Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, February 16, 2014 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Church, Church Government, Elders Why This Church Needs Elders Acts 14:23 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to our scripture text in Acts 14, and we will be reading verse 23. Acts 14:23 (NKJV) So hen they had appointed elders in every Church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the LORD in hom they had believed. P R A Y E R ********************************************************************** I N T R O D U C T I O N Lord willing, two weeks from today, on Sunday morning, March 2, you are going to be given the opportunity as a congregation to accept and approve of three men to serve as Elders of Christian Hope Church of Christ. Those three men are: Dwayne Ange, Steve Craddock, and Gary Sherwood. This will be the culmination of a process that began over three years ago when I challenged you from this pulpit to start praying that God would raise up some godly men to serve as Elders in this Church. In 2013, Dwayne, Steve and Gary went through a six and half month Eldership Training Course from January through the first part of July. Brett Ange was also invited to take part in this course to help prepare him for a future leadership role in the Church. Over the last three months, Dwayne, Steve and Gary have met each Lord's day at 9:00 a.m. in the Church Prayer Room to fervently pray about this matter of becoming elders of this Church and to pray for you as a congregation.
I tell you this so you will understand this has not been a hasty or careless decision on their part. Each of these men has carefully and prayerfully considered the serious responsibility they will be undertaking to serve as an Elder in the Lord's Church. In preparation for this important decision I would like to share with you three messages on what God's word has to say about Church Elders and their responsibilities, as well as the Church's responsibilities toward her Elders. I have entitled today's message: Why This Church Needs Elders. *********************************** Let's consider two very important reasons why Christian Hope Church of Christ needs elders. First of all this Church needs Elders because... I. The Church Is SCRIPTURAL When She Has Elders 1. When a Church desires to be a true New Testament Church she relies upon one thing as the source of authority to govern the Church and that is the WORD of GOD. In matters where the Bible is silent, we are at liberty to express our opinions, but in matters where the Bible speaks, our opinions don't matter, we must obey the scriptures. 2. The Bible plainly tells us that the Church belongs to Jesus Christ. In Matthew 16:18 (NKJV) Jesus said, And I alsosay to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build MY Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Jesus Christ is the FOUNDER of the CHURCH. Jesus Christ is the OWNER of the CHURCH. Jesus Christ is the HEAD of the CHURCH. Jesus Christ is the HUSBAND of the CHURCH. This isn't my Church or your Church or even our Church. Christian Hope Church of Christ belongs to Jesus Christ.
3. At the outset, when Jesus first established the Church, He placed the responsibility of leadership directly upon the shoulders of the men He had personally chosen to be His apostles. This is very clear in Acts chapters one and two. Not only had these men been personally chosen by Christ, they had been personally trained by Him to lead the Church. And in Acts 2, we read that on the Day of Pentecost the apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit to lead the Lord's Church and to carry out the work He had given them to do. 4. It was not until fifteen or twenty years after the Church was established in Jerusalem that the first book of the New Testament was written. And it was over seventy years before the final book of the New Testament was written. Without the written word, the early New Testament Church had to depend upon men who were directly led by God. 5. Who would succeed the apostles in leading the Lord's Church after the apostles were all dead? Well the New Testament doesn't provide us with any means of appointing additional apostles. Beyond those chosen to be apostles in the New Testament, the scriptures don't provide us with any list of qualifications or list of duties for a man to become an apostle. 6. In the New Testament we find a number of scriptures that show us before they left this world, the apostles had already begun transferring the leadership of the local Church into the hands of ELDERS. 7. Please follow along with me in your Bibles as we look at some of these scriptures together. Acts 11:30 (NKJV) This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Acts 14:23 (NKJV) So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Acts 15:2 (NKJV) Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. Acts 15:4 (NKJV) And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. Acts 15:6 (NKJV) Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. Then turn over to I Timothy 5:17 (NKJV) Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. Titus 1:5 (NKJV) For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you James 5:14 (NKJV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And let's look at one more in I Peter 5:1 (NKJV) The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 8. After reading these verses can there be any doubt what- soever that it is God's will that the local Church be governed by a plurality of ELDERS? Each of the verses we looked at refers to ELDERS in the plural, not singular. Scripturally speaking, a Church cannot have just one elder. She must have more than one. 9. How many of you desire for Christian Hope Church of Christ to be a Church that truly follows the New Testament pattern? Let me see a show of hands. 10. Well if we are to truly follow the New Testament pattern, this Church needs ELDERS. Not only is THE CHURCH SCRIPTURAL WHEN SHE HAS ELDERS...
II. The Church Is STRONGER When She Has Elders 1. We have already seen the scriptural pattern of government in the local Church is that the Church is to be led by a plurality of elders. That means any other form of Church government in the local Church falls short of the scriptural pattern, and therefore weakens the Church. 2. How does having elders make a Church stronger? (A) ELDERS help STEER THE LORD'S CHURCH TOWARD'S GOD'S WILL I Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV) Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. When a Church doesn't have elders it is like being aboard a ship with no one at the helm to steer the ship. And when a Church doesn't have any one at the helm to lead the Church, the Church just drifts along aimlessly with no sense of direction...no goals...no vision...and no sense of purpose. Surely the LORD desires more of His Church than that, doesn't He? Someone must bear the responsibility for steering the Church and scripturally that responsibility falls upon the shoulders of the Church elders. How do elders steer the local Church? Guided by the Holy Spirit, the elders steer the Church by spending much time in prayer and study of the scriptures, and charting a course that aligns the Church with the WILL OF GOD. GOD'S WILL is the compass point the ELDERS will steer this Church towards in every decision they make. And in so doing, this Church will much stronger as a result!
Another way ELDERS make a Church stronger is... (B) ELDERS provide SECURITY FOR THE LORD'S CHURCH FROM FALSE TEACHINGS Acts 20:28-30 (NKJV) Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Here we see the relationship between the Elders of the Church and Church members being compared to that of Shepherds guarding and protecting sheep. There are many striking resemblances between sheep and their human counterparts in the Church flock. While Christian men and women may be highly intelligent and be very skilled in certain professions, in personal, spiritual matters, those same Christians often demonstrate sheep-like weaknesses. And one of the predominent weaknesses of sheep is they have very poor vision. In fact, sheep can't clearly see anything more than fifteen yards away. Because of this limited vision, sheep have been known to take off running from a wolf or some other predatory animal and run right over a cliff to their death. This is why sheep need a a shepherd. A shepherd gives security to the sheep by protecting them from anything that might cause them harm.
In a spiritual sense, many in the Church have very limited spiritual vision. In other words, many people in the Church are very limited in their knowledge and understanding of scriptures. And in this day and time when we have so many false teachers on TV and on the radio, and a plethera of so-called Christian books filled with false teachings, the danger of being led astray is higher now than it has ever been in the two thousand year history of the Church. ANALOGY: When it comes to our homes we all want to live with a sense of security don't we? We have locks on our doors and windows. Some of you may have a HOME SECURITY ALARM SYSTEM installed in your home. Some of you may have a dog that barks any time a stranger pulls up in your driveway. We all value our SECURITY! When a Church has ELDERS who STUDY the word of GOD, and TEACH the word of GOD, and seek to LIVE by the word of GOD who will protect and defend the flock from false teachings at all cost, it provides a priceless security to the Church. Elders strengthen the LORD'S CHURCH... BY STEERING THE LORD'S CHURCH TOWARDS GOD'S WILL BY PROVIDING SECURITY TO PROTECT THE CHURCH FROM FALSE TEACHINGS. And one other way the ELDERS strengthen the LORD'S CHURCH is... (C) ELDERS provide SPIRITUAL SUPPORT DURING TIMES OF SICKNESS. JAMES 5:14 (NKJV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the ELDERS OF THE CHURCH, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the LORD.
Christians are not immune to sickness. In fact, in every local Church you will find sick people. The prayer list in the Sunday bulletin is proof. -Some are chronically sick. In other words sickness is a way of life for them every day. -Some are periodically sick, like during the flu or allergy season. -Sometimes Church members have a serious physical ailment that requires surgery. The point is this: sooner or later most all of us will be confronted with a health issue of some sort. And when we get sick, who better to call upon for spiritual support than the spiritual leaders of the local Church, the ELDERS. Does this mean every time I get a cold or a runny nose or a hang nail, I should have the elders come pray over me? Common sense tells you the answer to that, doesn't it? The sick that James is talking about refers to those who are chronically sick or those who have a serious physical ailment that requires surgery. One of the most valuable ministries of the ELDERS in a Church is to give SPIRITUAL SUPPORT during times of chronic sickness by praying for the sick. And by offering this spiritual support, the Church is strengthened. ****************************************************************************************** CONCLUSION As we close I would like for you to reflect on a very important thought with me. Should the LORD tarry His coming, where will Christian Hope Church of Christ be twenty years from now? I want each of you to add twenty years to your current age. Those of you in your twenties will be in your forties. Those of you in your forties will be in your sixties. Those of you in your sixties will be in your eighties. And those of you in your eighties will in all likelihood be in the presence of the LORD.
If Christian Hope Church of Christ is to be a strong, healthy Church in the year 2034, it is critically important that we establish a strong leadership of ELDERS today. Church members come and go. Preachers come and go. But the one constant, the one anchor of stability in the local Church is her ELDERS. Brothers and sisters, the time is ripe for Christian Hope Church of Christ to have ELDERS. Please make this a matter of earnest prayer over these next two weeks.