1 Timothy 4:13 Project Ep. 292 (1 Timothy 3:1-16 & Psalm 117:1-2) - October 19, 2025

Welcome and Sister Bev's Call to Praise from Psalm 117 You are now listening to First Timothy 413 project with the Under Shepherds of the Cathedral of Praise, Philippines Pastor David E Sumrall and Sister Beverly Sumrall. Speaker 2 Good evening. Welcome again to Project First Timothy Chapter 4. I'm Pastor Sumrall, the pastor of the Cathedral of Praise, and thank you again so much for the opportunity of Sister Bev and I come in to sit down to be with you tonight. We're going to get into First Timothy Chapter 3, but First Sister Bev's going to spend some time encouraging us from the Book of Psalms. Speaker 3 I'm Sister Bev. Today we will read the entire Psalm 117. The entire Psalm 117 happens to be 2 little verses. It's the shortest Psalm in the whole Bible. So this is actually the shortest Psalm reading that we have ever had so far in the book of Psalms. Just two little verses and it starts off saying halal the Lord or praise the Lord all you nations halal. The most demonstrative kind of praise, that is the request that God wants all people to praise the Lord. And you notice it's not for any single nation, race, ethnicity, but it's for all, everywhere. If it's for all everywhere, does that include you? Does that include me? Yes, it includes us in our own home. Praise him, Shabak. It means Shabak, it's translated. You glorify or commend, addressing loudly like the roaring of the Seas. So allow the Lord all you nations, and then Shabak, Him, all you peoples of the earth. Roaring Praise for God's Powerful, Unfailing Love Wow, our praise is supposed to be like the roaring of the Seas, Shabak loudly commeing and glorifying the Lord. Let's make such a roar of praise that not only our neighbors hear it, but so with the whole world, we tell unbelievers we go to crusades. We say God is worthy of our whole lives. And verse 2 For there's always a for there's always a because his unfailing love for us is powerful, powerful. The word there means mighty, stronger. It means exceeding great, prevailing. In other words, we cannot even comprehend the power of our great God, but we will spend a lifetime enjoying and relying and trusting and learning about the Lord. For his unfailing love for us is powerful. The Lord's faithfulness endures forever. Once again, there is an association between love and faithfulness. God loves us, He is faithful to us, and his faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord, it ends again with Hallelujah. So, brothers and sisters, when we go to church this week, let's see some halaling. OK, some demonstrative praise, because His love for us is powerful and His faithfulness never fails us. Amen. Paul's Requirements for Church Overseers and Pastors In first Timothy chapter 3, beginning with verse one, Paul begins to talk about the leadership of the local church. He talks about overseers, which there's five different words that Paul uses when he speaks to the leaders of Ephesus at Melethis, an overseer, Bishop, pastor, shepherd, these are all synonymous terms for the the fivefold ministry in a local church. And he talks to us about the deacons of a local church. So he says, all right, this is a trustworthy saying. If someone aspires to be a church leader, by here he means an overseer. He desires an honorable position. So, all right, there's no problem with desire, OK? It's all right to have a desire for this. So a church leader, a pastor must be a man whose life is above reproach, OK? People have to be able to look at him and see that he lives, right? He must be faithful to his wife. A pastor can't be a guy who's sleeping around with other women, faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, OK? This is not a guy who's out of control of his emotions #4 he must live wisely #5 he must have a good reputation. Number six, he must enjoy having guests in his home, hospitable #7 he must be able to teach. You know, a preacher who can't preach. I'm sorry. He must be able to preach. He must not be a heavy drinker. Now the translation says a drunkard #9 He must not be violent #10 he must be gentle #11 he must not be quarrelsome. Somebody just likes to argue all the time. And #12 he must not love money. Why? Because the love of money is the root of all evil #13 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. You know, if you have a pastor whose children are completely out of control, I'm sorry. Paul is very clear. Verse 5. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church? So, you know, forgive me, there are preachers today who should not be preachers based on this, because they don't manage their own household well. They don't. They're not faithful to their wife. They're drunkards, he said. These are qualifications for ministry. And then in verse 6, he says a leader must not be a new believer because he might become proud and the devil would cause him to fall. All right, So this is This is why, you know, we've had movie stars that come to COP and they said, Pastor Sumerall, we want to help grow the church. We want to greet people, We want to give our testimony. I said, no, I don't question your salvation. I believe you're saved. But you just need to sit and grow for a while. Nobody should be standing up in front of people as a leader if they're a new believer because it I'm sorry, there's a temptation to pride and the devil will bring you down. And then how many other young people go crash and burn with them? Qualifications for Deacons and the Importance of Family Leadership Also, people outside the church must speak well of him. That's the 16th qualification so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil's trap. All right. Now notice the devil has traps for preachers, and one of these traps is disgrace. They don't pay their bills. Now in verse 8, he begins to talk about deacons, what we call council of servants. In the same way, deacons would just mean servant must be well respected and have integrity that's powerful. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. Now the translation says addicted to wine. Now how do you know if you're addicted to wine? Do you have to go home and drink every night? You're addicted to wine? OK. They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. Now notice all these musts. A Deacon must be committed to the mystery of the Gospel and must live a life with a clear conscience. Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons. Another translation, ESV says let them first be tested. This is why long before anybody becomes on the Council of Servants or the Executive Council of Servants, they're tested in leadership. They're given other positions, go group leaders, section leaders, fellowship executives, sitting on committees of missions and crusades and things. They're tested. Do they have a servant's heart? And then let them be appointed as deacons. Verse 10A, Deacon just means servants. Let them be tested. And then if they pass the test, let them be appointed as servants. Let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, let them serve as deacons, as servants. In the same way their wives must be respected. Now this is the wife of deacons. In the same way, the wives of the deacons must be or husbands of the deacons must be respected and must not slander others. He said, listen, there's no place for slander coming out of leadership. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do. So again, I want you to notice on the pastoral family there's requirements. If a man can't leave his own household, he can't leave God's household. On the deacon's family, there are requirements. The deacon's family must also be a good family. The wife has to be a Good Wife, self-control, faithful in everything to do, and a Deacon must be faithful to his wife. He must manage his children and household well. Now, again, it's not enough that you are called of God, it's not enough that God has chosen you to be a Deacon. You have to also lead your family well. So This is why when we look at Council of Servants and we look at pastors, we look at families. Do they lead their families well? Are they faithful in their marriages? Do they lead their children well? These are requirements for leadership in God's family. Verse 13. Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in God. People will respect you because you're a you're a counsel of servants, you're a Deacon. You'll be rewarded with respect and you have increased confidence in the faith. Now don't ask me how that one works. This is the promise, all right. These are the promises to deacons. Now before we move on from there, just understand these are not just personal traits of the pastors and personal traits of the deacons. These are traits of their families. The Church: God's Household and Pillar of Truth So when we start looking at pastors, we start looking at deacons. We can't just look at the individual. We have to look at their families. Verse 14. I'm reading these things to you now even though I hope to be with you soon so that if I'm delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. All right, So what? What is the church called? The church is called the household or the family of God. This is the Church of the living God. This is the Church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth. Now Paul uses a couple of architectural engineering terms here. He said, OK, the church is the family of God, but it is also the pillar and the buttress or foundation of truth. Now to understand what a buttress is, that's the ESV translation here for foundation. If you look at the old cathedrals in Europe, you'll see that there's a pillar, what we would call a column. So this pillar is the church and the church is also the buttress or this second pillar that goes up against at a 45° angle to hold the pillar straight. In other words, the purpose of the church is to support the truth. It is not our job to change the truth. It is not our job to to say society is changing so we have to change the standards. Truth is truth. We continue to stand for the truth of the Word of God. Right is right and wrong is wrong as defined in scriptures. Now I know in today's world everybody wants to call wrong right, right wrong, but that's not our role. The Church is the pillar and the buttress of the truth. The Great Mystery of Christ and Standing Firm for Truth Without question. This is a great mystery of our faith. Christ was revealed in the human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nation's. He was believed on throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. He said, now here's the great mystery, the great mystery of our faith. Christ came in a human body, was raised from the dead by the Spirit. He was seen by angels. He was announced to the nations, He was believed on throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. That is the mystery of our faith. Now brothers and sisters, the big take away tonight is leadership in the church and the purpose of the church. The qualification for the fivefold ministry is not just individual qualifications, it's family qualifications. The qualifications for deacons in the church is not just individual qualifications, it's family qualifications. And the biggest take away is Beloved, we don't change truth. We are the pillar and buttress. We are the ones that support truth in this world, Father, it's not easy as sin gets worse and worse, as you prophesied it would, it's not easy. Young people today, Father, face things we never faced when we were young. It's not easy. But Father, give us the strength. Give us the strength to stand for truth. Stand for truth in the colleges, stand for truth in the marketplace, stand for truth in the offices in the factories, stand for truth in the churches in Jesus name. Thank You for Joining the 1 Timothy Project Good night, God bless you. We'll see you again tomorrow night. Speaker 1 Thank you for joining us today on the First Timothy 413 project with the Under Shepherds of the Cathedral of Praise Philippines, Pastor David E Sumrall and Sister Beverly Sumrall. Catch their podcasts on all leading podcast platforms and listen through DZ, BR531 or TuneIn online at www.bible.radio. The Cathedral of Praise is a church fully committed to Jesus Christ and His Word. Our main campus is located at 350 Taft Ave., Armita, Manila, Philippines. For a full list of COP campus locations and service schedules, visit us at Cathedral of Praise, manila.com. Dot BH TuneIn again tomorrow for another inspiring reading from the New Testament and Psalms.