Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:20

All right, let's get back into it. This week we are doing a deep dive into the qualifications for overseers, as described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3, 1-7. I'll read it again here the 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? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders.

Speaker 2: 1:06

Now, today, we're going to focus on verses 4 and 5. But before we get to that, let me remind you of the question that you should be considering all week. This week Do I have what it takes to be an overseer? Again, you're not evaluating me, you're evaluating you. Do I have what it takes to be an overseer? So back to verses four and five. 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? All right, let's dig right into it here. He must manage his own household well. So I actually love the way the King James Version puts it One that ruleth well his own house. It just feels more regal that way. So, guys, you should dust off the King James Version every now and then.

Speaker 2: 1:50

But this is actually really a powerful command. It's not a polite suggestion here. An overseer must manage his household well, which for some of you, you think that means that you have carte blanche to rule like a dictator, which is not what Paul is saying here. He's saying that you are to lead, manage, provide for and protect your household. So you can't do that if you're an absent father. It's impossible. You can't do that if you're constantly distracted by your hobbies. You can't do that if you're spending every waking moment at work or thinking about your business. You can't do that if you're a pacifistic, wussy man either.

Speaker 2: 2:27

So back to verse four with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. So this means that your children are not only obedient, but they are respectfully obedient. So this doesn't mean that they'll never whine or complain or get in trouble. But it does mean that your children generally comply with the standards of your home that you set forth, without you having to go all aggro on them. You know what I mean. You're not having to yell and rage at them to get them to behave. Your leadership and how you carry yourself should demand respect.

Speaker 2: 2:59

Now don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that you can't goof around and roughhouse with your kids. You can certainly do that. I'm saying that an overseer isn't defined by how much of a doofus he is. Okay, we have enough of that in culture, where you know every guy on television, every dad, is just this big goof, right? So many men today are also trying so desperately to be their child's friend or their buddy, which is just as nefarious, right, and you know I hope I'm not the first person to tell you this, but I'm going to say it nonetheless your children are going to have a boatload of buddies in their lives, but they only get one dad, and you should feel the weight of that.

Speaker 2: 3:36

Now verse five, for someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? So think about it this way Paul's giving us qualifications of an overseer. So what does God say about our role in our families? We are the head, right? We are to protect and provide. So we are to tether our headship to God, our wives are to submit to our headship and the husband and wife together are to raise up the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Speaker 2: 4:07

So in many ways our homes are like a little mini church. Right, it's like our own little tribe. Like the way that you lead and manage your home is like a trial run for leading and managing a larger body of believers, right. So our first flock is out of our own household. And if we super duper you know super duper just kind of suck at that, then it would be foolish for a church to allow you to become an overseer of a larger flock. I mean, it just follows right. In a lot of ways the steadiness or unsteadiness of the home tells the truth about a man. So if your house is a wreck, figuratively speaking, it doesn't matter how much you have in your 401k, it doesn't matter how jacked or tan you are, it doesn't matter what the title is on your business card. The proof is in the pudding, okay. And if your household is a mess, truth is you're a mess Again. Let's consider this question for yourself. Do I have what it takes to be an overseer?

Speaker 1: 5:05

We'll see you back here tomorrow as we wrap up the week. Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.