The Gift of Godly Pastors, Part 2

0:31The saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

1:11He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. The word of our God. You may be seated. I love Fridays. Friday is my day off, so I get to take my kids to school and come home and get ready for the day. And then usually, Kendra and I have a little date, and so that's a fun thing for us to look forward to each week. Well, two weeks ago, I came back from dropping off the kids at school, and I've been trying to drink more water lately. I hear that's good for you.

1:57And so I was drinking water out of this Yeti cup that we have, and so I was polishing off the last of that water, and then I filled the whole thing with coffee. And I was getting my breakfast ready, and you know, I was distracted doing that. And I walked back over to that Yeti cup, and I picked the thing up, and I went like this. And I dumped the whole thing practically in my mouth. And I cannot tell you how badly that hurt.

2:25I'm not a scientist, and I don't know what Yetis are made out of. But I do know if you put hot liquid into a Yeti, it turns into lava. I felt like my entire mouth was just on fire, like I had swallowed that stick at the circus, but I had no training. So I have no good options at this point. I have this mouthful of blazing hot liquid, and I can swallow it and die. Or I could just open my mouth and let it fall everywhere, which is what I did. So I'm going around the kitchen, I'm just like, ah!

3:01And it's just going everywhere. Got all over the counter, all over the cabinets, all over the floor, all over my shoes. And Kendra is sitting in the next room, and she just looks over at me, and she's just kind of like, What are you doing? Like, why are you doing that? Needless to say, eating food for the past two weeks has been difficult. I've lost about five pounds, which obviously I could not stand to lose. My problem was that I was so distracted with what I was doing making this breakfast that I had forgotten that I had replaced the coffee in this container with this boiling hot liquid.

3:40And distraction is a problem for every Christian. We get distracted from the best things and focused on things that might be good things, but are not the best things, not the most important things, not the most necessary things. And so, for pastors, that's true as well. We can be so distracted with what's going on outside of the home, with work or with ministry or with hobbies or anything else, that we forget what is going on inside of the home and how important that is. And so, today's sermon is called The Gift of Godly Pastors, Part 2. And we're going to continue our exploration of what a man must be if he's going to be called to serve as an elder or pastor or overseer in the church. Last week we looked at the fact that he must be above reproach and all of the terms that fell under that general category, and that he needs to be able to teach.

4:30And today we're going to focus on his home life, his spiritual maturity, and his reputation in the community. And we'll learn, as we did last week, that godly pastors who lead by their teaching and example are precious gifts to the church. So let's look now at the text together, starting in verse 4. He must manage his own household well. Well, we noted last week that every single one of these commands begins with either he must or he must not. So none of these things are suggestions. Every single one of them is a requirement that absolutely must be met if a man is going to be considered to serve as a pastor in the church. None of them are optional. He has to meet all of these qualifications. And we also noted that nearly every one of them has to do with character. Paul's concern, God's concern, is more about who these men are than what they do. Their character is of utmost importance.

5:32And that's because they're serving as examples to the flock, as we just read in 1 Peter 5. They're setting an example for what a faithful Christian life should look like for everybody around them. And so there's also a couple of abilities that Paul talks about in this text as well. The first we looked at last week, he has to have the ability to teach because a pastor is training disciples to be followers of Jesus and to make more disciples.

5:57And then here in this verse, we run into the second. Ability that he has to have. He needs the ability to manage his household well. Well, the Greek word that's translated manage means something like to lead or to manage or to rule over. It can mean any of those things and probably more. But I want to focus on those three meanings of that word. A good and godly pastor leads, manages, and rules over his home. So, first, he has to lead his household well.

6:28Any godly leader concerns himself with the future, not just with what's going on presently. And so, in the home, this means that as a godly leader in the home, a man is going to not just be focused on what the family needs in the next hour or the next day or the next couple of days, but he's going to be concerned with the future. What is my family going to need in the next season? What are we going to need in the next 10 years? Looking ahead.

6:52In other words, he takes responsibility for every single area of the family's life. Spiritually, emotionally, financially, physically. Every part of the family's life is his responsibility. Now, that's an important word, responsibility. Because a godly man takes responsibility for everything that goes on in the home. He doesn't necessarily do everything that goes on in the home. He takes responsibility. He understands that the buck stops with him, as the expression goes. And so, when you watch sports, there are on every single team a number of coaches. Each one of them has a very specific role on that team. Many of those coaches make decisions that happen in the game, but who is ultimately held responsible for the team's performance?

7:41It's the head coach. The head coach is held responsible. No matter which assistant makes a mistake, it ultimately falls on his shoulders or her shoulders. It's the same way in the home. A godly man takes responsibility for every single aspect of family life. And so in our house, what that means is Kendra and I talk together about our spiritual goals for our family, but I ultimately have responsibility to make sure those things are carried out. That doesn't mean that I lead family worship every day or the devotional every morning. Kendra does that a lot of the time because I'm not home in the mornings.

8:16But it does mean that I am responsible for making sure that our family is growing spiritually together. Financially, I take responsibility for the direction of our home and how our money is being spent and stewarded. All of that falls on my shoulders. But Kendra does all of the day-to-day management of our finances. She pays the bills. She withdraws cash. She does all of those kinds of things. She has skills in that area that I don't have, like adding and subtracting.

8:44And that's important in that realm. So potential elders have to lead their households well. They're setting vision, setting direction, taking responsibility for every area of the family's life. The buck ultimately stops with a godly man in the home. Secondly, he must manage his household well. This is another meaning of that same Greek word. He must manage the household well. So any godly leader is concerned about the future, but you also have to execute steps day after day to reach that preferred future. That's management.

9:19A great vision with no management is a good strategy to go nowhere. You can have the greatest vision in the world, but if you don't manage your life on a day-to-day level, you're not going to reach that preferred vision of the future. Management is essential. So a godly manager doesn't just dream and talk about the future. He does the small daily tasks to get his family to that preferred future. So the scripture, thankfully, gives us a biblical vision for the home.

9:50And so in Ephesians 5, for example, Paul tells husbands that we are serving in the same way that Christ is serving the church. We should love our wives and wash them in the water of the word so that we present them holy and blameless before the Lord. That's a big vision, to present your wife holy and blameless before the Lord. But the question then becomes: how will we get there? How will my wife get to the point where she is sanctified in that way? And that's where management comes in. As men, it falls on us to take responsibility to see that our wives are growing spiritually. We need to be making sure that we're. We're reading the word together, discussing it together, praying over it together. We need to make sure that our wives are taking advantage of opportunities that the church provides to grow as a Christian. All of those things are our responsibility. Our wives aren't just going to magically become godly women, they're going to become godly women through the work of the Spirit, through their husbands and their spiritual leadership in the home. And then for dads as well, the very next chapter of Ephesians gives us a great vision. It says that we should bring up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. And Paul, when he's talking about that, ties that to the Ten Commandments. He says that's the first commandment with a promise that if you do these things, it will go well with you all the days of your life. And that's what we want for our kids. We want our kids' lives to go well. I mean, that's every parent's desire. But our kids aren't just going to naturally want to follow the Lord. Our kids aren't going to naturally be aware of their sin and aware of their need for a Savior. As fathers, it falls upon us to take responsibility for that area of their life. So the church has great programming. We love the preschool children's and youth programming. Our kids have benefited so much from it. But you have to keep in mind that they're doing that programming for one or two hours a week. The other 166, 167 hours a week, they're with you. So that's a great supplement, but that's not a good strategy to see that your children. Know the word of God and know what he requires of them, namely faith in Jesus. That has to come at home. Sending your kids to camp, that's a good thing. To VBS, that's a good thing, but that's a good supplement to whatever else is going on in the home. Dads have to take responsibility for their kids' spiritual instruction, have to manage the household well so that both wives and children are growing spiritually with concrete action steps to reach that preferred future. And then finally, he must rule over the household well. That's the third meaning: lead, manage, rule over, rule over his household well. And that means there's appropriate biblical authority and submission being exercised and understood in the home. We have this defined for us in the next phrase. Look at what he says. With all dignity, keeping his children submissive. I like to look at other translations of the scripture. I would encourage you to do that from time to time as well. If you look at the NIV translation of this verse, here it is on the screen. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

13:09So that's what Paul has in view here: obedience and proper respect. No pastor is going to be perfect, and pastors' kids are not going to be perfect either. That's not what this is requiring. What Paul is requiring is that any potential elder in the church manages his home well, ensuring that his children understand. And submit to biblical authority. In other words, they're not habitually rebellious in an uncorrected manner. See, that's going to be true in households where mom and dad are not just teaching the commands that we find in the scripture, but are seeking to submit themselves to them. In a household where mom and dad not only call the children to repent for their sins, but who are modeling repentance before each other and before their kids, too. I'm a firm believer that parents, we need to be the ones who are quick to confess our sin to our children and before our children. We need to be quick to repent to our children when we have sinned against them or when we've sinned in front of them. Because they need a model for what repentance and faith looks like practically. We're not standing over them, lording over them, saying, you need a Savior. One time I needed a Savior when I was your age, but now I don't. No, we send them the message constantly. Every single person is in need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. Kids need that Savior. Adults need that Savior, and we need that Savior forever. That's the message we want to be sending. And when we fail to do this, we set a very ungodly example in our home that brings reproach not just to our family, but on the name of Christ as well. One of the best-known examples of this is in the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel chapter 3. There was a man named Eli who was a priest. And when Samuel Was being raised up, God spoke these words to him in 1 Samuel chapter 3. Look on the screen. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.

15:19You have such a sober warning here that comes to us through Eli the priest. So this is an official in the church, we could say, among God's people. He's a religious leader. And he has sons, and the problem is his sons are sinning in a grievous and high-handed and public way. He knew that they were, and yet, even as a religious leader, he did nothing about it. He did not restrain them. And so, friends, it's so important for a potential elder to manage his household well because of the reason that Paul lays out in verse 5. Look at what he says. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

16:05Eli proved to be an unfaithful shepherd to God's people because he was first an unfaithful shepherd at home. It wasn't the other way around. It wasn't that he was faithful at home and unfaithful among God's people. He was unfaithful at home, and that's why he was unfaithful among God's people. See, later in the chapter, Paul is going to call the church the household of God. That's an important question. Connection there. The logic is very simple. If you can't even manage and shepherd your own small flock at home, how will you ever manage and shepherd a much larger flock, the household of God? Look at what Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 2 on the screen.

16:49For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you while we proclaim to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

17:24See, these verses clearly illustrate the importance of demonstrating competence at home before a man is recognized as a pastor. And friends, that's because pastoral ministry is like leading a family on a very large scale. It requires the skills of leadership and management and ruling. And those skills are going to be seen first and best inside of a man's home among his own family members. The sad reality is that so many pastors are appointed to serve before they've demonstrated competence in this area.

18:01And what's even more regrettable is that many of them were appointed to serve in spite of the fact that they demonstrated incompetence in this area. That's truly grievous. Friends, Paul is not holding pastors to an impossible standard. God is not holding pastors to an impossible standard. He's not saying your children must be Christians who never sin. It doesn't say anything about them never sinning, and it doesn't say anything about them being Christians. It says here that pastors must manage their homes well, that children must understand and submit to biblical authority. Those are the relevant issues here. Is his family life going to bring other people outside of the church to praise God for what they see or to condemn God and his church because of what they see? So, in addition to being above reproach and possessing the ability to teach, any potential elder has to manage his household well. And, men, let me encourage you to pick up a copy of the book Family Shepherds. This is a book in our bookstall as well. It's one of the best books I've ever read on the subject. I love this book. It's such a challenge to men to be the godly husbands and fathers that we're called to be. And so, this is a great resource for you as well on the subject. Any potential elder must manage his household well. Let's move on now to verse 6.

19:27Paul writes, he must not be a recent convert. Or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. So, Paul says, any potential pastor must not be a recent convert. The emphasis is on the word recent, but let me just say first, he needs to be converted. He needs to be a Christian. And you would think that would go without saying, but you have to keep in mind, if you've ever studied Christian history before, many, many men over the years were appointed to serve as priests, as pastors in churches, even though they weren't themselves Christians. Those positions used to be given to sons of wealthy families, like you would give them a political position in other countries.

20:13And so, Paul assumes that every potential elder is converted, that he is a Christian who trusts in the work of Jesus. And so, his emphasis here is that he cannot be a recent convert. The emphasis is on the newness of the man's faith. It's not age that's in view, it's spiritual maturity that's in view here. See, a young man can be spiritually mature despite his age, and an old man can be spiritually immature despite his age. No man is automatically qualified to serve as an elder in the church just because he's older or because he's been around for a long time, and no man is automatically disqualified from serving as an elder in a church just because he's young. We mustn't look down on young. Men. The Bible is filled with examples of young men who are godly and faithful. You think about Samuel, who we just talked about. David, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Timothy. All of these were young men, in some cases, very young men, who were spiritually mature at a young age. And so we shouldn't automatically disqualify anyone just because they're young. By the same token, though, we should not be overly impressed with young leaders either. You see, in our society, we tend to worship youth. We tend to really lift up young people, young leaders, those who show potential. But the reality is that most young men are simply not ready for leadership responsibility. They're not ready for leadership responsibility in the church, in particular. And so, again, it's not age, but spiritual maturity that's in view here. And so, he says he must not be a recent convert. Why not? Look at what Paul says. He may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

22:08If you're familiar with the scripture, you know that Satan's maybe chief offense against God was pride. He sought to make himself equal to or even greater than God himself. Look on the screen at Isaiah 14, a passage that most regard as about Satan. You said in your hearts, I will ascend to heaven. Above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

22:50You see, Paul's concern is that placing a new convert in the office of pastor can tempt them toward even more pride, to becoming puffed up with conceit, and thereby to suffer the same condemnation that Satan did. Friends, experience confirms that young men tend to think they know everything, and young men tend to think that they can do everything. And this seems to be especially prevalent in ministry. I think probably in part because it has relatively low barriers to entry.

23:24If you want to become a doctor or a lawyer, an engineer, a teacher, a professor, you have to go to school for years. You've got to pass examinations. You've got to submit to a board who will certify you or not certify you. But if you want to go into pastoral ministry, you can just start a church tomorrow. People always come and ask me. They're like, hey, Alan, you know, I've got this person that I want to marry me. And, you know, what requirements are there? I'm like, in Texas, your dog can marry you. It's just there's not, if you're breathing, you can.

24:00A wedding seems dangerous, but it's true. If you want to be a pastor and you're already prideful, and then you assume a position of authority in a local church, or a local church gives you a position of authority, what Paul is saying here is that this is a great danger to your own soul. He doesn't even have in view the damage that you might do in a church. He's saying you are in danger yourself. You could fall under the condemnation of the devil. Because when you're prideful, you think that you know more than you do, and you assume that your performance is better than it really is. This is the sin of the Pharisees. The Pharisees in Jesus' day were influential religious people, and they thought they knew more than everybody, and they thought their performance was better than everybody else's. It led them to pride.

24:52And, friends, I believe that many young pastors are so hard on their churches because they were given authority before they ever learned to submit to biblical authority themselves. A lot of guys go to Bible college, and then they go straight to seminary, and then they go straight into leading a church. And so they don't understand a lot of the things that most people have to learn. If they are married, they are newly married. If they have kids, they've had kids for about 15 minutes. And so you have this perfect recipe for a man who has authority but doesn't understand submission to authority. Because they've never really had to do it. And what's more, if you go from Bible college to seminary to leading a church, you don't understand the dynamics of a normal Christian life, what it's like for a normal Christian person. So, a lot of y'all know that I became a Christian when I was 19, my freshman year at college, and within about nine months, I felt called to pastoral ministry. But I finished out my business degree at Texas AM, and after Kendra and I graduated, we got married and we moved to Charlotte. And both of us worked in industry. And so, what that meant was that every single day I had to get up early, I had to put on a shirt and tie, I had to fight traffic, I had to sit in a cubicle, and I had to do what I was told. That was my life. Some of you are like, Amen, I get that.

26:18And then I had to volunteer my time in our local church at night and on the weekends. But see, friends, I think coming out of AM, you know, a lot of us think we're pretty hot stuff. When you get into the industry, you realize within about two weeks, you don't know anything. You don't know anything. And I remember we were going to a local church there in Charlotte, and we were part of a really great small group. And the leader and his wife were wonderful, godly people. They were about 50 years old. And one night we had them over to our house for dinner. And I remember talking with the leader, his name was Tim, and we were talking about spiritual things. And I asked him, I said, Tim, are there any areas of my life that you see that I could potentially? Grow in. And I really think that my 22-year-old self thought that he was going to say, Alan, you are a providential gift of God.

27:12All the things that you say and do are glorious. He told me I talk too much. That I dominate the conversation in the small group, and that I don't give other people a chance to respond and participate and therefore to grow. That was a correction that I really needed as a 22-year-old man. But, friends, I think a lot of young men have no idea what it is to be the low man on the totem pole and to have to submit to authority and work hard and to volunteer their time in a local church at night and on the weekends. I don't think a lot of young men know that because they haven't experienced it. But see, that's not true here at New Life, thankfully. Three of our pastors work in full-time jobs outside of the church. Pastor Cody, as many of y'all know, worked for UPS for 10 years. He loaded trucks and then he drove trucks, and few people know this, but for three years, he loaded trucks for hours, four or five hours in the morning before he came to work here.

28:20So you just have to understand the guy standing up here and talking to you about your finances, the guy standing up here and encouraging you and challenging you to give generously and faithfully is a man who works. For 10 years, two jobs, so that he could serve you, so that he could bless you. And so, the pastors here at New Life understand these dynamics. They're not puffed up with conceit because life has humbled us, and God has humbled us. And it's important to understand that any potential elder needs to be a man who is spiritually mature, and that takes time. It takes time to cultivate spiritual maturity, and it takes time for the church to recognize that a man is spiritually mature. You cannot be a recent convert if you're going to serve as an elder. Let's look now at verse 7 and the final qualification.

29:12Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. He needs to be well thought of. That means he needs to have a good reputation with his neighbors, co-workers, and those who serve him at businesses in the community. Now, that doesn't mean that he cannot have a single bad thing said about him anywhere. Because look at what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 10. He says, A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house beelzebel, how much more will they malign those of his household? In other words, Jesus is saying, if you follow me, you'll become like me. And if they slandered me and Jesus was perfect, they're going to slander you as well. And so we should expect that not every non-Christian is going to have a good impression of every Christian, because hopefully, if we're living like Jesus, well, our lives are going to bring conviction. Our words are going to bring conviction to them. And that's all part of it. But it has to be the gospel and our response to it that is the stumbling block, not anything that we're saying or doing that's getting in the way. So what this means practically is that a potential elder should not cause his neighbors to think ill of him.

30:36He's a man who takes care of his home, who submits to the homeowners association and its policies. He's not yelling at kids in the neighborhood for getting on his yard. He's hospitable, welcoming neighbors and their kids into his home to destroy it. He's not causing his co-workers to think ill of him. He's not a man who is lazy at work or always using company time to do personal business. He's not one who is known for gossiping about other employees or wasting time, complaining. A potential elder is one who doesn't cause employees and local businesses to think ill of him. So he doesn't have a reputation of being a man who is rude at the checkout counter. He's not one who leaves no tips. Or a poor tip when he goes to a restaurant. But he has a good reputation with outsiders. That's very important. Notice, it says he has to have a good reputation. It's not enough to have no reputation. This is not a man that, when you go to their neighbors and you go to their coworkers, and they say, who's that? It's not enough to have no reputation. I don't think good or ill of this person. He has to have a good reputation. And friends, that's because serving as a pastor in a church is a public office. We do our work before the church, but also before the watching world. Anyone can enter into this public space at any point. We are known in the community as pastors in local churches, and so our reputations matter. Look at what Paul says. If we don't have a good reputation, we may fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

32:26Now, this is not referring to the condemnation of the devil, where Satan was condemned for rebelling against God. This is saying he may fall into Satan's snares, his temptations. And that's why what we talked about last week in Acts chapter 20, verse 28, is so important. Look again on the screen. This is Paul talking to the elders at Ephesus. Pay careful attention to yourselves. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock. A pastor's first job is to pay attention to himself.

33:00We're not qualified to pay attention to other people and to watch over them if we're not even watching over our own souls first. Our first responsibility is to pay attention to ourselves. One of my favorite books is Charles Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students. We talked about him last week in the introduction, but he's a pastor in London during the 1800s, and he started a pastor's college for young men who aspired to go into pastoral ministry. And this book is a collection of his lectures that he gave, and the very first one in the book, I think this is telling, is called The Minister's Self-Watch.

33:37And he bases it on this verse from Acts chapter 20. Look at what he says in this chapter. Upon the whole, no place is so assailed with temptation as the ministry. Despite the popular idea that ours is a snug retreat from temptation, it is no less true that our dangers are more numerous and more insidious than those of ordinary Christians. Satan knows what a rout he may make among the rest if the leaders fall before their eyes. He hath long tried that way of fighting, neither with small nor with great comparatively, but these, and of smiting the shepherds that he may scatter the flock. And so great has been his success this way that he will follow it on as far as he is able. Take heed, therefore, brethren, for the enemy hath a special eye upon you.

34:31You see, Satan only comes to steal and kill and destroy. And he knows that if he can trap a pastor in sin, how much confusion and discouragement that's going to bring to Christians everywhere. I mean, don't you feel that even when you hear about pastors in other cities, in our country, even around the world? Don't you feel discouraged, confused? I mean, think about if that happened in your church. That's why so many people leave the church embittered, embittered with God and embittered with the church, because so many pastors have been ensnared in sin. And that's why it's critical that Christian pastors are men of character, who manage their households well, who are spiritually mature, and who have a good reputation with those outside the church.

35:20Now, unfortunately, it's very easy for all of us to become distracted, pastors and Christians alike. We get distracted from focusing on what is truly important in life. And I will tell you that in all my years in seminary, in all my years leading a local church, I have never met a man who is in pastoral ministry or who aspired to pastoral ministry who did not know these qualifications in 1 Timothy 3. But I have met many men and I have talked to many churches who ignored these qualifications here in 1 Timothy 3.

36:00They took positions or they gave out positions to men who had not demonstrated competence at home or had even demonstrated incompetence. They were not spiritually mature and they did not have a good reputation with outsiders. And so, as I close, I want to address three groups of people that are here today. And the first is those who aspire to pastoral ministry. So, let me remind you that if you aspire to pastoral ministry, remember verse 1, you desire a noble task. That's a good thing to want to serve as an elder in a local church. But I want you to also keep in mind that Paul has warned twice in this passage: men who aspire to the work of pastoral ministry about the condemnation of the devil and the snares of the devil. Paul is very clear to say that if you are a young man or simply young in faith, even if you're an old man, the best thing for you to do is to humbly submit yourself to the leadership of a local church to grow and to develop these qualities over time. It is a mistake, an epic mistake, to rush into leadership or to allow others to put you in leadership before you're ready.

37:16Secondly, I want to address the members of New Life. If you're a member here at this church, you know how seriously that we try to take these standards, these qualifications. And I just want to remind all of us that it's our responsibility and our privilege. To pray for not just those who currently lead the church, but for the men who aspire to pastoral ministry as well. And so, let me encourage you to encourage all of the men in the church when you see them demonstrating these characteristics. When you see young men or old men living out the things that you find in 1 Timothy 3, take a minute and stop them and encourage them. Send them a message, send them a text, give them a call. Tell them that you see those things in their lives and encourage them in those ways because they need that. Pray for the church, that God would continue to raise up godly men here to lead our body.

38:10And then finally, if you're a visitor here with us today, it may be the case that you have been badly burned by a pastor in another church. Sadly, that's the case for many people. And it maybe took great courage for you to show up at a local church this morning and worship with other Christians. And so I first want to say thank you for coming. Thank you for being willing to be here today. I want you to know that at New Life, we do our best to ensure that our elders, our deacons, and our church members are godly people who are living lives that are being walked out as we just saw in a manner worthy of God.

38:49But, friends, the whole reason that we're here together is because our elders, our deacons, and our church members don't meet the standards that we find in Scripture. All of us are sinners and need. Of a Savior. And the whole reason that we gathered together, the whole reason that we started this church nine years ago, is because we acknowledged that we were in need, not of advice, to live better lives, but because we were in need of a Savior. And we wanted to worship that Savior together and make Him known.

39:21We are totally dependent on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for our justification before God. And we don't consider ourselves to be above or better than anyone else. And so if you are a visitor today and you see yourself as an imperfect person in need of a Savior, then New Life can be a great church home for you. Because in a healthy church like New Life, you're going to be loved and cared for by other members of the church, and you're going to be watched over and shepherded by godly pastors. Friends, the local church is a great gift of God to all of us. And godly pastors who lead by their teaching and example are precious gifts to the church. Let's pray together.

40:09Father, we come before you humbly, acknowledging that every one of us falls short of these character qualifications. We don't live them out perfectly all of the time. And we know that your word calls those failures sins. And so we see ourselves as sinners who are in need of a Savior. We are so thankful that you sent Jesus to be our good shepherd, our perfect pastor, the one that every faithful pastor should be pointing toward. And so, Jesus, we confess our sin to you this morning.

40:56We want to confess that we have broken your law. We have offended you. We've sinned against other people in our lives. And we plead the mercy and grace of Jesus for our sins. We look to Him as the only one who can save us, who can justify us and forgive us. And so, God, I pray for all of the pastors of our church. I pray for Derek and Chris and Jason and Cody. I pray for myself that we would be godly, faithful men who set a good example for our church of what it looks like to live a faithful Christian life. I pray that every time we sin, we would be quick to confess it to you and to turn from it. And that when we sin against other people, whether inside or outside the church, we would be quick to confess it to them and to point to you as our Savior. One that we need.

42:02God, I pray for all of the men here at New Life who aspire to serve in pastoral ministry one day. Maybe as a career, maybe not. But I pray that you would raise them up. I pray that you would grow them in holiness. I pray that you would make them patient. I understand, having been in that place, how badly you want to get into ministry and to a position of authority, but we're reminded afresh today. That rushing into that is a huge mistake. And so I pray that they would be patient, and I pray we'd be patient as a church. I pray for the women of New Life. Thank you for the godly women who will gather together tomorrow night for their study, who do an excellent job leading in our church in various ways, praying for the men, praying for themselves, setting a good example for other women and children.

42:59I pray that you would help them, as we talked about last time, to submit to godly authority in their home and in the church. And I pray that the men of this church would be worthy of respect in the home and in the church. God, we are so thankful that we have your word so that we're not left to ourselves to determine what a pastor should be and what a pastor should do. We pray that our church and our lives honor you. In Jesus' name. We ask all these things. Amen.