WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.540 If you will please take your copy of God's Word and turn to Hebrews chapter 13. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.700 In our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Hebrews, we have been in chapter 11. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:20.980 ! However, this morning we are going to formally install two elders, and as such, it seemed fitting 00:00:20.980 --> 00:00:28.519 to us to jump ahead to these verses in chapter 13. I apologize if that drives you crazy, taking 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:36.560 it out of order. Next week, we will return our attention to chapter 11. In Hebrews chapter 13, 00:00:36.740 --> 00:00:45.399 verses 17 through 19, the author of Hebrews gives instruction as to how to relate to your leaders. 00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:52.120 Now, we do not know the specific men that our author is referring to. He doesn't give them 00:00:52.120 --> 00:00:58.140 names here in the text. But I propose to you that he is referring to the elders or 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:06.700 pastors of this church. We will see that he includes himself in that number, verse 18. 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:13.019 I want to tell you why I draw this conclusion. It's because of the preceding verse found in Hebrews 13 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:20.599 and verse 7. Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the Word of God, consider the outcome of their 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:27.819 way of life and imitate their faith. So he's previously referenced your leaders. And these are leaders 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:35.979 that taught this church sound doctrine. And these are leaders that lived among them. Otherwise, how could 00:01:35.979 --> 00:01:41.759 the church consider and imitate their lives? So there's a relationship that's happening here. These 00:01:41.759 --> 00:01:48.979 men seem to be in place to do this very work. I also draw this conclusion because this letter, 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:55.460 by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was not only pinned for its original audience, but also for us. 00:01:56.200 --> 00:02:04.280 As a church of Christ, we are ordered by the Bible with elders giving leadership to it. Beloved, elders 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:13.680 are a gift to the church. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd, has gifted the church 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:21.060 with undershepherds. Remember that this letter written to the Hebrews is about them persevering 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:28.599 in faith to their great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to not be tempted to go back to Judaism 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:37.960 and neglect pressing on in this salvation that they had received. So because of what Christ has done, 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:46.100 what he has accomplished, he has saved for himself a church that meets and is expressed in local 00:02:46.100 --> 00:02:53.080 congregations. And to help place that in order and to help give guidance to that, he gives to it 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:59.900 undershepherds, gifts to the church. Do you believe this to be true? 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:08.259 We live in a day when all positions of authority seem suspect. And it would seem even in our day that 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:16.480 the position of pastor can bear with it much shame. There have been so many nefarious things done by men 00:03:16.480 --> 00:03:24.120 who claim that title. It's difficult for me with much pride at all to claim that I am a pastor because 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:31.500 I kind of want to go, but not like those pastors. Let me tell you what that means. We are a people 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:40.180 who are slow to believe that anyone is seeking our good at great expense to themselves. We just tend to 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:47.520 think that somebody is seeking their own good if they're doing anything at all good for us. I can attest 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:52.080 to you, though, that the elders of Christ's Family Church share the sentiment expressed by Paul 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:56.380 in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 15 where he wrote, 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:06.460 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. Do you believe that God-ordered authority 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:15.320 is good for you? God has given to us governments, husbands, parents, and the church with its leaders 00:04:15.320 --> 00:04:22.060 to help order our lives. None of these authorities govern perfectly, but they are 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:31.519 gifts. I am grateful for the authority figures in my life. I am grateful that we have elders. I'm not 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:38.620 the only one that serves in this role, but there is authority placed over me, especially when they 00:04:38.620 --> 00:04:46.639 direct my steps under the perfect rule of our Heavenly Father. I'm grateful that our church presently has 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:56.599 a congregation. And that congregation has authority and that congregation has ordered that we would have 00:04:56.599 --> 00:05:05.060 elders to help us all pursue the way of God. My prayer this morning has been that each of you would feel 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:11.519 the same and would respond accordingly. So our text for today is Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:18.240 through 19. Let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us written for his glory and our good. 00:05:18.859 --> 00:05:23.579 We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands. 00:05:25.039 --> 00:05:31.979 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have 00:05:31.979 --> 00:05:38.419 to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:45.960 to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience desiring to act honorably in all 00:05:45.960 --> 00:05:53.280 things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. 00:05:54.860 --> 00:06:01.680 My greatest difficulty in preparing to preach this text was to consider how to work out the negative 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:09.620 implications of its commands without being condemning, right? To consider that maybe not all of you do 00:06:09.620 --> 00:06:17.960 this well, right? But to not make you think that we as elders are ungrateful for this fellowship. 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:25.199 I want to be very careful at this point. All of your elders, and I can say this especially of myself, 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:32.860 are glad to be of service to you. We love what we get to do because we love Jesus Christ, 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:41.199 and we love his church, and we love you. Additionally, you all are a generally pleasant 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:47.199 group of people to serve. You should be encouraged this morning that there is very little groaning 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:55.779 in our care for you, and there is very much joy. So, keep doing what you're doing, right? 00:06:56.379 --> 00:07:03.039 Find some encouragement in the text this morning, even as you may find some areas of conviction. 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:07.319 This may not be the last fellowship that you're part of, and you may go on from here, right? 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:14.099 Carry the lessons of this text with you wherever you might go. Now, that said, I have done a number 00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:21.740 of jobs in my life, right? Blue collar and white collar, paid and unpaid. Never have I done a job 00:07:21.740 --> 00:07:30.300 as difficult as that of shepherding God's people. It is a glorious work, but it's a laborious work. 00:07:30.780 --> 00:07:38.920 It's a difficult work when you very rarely get to see the good result of the work that you're doing. 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:46.180 It seems that God most regularly changes us degree by degree by degree. It's pretty rare that you have a 00:07:46.180 --> 00:07:55.280 breakthrough with an individual. So, the work of pastoring can often be described as a plotting work, 00:07:55.460 --> 00:08:05.040 right? We just do the next right thing, step by step by step. Generally speaking, the pastors of our 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:13.740 churches, present company excluded, suffer much. A survey conducted by LifeWay Research in 2015 revealed 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:24.360 84% of pastors say they're on call 24 hours a day. 80% expect conflict in their church. Expect conflict 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:33.800 in their church. 54% find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming. 53% are often concerned about their 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:41.159 family's financial security. 48% often feel the demands of ministry are more than they can handle. 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:50.359 And 21% say their church has unrealistic expectations of them. The average tenure of a senior pastor at a 00:08:50.359 --> 00:08:59.359 SBC church is 3.6 years. Now, I cannot speak much about such a complex issue of pastoral unpreparedness or 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:07.820 pressure or tenure. But what I can say with confidence is that God does not work in his church in 3.6 year 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:17.940 cycles. It's not part of the design. Something is very wrong here. Kent Hughes, after co-authoring a book 00:09:17.940 --> 00:09:24.560 entitled Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, was given opportunity to travel and speak and was 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:30.779 astounded by the number of hurting pastors who would open up to him about the difficulty of their work. 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:39.179 He states in his commentary on today's verses, pastors as a group are one of the most hurting and abused 00:09:39.179 --> 00:09:47.379 segments of our society. It's an astounding statement, isn't it? This happens, I think, for a number of reasons. 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:53.539 I just want to share a few before we're setting up the problem so you'll see the solution found in our text 00:09:53.539 --> 00:10:05.139 today. Number one, our modern media, both Christian or otherwise, we have an astounding access to really, 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:11.720 really good Christian teaching. It's just you couldn't spend enough time finding all of it. It is 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:18.720 deep and wide, and it is good. What a wonderful blessing it is to our age that we have such access to this 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:28.160 kind of media. However, it also creates the opportunity for the celebrity pastor. The one that always says 00:10:28.160 --> 00:10:37.500 things just right is so phenomenally gifted. You can probably think of one in your own mind. This puts a lot 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:48.000 of pressure on the local pastor. I will never be John Piper. I'm just not going to be. By God's grace, 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:56.059 maybe someday, but give me another 40 years and I might pull it off. It's important to realize that a lot 00:10:56.059 --> 00:11:02.159 of these pastors have massive staffs. A lot of these pastors have research teams. They seem so brilliant. 00:11:02.340 --> 00:11:07.340 Do you know that a lot of these pastors pay a team of people to build background information for sermons? 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:16.940 Right? I don't have that. Right? Any help in that regard. Highly educated, extremely schooled, 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:22.659 extremely gifted men, and they are a blessing to us. Right? We should listen to them. We should 00:11:22.659 --> 00:11:30.100 take them up and read them, and then we should not put undue pressure on our elders. I love John Piper. 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:36.960 I've benefited greatly from his teaching, but John Piper's not one of my elders. He will not show up 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:43.680 when I am in turmoil. He will not lovingly rebuke me when I err. Right? I am not placed under his care. 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:52.500 Right? I am not a member of his church. Right? John Piper is not my pastor. Additionally, media, 00:11:52.660 --> 00:12:00.180 just information overloads us. Right? There are so many bits of information going around out there, 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:07.919 and sometimes people then expect their elders to be experts on everything. Right? To have something 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:15.299 to say about some concern for, they want their elders to be as concerned about their agenda as they are. 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:21.879 Right? What is the new thing happening in the political realm or otherwise? Right? No one is an expert in 00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:27.799 that way. No one can possibly take in all the information and sift all the information and come out with 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:34.699 answers on the other end. Right? The solution is not that elders spend more time online. The solution 00:12:34.699 --> 00:12:40.579 is that you spend less time online. Right? We would just faithfully open up God's Word and see what it 00:12:40.579 --> 00:12:49.779 says day in and day out to all of the situations we may encounter in our life. Secondly, we live in a 00:12:49.779 --> 00:12:59.199 culture that has a big business mentality. Right? We, as a society, have abandoned the mom and pop for big 00:12:59.199 --> 00:13:07.439 business. We expect slick. Like, we want everything to be put together just so. And because of that, 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:12.759 little things who can't do that kind of work tend to get neglected. And big things and biggering things 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:19.939 tend to get paid extra careful attention to. Right? Our expectations generally as a consumer society 00:13:19.939 --> 00:13:29.379 are way too high. We have a very, very high concern for felt needs. I expect stuff to happen just like 00:13:29.379 --> 00:13:34.179 this. Just think about the last time you got on a website and you tried to navigate to a page and it 00:13:34.179 --> 00:13:39.659 said, error, page not found. And how quickly you went, blah, and got off the page and went on to something 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:46.059 else altogether. Like, we don't have patience for server errors. How could it be? Right? And we apply 00:13:46.059 --> 00:13:56.219 that kind of thinking to the local fellowship as well. Everything has to be just so. Thirdly, individualism 00:13:56.219 --> 00:14:04.939 and, therefore, subjectivism. We, as a people, tend to not like authority. Right? The whole American 00:14:04.940 --> 00:14:10.820 experiment is based on this very thing. Right? Throw off the oppressor and be liberated. That we 00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:16.620 would be self-governing. Right? There's a lot of good in that. A lot to be valued in that kind 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:24.460 of thinking. However, when we apply that to the church, right? We think that our opinion is more 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:32.580 important than it frankly is. Right? Everyone has an opinion and a platform to share it from. Right? 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:39.680 There's so much voice given to people in this day. And so, we can tend to believe that our 00:14:39.680 --> 00:14:47.500 way is the best way and, in a lot of cases, the only way. That our perspective is the only 00:14:47.500 --> 00:14:54.580 perspective. Right? Your perspective is valuable. Your opinion matters. But it's not the only one. 00:14:55.379 --> 00:15:02.060 It must be considered in weight of other things that may be going on. And then, fourthly, and a bit in 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:07.619 contradiction to this idea of individualism, we, as a people, have a love of authoritarianism. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:15.759 Not of authority, but of authoritarianism. Right? Our culture seems to love strong leadership. 00:15:16.479 --> 00:15:22.199 Our current president is a case in point. Right? There are whole sectors of our society that love 00:15:22.199 --> 00:15:27.419 that our current president says whatever on his mind. Right? Provided that they agree with what 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:35.620 he says. Many seek in a pastor someone who will say the things they want said at the volume they want it 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:43.659 said at. Right? That the pastor gives voice to their particular concerns and views. Right? 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:54.219 Elders are first and foremost servants. Right? They're not meant to be authoritarians. Right? 00:15:54.220 --> 00:16:01.540 Giving strong and bold proclamation of things that aren't found in the text. Right? That's where we're 00:16:01.540 --> 00:16:08.860 bold. That's where we speak with authority. But the things outside of it are not our concern. 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:14.960 So we don't want to be a part of this trend. Right? We, as a church, you, as individuals, don't want to be a 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:23.360 part of this trend of beating down and wearing out pastors. Right? I know this is true of you. You don't want to 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:29.480 wear out our elders. Right? So let's look at our text together. Right? I have the very simplest of 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:34.000 outlines for you this morning, which just goes like this. Number one, obey your elders. And number two, 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:38.139 pray for your elders. You should be able to remember that at least until dinner time. 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:45.259 Number one, obey your elders. Number two, pray for your elders. So number one, obey your elders. Found 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:52.560 in verse 17. And before we go on to talk about obeying and submitting to your leaders, I want to just 00:16:52.559 --> 00:17:00.239 talk a little bit about this phrase, your leaders. The author of Hebrews have a specific group of men 00:17:00.239 --> 00:17:08.639 in mind here. And his readers are aware of who he is talking about. For you, who is he talking about? 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:15.279 When you read this text, when you read Hebrews 13, 17, the author of Hebrews says, right, this holy writ 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:21.559 says, obey your leaders. Who pops into your mind? Who? Who? Who are you supposed to obey and submit to? 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:31.419 Anyone who says they're a leader? Who are your leaders? I often employ this verse to make the case 00:17:31.419 --> 00:17:39.319 for church membership. Right? Somehow we need to formalize who your leaders are and your leaders 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:47.839 need to know for whom they will give an account. There should be at least a conversation about such a 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:54.220 thing. Now, this morning, I will be giving an account for everything that I say. If you're not a member 00:17:54.220 --> 00:18:00.599 of our fellowship, I will be held accountable for my faithfulness in preaching God's word. But I don't 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:08.199 think I'm going to be held accountable for you, for your soul. These people that I have here folded up 00:18:08.199 --> 00:18:14.959 on a list in the front of my Bible, these are 140 names, at least in this time period of the life of our 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:20.519 church. I think these are the ones that I'll stand before God and he'll say, hey, but how about so-and-so? 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:27.220 Did you follow up with them? Did you notice they weren't at church for a month? How is it that you 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:39.019 cared for their soul? Who are your leaders? You should have them. This is important. This is God 00:18:39.019 --> 00:18:47.619 ordered. And when you know who they are, the author of Hebrews says that you should obey and submit to 00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:55.299 them. Now, the Greek word here translated obey refers to, quite simply, hearing what they say 00:18:55.299 --> 00:19:03.200 and following their guidance. And the word here translated submit has to do more with the office 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:11.900 that they hold. So think giving respect to the office that is held. So obey and submit to them. 00:19:12.660 --> 00:19:18.880 But this is not blind, unqualified obedience and submission. This is not what the author of Hebrews 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:26.259 is doing here. The authority of church leaders is always subject to the authority of God's word. 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:35.299 Right? We are merely under shepherds. Note again the immediate context of Hebrews 13, verse 7. I read 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:40.039 to you already, but then following. So verse 7 says, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:46.920 word of God, consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Verse 8, Jesus Christ is 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:53.740 the same yesterday and today and forever. And what he's talking about here, I believe, are fundamental 00:19:53.740 --> 00:20:00.140 doctrines of who Christ is. And they're not changing. Right? Don't get off track. Right? Listen to 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:07.559 the word that was taught. Because then he says at the beginning of verse 9, do not be led away by diverse 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:16.380 and strange teachings. So these leaders that we're supposed to be obeying and submitting to, right, are 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:26.240 teachers of God's word. Elders are those who have to give an account. To whom and for what? What are we 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:36.840 accounting for? To God. For how faithfully they kept watch over your souls by the authoritative, 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:45.960 inerrant, sufficient word of God. Elders as under shepherds are to be ministers of God's truth. 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:55.280 He cares for your souls in part through the careful work of your leaders. Right? So it's a qualified 00:20:55.280 --> 00:21:06.640 leadership. Right? Your obedience to and submission to is qualified on obedience to God's word. And this is 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:13.940 why you should obey and submit to them. Right? They are working to keep watch over your souls. Right? 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:24.019 Caring for you. Caring for you. Meeting your real needs and not your felt needs as directed by God's word. Right? 00:21:24.840 --> 00:21:34.559 If they lead by God's word, then they do so for your good. And secondly, because they do so as those 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:42.039 who will have to give an account. If they lead by God's word for your good, they do so with the weight 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:48.899 that they will one day be judged for that leadership. Right? One day all of us will stand before 00:21:48.899 --> 00:21:56.539 the throne of Christ. Right? And if we're in Christ, we will not be cast away. Right? Our final judgment 00:21:56.539 --> 00:22:03.399 is secure in him. We are his. We belong to him. But all of the works will be laid bare. Right? 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:09.200 I'm going to stand quivering one day before God as he talks about the work that I've done 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:14.399 at Christ's family church. Right? That's that shows itself to be faithful and that that shows itself 00:22:14.399 --> 00:22:22.680 to be unfaithful. Right? Biblical elders are leading you in this way. Right? For your good 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:31.100 and submission to God. Right? We have a weighty task in front of us. And the author, aware of the 00:22:31.100 --> 00:22:40.400 weightiness of this task, instructs us to let them do this with joy and not with groaning. 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:48.340 Don't be one who always critiques and always criticizes, whether face-to-face or behind the 00:22:48.339 --> 00:22:54.740 back of the leadership of your church, but one who encourages and supports. And you should definitely 00:22:54.740 --> 00:23:00.179 do that face-to-face. You can encourage and support behind the back, but face-to-face is so much better. 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:05.659 Right? And so I want to share with you a few of my thoughts on how to mitigate groaning 00:23:05.659 --> 00:23:14.299 and how to maximize joy. What could that look like in the life of our church and in a church you may be a 00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:19.659 member of or going on from here to be a member of. So a few things on this point. Number one, 00:23:21.159 --> 00:23:28.779 don't assume the worst of their actions and intentions. Don't assume the worst. And we, 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:35.779 as a people, just tend to do this. Right? We tend to assume the worst. Consider the men that lead your 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:40.720 church are doing so for the sake of your soul. At least they ought to be. As those who will have to 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:47.200 give an account that this kind of weightiness is brought to the tasks at hand. And don't assume 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:54.420 the worst of their actions and intentions. Where clarity is lacking, I'm fully aware of this, where 00:23:54.420 --> 00:24:01.220 clarity is lacking, negative assumptions reign. But don't let that be true amongst us. Instead, 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:09.740 assume the best. It's a novel idea. Just think, it seemed like he said, but surely that's not what he 00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:18.339 meant. He wouldn't have meant such a thing. I have on many occasions made a statement and then followed 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:24.259 it by, I don't mean this. And then sometime later that week, I'll have an hour-long meeting with 00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:28.880 somebody where they accuse me of saying the thing that I said I didn't say. And I'll spend all that 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:34.599 time going, oh, but remember, I said right after, because they just stopped listening. Right? As if, 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:40.839 as if they feel like their job is to be critical. Right? Is to find the little nuance that could be 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:49.699 taken wrong and to pounce on such a thing. Right? Don't assume the worst. Now, we're going to err. 00:24:50.379 --> 00:24:56.819 As people, we're going to err. And we need correction. But times where I thought, yep, that was unclear. 00:24:57.199 --> 00:25:00.659 You're right. I need to correct it. Absolutely. And I'm very thankful for that. 00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:08.040 I would rather be true than consistent. You've heard me say. Right? When people come to me assuming 00:25:08.040 --> 00:25:15.900 the best, I really, really appreciate that kind of correction. Get to know the hearts of your leaders. 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:24.220 To know what makes our hearts beat. What we really care about. Then when we seem to say something in 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:30.140 contradiction to that, you can just ask questions. Hey, when you said, I wasn't sure what you meant. 00:25:30.140 --> 00:25:37.780 These are wonderful types of things to ask of leaders of the church. Right? Recognize that there is a 00:25:37.780 --> 00:25:46.020 larger picture at play. That you have no idea all of the things that may have come one of your elders' 00:25:46.020 --> 00:25:52.100 way in that particular week. That the big picture of how the life of the fellowship is going might be 00:25:52.100 --> 00:25:59.759 lost on you. Your perspective may not take in to totality all that is going on. So don't assume the 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:07.819 worst of your elders' actions and intentions. Secondly, don't assume the best of their humanity. 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:17.940 Your leaders are men. We are human men. We also are affected by the fall. Did you know that we 00:26:17.940 --> 00:26:28.200 didn't get all new bodies when we were found in Christ? We get sick. We get tired. We feel stress. 00:26:29.340 --> 00:26:34.860 There are times that your elders' hearts are drifting spiritually and we don't know why. What's 00:26:34.860 --> 00:26:40.519 happening here? Right? I feel my affections waning. I don't have time to figure it out because it's Sunday 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:47.859 again. You need to recognize that we, like you, do that. Right? Have to take time to figure out what's 00:26:47.859 --> 00:26:59.500 happening in my soul and how do I give it care. We may err. Right? God forbid, but we may err. Right? We have 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:12.640 bad weeks just like you. We are not Jesus. Praise God. Good elders do the work of taking you to Jesus, 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:19.000 even in our failings. Right? We say, look, I'm not a perfect man. Let me show you how I repent. 00:27:19.700 --> 00:27:25.759 Let me show you how I flee to the cross of Christ. Let me show you how I ground my identity in him and 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:32.180 his perfect life because I am not perfect. Right? Certainly, we should be out ahead, right? Pursuing 00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:37.859 holiness. Certainly, we should be modeling that for you. You should be able to imitate our way of life, 00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:45.220 but never think for a moment that we are perfect. Our culture tends to take leaders in general, and they 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:50.779 do this in church, and they take pastors and they put them on pedestals. I think good pastors hop off the 00:27:50.779 --> 00:27:55.319 pedestal and kick it over. Right? But then we'll find ourselves getting put back up 00:27:55.319 --> 00:28:03.419 on that pedestal. So we hop off and we kick it over once again. So don't assume the best 00:28:03.419 --> 00:28:12.419 of their humanity. Right? Our calendars also have seven days, 24 hours. We are not superhuman. We are not 00:28:12.419 --> 00:28:22.319 Jesus. Third, don't expect too much of their knowledge and skill sets. Don't expect too much of their 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:27.839 knowledge and skill sets. We will not always have all the answers to your questions or answer your 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:34.839 questions in a satisfactory way. Right? It's frankly just not possible. Are we laboring to do so? 00:28:34.939 --> 00:28:42.259 Absolutely. Right? I want to know this book backwards and forwards and inside out. Right? I want to be able 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:49.119 to give you hallway answers to every question you would possibly have. I want to text respond to your long 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:53.519 questions. Right? With the perfect sentence that answers your question. But it just may not happen. 00:28:53.939 --> 00:29:01.019 There are just so much. The depths of God's word. Right? To be plumbed and for us to be working it out 00:29:01.019 --> 00:29:07.279 and figuring it out together. Should elders know sound doctrine? Absolutely. Right? We should be able to 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:13.699 teach and contend for those things that are primary. Those things that make us Christian. But the nuances 00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:21.600 out on the edges. Right? Don't expect too much for knowledge and skill sets. Don't expect that your 00:29:21.600 --> 00:29:27.779 elders know everything there is to know about the administration of a church. There's so much. We 00:29:27.779 --> 00:29:33.240 have to keep in good standing with the IRS. I spent a bunch of my first years as a full-time pastor here 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:39.559 making sure that we had all of the T's crossed and all of the I's dotted. And I didn't have this as a 00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:45.859 skill set. I'm not a CPA. Surprise. Right? I had to go and do a lot of work to learn how to do these 00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:52.799 kinds of things. And it was arduous. And it was difficult. And it took up frankly too much of my 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:57.480 time. Don't expect that I know anything about how to build a retaining wall. I have no idea. I don't 00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:05.339 know how to build a retaining wall. Clue whatsoever how to do such a thing. There are two items on the job 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:13.059 description of your elders. Two. Prayer. Ministry of the Word. Those are the two things. That is a lot 00:30:13.059 --> 00:30:19.799 to be done. Right? There is so very much to be done in those two categories of work in the church. So 00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:27.079 don't expect too much of your elders' knowledge and skill sets. Lastly, don't expect too little 00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:34.939 of their knowledge and skill sets. Right? As elders, we care about your whole person. We care about 00:30:34.939 --> 00:30:41.899 every single bit of you. We are shepherding your souls. But we want to be aware of and we want to be 00:30:41.899 --> 00:30:48.980 involved in the periphery circumstances of your life because they have a bearing on your soul. We want 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:54.839 to help you not make dumb decisions for your life that add unnecessary stress to your life. Young 00:30:54.839 --> 00:31:03.419 people, I'm talking to you. I know I look 25, but at the end of this month I'll turn 40. And I've 00:31:03.419 --> 00:31:10.639 learned a lot in my living. And we have elders who are older than me, praise God, who have learned even 00:31:10.639 --> 00:31:15.439 more about this type of thing. Did you know that Doug Hitchcock used to be a financial advisor? 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:24.240 Father, don't make dumb financial decisions. Let us be of some help to you and service to you as a 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:32.940 whole person. Right? Recognize that you can do that. You can ask questions. You can seek counsel and you 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:39.559 can seek wisdom. And every one of us will be so careful to say to you, this advice I'm giving you is 00:31:39.559 --> 00:31:46.859 thus saith the Lord. Right? This is what you ought to do to be obedient to God versus I think this is 00:31:46.859 --> 00:31:52.819 what I would do in that situation. Right? But both can be ones of superior value. The other can be of 00:31:52.819 --> 00:31:59.679 value as well. Right? Here's what I've seen work well in my life and what hasn't gone so well in my life. 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:07.200 So don't expect too little of their knowledge and skill sets. It causes groaning in me when I see people 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:12.759 put themselves in unnecessarily troubling situations. Right? Because I know I'm going to have to do a lot 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:20.680 of soul care to help them in the midst of that troubling situation. Just ask the question and 00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:27.440 heed the advice. Don't do the opposite thing that you're told to do. Or don't go ask everybody you 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:35.620 know for advice and then pick your favorite of the options that are given to you. Heed the counsel. 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:44.879 See that there is some contained wisdom in the life of your elders. Right? Why? Why all of this? Why is it 00:32:44.879 --> 00:32:51.059 important that there is joy in your elders as they're leading you and not groaning? Right? The author of 00:32:51.059 --> 00:33:02.579 Hebrews says, for that would be of no advantage to you. Unhappy leaders will struggle to lead. How do you, I mean, 00:33:02.579 --> 00:33:07.119 sheep are just naturally dumb. Right? I put myself in this category. I'm not without this. I've got elders 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:13.000 that pay attention to me as well. Naturally. But when a sheep has just flatly told you, I really don't 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:20.480 like being part of this flock. I really don't trust you as a shepherd. It is hard to lead that kind of 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:26.599 person. Right? How do I employ the staff and the rod for a person who said, hey, quit it. I don't want to be 00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:32.059 part of the flock. Right? I'm around, but don't expect that I'm underneath your leadership. It's difficult 00:33:32.059 --> 00:33:39.240 to do. Unhappy leaders will struggle to lead. Seek your good by seeking the good of your elders. 00:33:40.099 --> 00:33:46.839 If you want your elders to shepherd you well, love them well. 1 Corinthians 13 7 says, love bears all 00:33:46.839 --> 00:33:56.899 things. Is patient. Believes all things. Isn't hasty to see promises fulfilled. Hopes all things. Assumes 00:33:56.899 --> 00:34:05.519 the very best. And endures all things. Is gracious toward failings. Recognize that your elders do not 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:13.000 ultimately lead for their gain, but for yours. Recognize that we carry a weight and we resonate 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:18.559 with Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 28 where after mentioning the many ways he had suffered for the 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:24.980 gospel, including but not limited to imprisonments, beatings, shipwrecks, and other dangers. He states 00:34:24.980 --> 00:34:28.960 the following. When you read this, do you just think that sounds crazy? Well, I'm gonna tell you, your 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:36.559 elders go, yeah. I read that list of sufferings of Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 and when he gets to verse 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:42.159 28, I go, oh, I feel this one the most, right? I feel it. He says, and apart from other things, 00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:49.179 there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Now, in our case, it's for 00:34:49.179 --> 00:34:58.880 a church and the individuals of that church, right? We love you that way, right? We want your good to 00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:07.099 the glory of God in that way. Don't make us do it with groaning. Help us to do it with joy as you 00:35:07.099 --> 00:35:12.860 already do in large order. Secondly, pray for your elders and we'll cover this quick. I know I'm running 00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:24.480 long. The author is confident of his work and the work of the leaders because he is sure that we have a 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:30.079 clear conscience. We see that and he knows that his desire, their desire as leaders is to act honorably 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:38.679 in all things. Now, it is because of his clean conscience that he asks for their prayers. He 00:35:38.679 --> 00:35:46.840 recognizes his need of the intervening gracious work of God. He knows, right, that any good he's ever 00:35:46.840 --> 00:35:53.840 accomplished, any proper desire is because God has worked graciously on his behalf and so he asks that 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:59.840 they would pray for him. He knows that having begun by grace, he is being sustained by grace. 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:06.660 He expresses the simple profundity of this faith in prayer. In verse 19, he says, I urge you, this is an 00:36:06.660 --> 00:36:13.180 example, I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. 00:36:13.760 --> 00:36:22.400 Him desiring to be back with them, he knows that this won't happen unless the church prays, believes that 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:27.900 it is by the prayers of this church that God will see fit to return him to them. So, do you pray for your 00:36:27.900 --> 00:36:35.860 leaders? Not just in sentiment, praying for you, but in reality, do you really pray for the elders of your 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:42.800 church? Have you prayed for us today? Did you pray for our preparations this week and for the work of 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:50.720 delivery this morning? Charles Spurgeon, after delivering his sermon on May 27th, 1855, concluded with these 00:36:50.719 --> 00:37:00.079 words. Just imagine Charles Spurgeon saying this to you. My people, shall I ever lose your prayers? 00:37:00.879 --> 00:37:08.000 Will you ever cease your supplications? Will you then ever cease to pray? I fear you have not uttered so 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:13.919 many prayers this morning as you should have done. I fear there has not been so much earnest devotion as 00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:22.119 might have been poured forth. For my own part, I have not felt the wondrous power I sometimes experience. 00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:28.159 He gets done preaching a sermon and he goes, I didn't feel the power I normally feel. What's wrong with y'all? 00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:33.700 Why are you not praying for me as I'm preaching for you? 00:37:33.699 --> 00:37:46.699 In closing, do you desire to seek your growth in the Lord? Do you desire the holiness of his church for the praise of 00:37:47.319 --> 00:37:58.119 his name? Then, in part, obey your elders and pray for your elders. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are 00:37:58.119 --> 00:38:03.880 keeping watch over your souls as those who have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with 00:38:03.880 --> 00:38:10.579 groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear 00:38:10.579 --> 00:38:15.239 conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. Let's pray together.