put people up into positions is so that we protect our flock.

Does that make sense? And you get frustrated sometimes. We need more leaders. We know that. But who should we pick-- put up, right? Like we want to be very slow because it's easier to wait for the right person than to hastily put someone in place and then regret when we take them off.

You guys understand that? So in the meantime, when our numbers are growing fast, we have few leaders, everyone needs to do their best to just help build this church in the way that, in many ways, only you can. OK? So here's some applications for you. These characteristics should be true of all Christians.

What are areas of your life that your small group members can keep you accountable in? How can they pray for you? And you don't want to leave it like, "Oh, I just need to know God more." That is very difficult to measure. All right? Are you addicted to entertainment?

Are you very pugnacious? Do you have zero self-control? Do you struggle just with thought life? Are you involved in very shady things for financial gain? These are things that you shouldn't just hold the elders feet to the fire. These should be things that you should examine your own heart.

OK? So what are these things in your life? And secondly, how fast are you holding to the faithful word? Is the word of God, the intake of the word of God, a priority in your life? And if it is a priority in your life, are you studying the word of God so you can be known as someone who studies the word of God?

Or so that you can know the Lord better? There's a big difference. OK? There are a lot of people at Bible churches. It's very -- sometimes it's multifaceted, difficult to tell. It's easier to fit in when you're actively memorizing, you're actively studying. But that's not the motivation. That should not be the motivation.

Right? And what can you practically do to grow in your area of Bible knowledge and study? Is Wednesday the only thing you do for spiritual meat? Then you're spiritually malnourished. And you're going to have a hard time spiritually fighting your spiritual battles if you haven't been eating much. OK?

So let that be just an encouragement to you guys. And that's what we'll wrap up with in our group. Just apply. And this is for next week. And over the weeks, it's going to be the same stuff. This is actually literally copy/paste. I just changed the date. OK? And the passage.

So someone asked me, someone from home group, did you put the questions up? I was like -- and I was about to say it's the same ones from last time. But because there's a lot of new people, I forgot to put it up. But I should put it up.

OK? So if you don't see it up, email me like a snob. And then I'll respond in a gracious way as possible. All right? So I'm not pugnacious. So these are the same questions. But ultimately, it's just three verses. You ask questions. You pour over it. And then come up with observations.

And then how do these verses fit into the context of the rest of the section, chapter, letter? What are some practical, measurable applications you can draw? And three weeks in a row, I've gone shorter and shorter. So by the chapter three, I'm shooting to go like 10 minutes or less.

All right? But right now, there's a lot more instructive how-tos that are happening. But more and more, the Bible studies are going to be like your guys' discussion-oriented. OK? So wrap up with this in your small groups. And then you finish when you finish. And then if you guys can, help clean up your area.

And then help us to get ready for Sunday worship. Let's -- let me pray. Father, we want all of these things to be characteristic of every single member in our church. That we really just represent you well to this dark and fallen world. So in the areas of our weakness, in our areas where we are very fleshly, in the areas that are we -- are easily corrupted and sidetracked, I pray that your grace would sustain us, strengthen us, and feed us, Lord God, over the course of this next week until we meet again with your truth, with your word.

We pray for your blessing over the rest of the Bible studies that are going on this week. We pray that you would use Pastor Peter in a mighty way on Sunday as he proclaims your word. So that every step of just our lives, every day of the week, we would engage just in feasting off the word of God.

So we pray for your help because the things of this world do draw our attention away. So would you encourage, challenge, exhort, and excite us with your word. And Jesus, let me pray. Thank you very much.