The Spirituality of Leadership In Christ's Church

A tremendous hymn. Now our Bible reading this

morning is taken from First Thessalonians chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

I'm going to read from verse 12 to the end.

OK, First Thessalonians chapter 5 reading from verse 12 to the

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

end. Let's hear the word of God,

reading of course from the King James Bible, First Corinth,

First Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 12.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among

you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to

esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at

peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren,

warn them that are unruly. Comfort the feeble minded,

support the weak, Be patient toward all men.

See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever

follow that which is good both among yourselves and to all men.

Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and everything give

thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning

you. Quench not the Spirit, despise

not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast that which is

good, abstain from all appearance of evil, and the very

God of peace. Sanctify you holy.

And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be

preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it.

Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an

holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that

this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, and we

know that God will stamp with his own approval and blessing

this reading of His own precious and infallible Word.

Now this morning we are continuing with our series of

expository sermons in First Thessalonians, and my text today

is First Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 12 and 13.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

Let's read it together, and we beseech your brethren to know

them that labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and

admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their

work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves.

Now I have entitled this message The Spirituality of Leadership

in Christ Church. The closing portion of First

Thessalonians contains a series of short but powerful

exhortations for the life of Christ, Church and the Apostle

Paul having written at length about the personal, visible,

bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ of this earth, which, of

course, is the great hope of all true believers everywhere of the

out the world. Having written about that, he

now turns his attention to the practical matters concerning how

the church is to live together in this present age.

Remember, the congregation in Theftnanenka was a very young

church, three to six months old. It had been planted in the midst

of persecution and much opposition.

These believers were facing much hardship.

Some had suffered imprisonment, some were even put to death for

their faith. And now they're learning what it

really means to be a child of God and in fellowship with the

people of God. They're conscious now they live

in the midst of a hostile, Christless world.

And in such circumstances, some of the greatest needs in the

church was the need for peace, the need for order, the need for

stability, and the need for faithful leadership.

So here's Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

and he addresses the very practical matter of the

relationship between the congregation and those whom God

has placed in leadership over them.

Look with me at our text, First Thessalonians 5, verses 12 and

1 Thessalonians 5:12

13. Listen again to the words and we

beseech your brethren to know them, which labour among you and

are over you and the Lord that admonish you and esteem them

very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace

among yourselves. These two verses, and it's easy

to skip over them. They reinforce the subject

matter of spirituality of leadership in Christchurch.

Now I want you to look at the text very carefully.

I want you to think first of all of the reality of spiritual

leadership in Christchurch and that that's a conjunction.

So it's linking up what he's previously said.

And we beseech that's a strong word to encourage and exhort.

Notice this and we beseech your brethren.

So he's writing to born again believers.

And what's he beseeched them about?

To know them, which labour among you, and are over you and the

Lord, And at monish you notice the three things to know them,

which labour among you, and are over you and the Lord, and at

monish you. Now on the surface, what does

that mean? What does that say to you?

It means this, that Christ as the head of the church has

established a structure of government over his church in

order for peace, in order for order, stability and harmony in

the church. You see, there's not to be

anarchy in the church, but there has to be an acceptance of

authority. There's not to be chaos in the

church, but there has to be council, consideration, and

compassionate care. And these verses, I believe,

speak directly to the life of a Presbyterian Church because we

believe that Christ governs his church.

In what way does he govern the church?

As the sole head and only king of the church.

He governs the church through the ministry of the Word.

You've got to think about the absolute authority of the Word

of God, the final arbiter to do with creed and conduct.

The final thought is what saith the Scriptures.

You see what God says, the Bible says, and what the Bible says,

God says and the. Dr. Ian Brown, he was preaching

yesterday in stanfast in the Faith Conference, emphasised the

absolute authority of the Scriptures in the church, and he

also governs his church. Listen to me carefully through

the eldership of the church, those whom God has called to be

shepherds of his flock. Listen to what Paul said to

Timothy, First Timothy 5 and 17. Let the elders that rule well be

counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in

the word and doctrine. Now the Westminster Confession

of Faith in chapter 25 reminds us that Christ has given the

ministry, the oracles and ordinances of God for the

gathering and the perfection of the Saints.

And in the form of Presbyterian government.

We believe that Christ exercises His rule not only as the head of

the church, not only through the absolute authority of the Word

of God, but through the teaching and the ruling elders.

And that is exactly what 1st Thessalonians 5 verses 12 to 13

is teaching. It is teaching how you're

healthy spiritual relationship blossoms and develops and

manifests itself in the church. Here is how spiritual leaders

and the membership of the church should function.

Remember what he says in Ephesians chapter 4 and in verse

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

11 and 12. And he gave some apostles that's

to his church, and some prophets and some evangelists and some

pastors and teachers. What was the purpose for the

perfecting of the Saints, for the working of the ministry, and

for the edifying of the body of Christ?

Verse 13 says, Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and

of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto

the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

What does text is teaching? Is this Christ appointed

spiritual leaders in his church? They have been appointed to

labour, to rule, to admonish, and the congregation is called

upon, every local congregation to recognise and respect and to

love and to labour and to follow the lead of the spiritual

leaders. They're to do this for Christ's

sake. They're to do this for the

harmony of the worship and the work and the witness and the

proclamation of the Word of God. And this is an order that peace

may flourish within the body of Christ.

The pursuit of peace must be fulfilled.

I have no doubt that the devil will seek to undermine and

destroy the peace of the church. Remember what Paul writing to

the church at Corinth said. And 2nd Corinthians chapter 13

verse 11 finally, brethren, farewell, be perfect, be of good

comfort, be of one mind, live in peace and the God of love and

peace shall be with you. You see every true born again

believer along with every church leader who saved in in a

spiritual frame of mind. They must seek to nurture, to

strengthen and deepen the peace of Christchurch.

Now, let me ask you very quickly, how do you view this

church? How do you view Carried Off FPC?

If someone asks you to give a description of Carried Off FPC,

how would you describe it? Let me tell you what it's not.

It's not a business that merely exists to provide benefits for

its members. We're not in the consumer

business. You see, in the United Kingdom,

also in the United States of America, professing born again

believers, they often shop around for a church that

provides certain benefits for them.

And once they find what they're looking for, they support that

church. And the minute that church stops

being beneficial to them, they stop supporting that church.

But we are not marketing the church in this way.

Do you know that some churches have a pastor of marketing?

That is, they devise means to how best to market and promote

their church. A woke ideology, a user friendly

approach. They are delighting to tell

people what we don't stand for, what we don't believe.

And one of the things they don't believe, of course, is in the

awful subject of hell. But carried off, FPC is not in

the business that competes in the religious marketplace.

What are we? We are part of the body of

Christ, and in that sense we are a living Organism comprised of

those who have been born again and those who have trusted in

Christ for salvation. You see, whenever we're born

again and regenerated by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit has

baptised us into the body of Christ, who is the head of the

Church. And of course our bodies are

highly functional organisms, our bodies are organised and just

like our bodies are highly functional organisms and have to

be organised. So the church needs order, the

church needs peace and stability and management and organisation.

But Christchurch is not only part of the body of Christ, it's

a family of believers. It's part of the household of

faith. Again, if we go back to

Ephesians, Ephesians 2 it says in verse 19 Now therefore ye are

no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens

with the Saints and of the household of faith, and are

built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all

the building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy

temple in the Lord, in whom also ye are build it together for

inhabitation of God through the Spirit.

And we beseech your brethren, that is, those who are born

again of the Spirit, those who are part of the body of Christ,

those who are part of the household of faith.

He's teaching them this, that leadership has been delegated by

Christ and that leadership is delegated by Christ to be

exercised in Christchurch. So that's the reality of the

spirituality of leaders in Christchurch.

The second thing is this very quickly, the recognition of

spiritual leadership in Christchurch.

You see, the church has a threefold responsibility towards

its leaders. That is, to know them is not

what it says to know them which labour among you, to know them

which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord and manage

you. Do you know that submission to

godly and good holy spiritual leadership is in a saying of

submission to Christ? You see, Jesus Christ is the

head of the Church, not the Pope.

And Christ has his own people, people that he's called out of

the fallen mass of humanity, people who were once dead,

people who were blind, people who are diseased.

And by the mighty operation of the Holy Spirit, as the Word of

God has preached, they have been regenerated in the newness of

life. And the Lord rules and reigns in

their hearts and minds by his word and by his Spirit.

Christ in that sense is an an absolute monarch, and he's the

absolute monarch over the whole of the universe.

There's not an atom that moves in the universe without Christ's

power and without Christ's input.

He's the monarch of all the nations.

He's the monarch of all men. He's head over all things to the

church, and this monarchy is administered in the Church by

men elected to the office of the eldership.

Now that's important. You need to get a hold of that

and not only face that reality, but you've got to think about

the recognition. Recognise 3 things.

He's pleading with his church. Now let's look at them very

quickly here it says to know them.

OK, You should underline that the simple Greek word is no.

That's the Greek verb. Modern translations put

different words. They change it for copyright

reasons, which is sad. Respect and appreciate, but it's

simple to know. And what does that mean?

It's not just to know that they exist, not just know things

about them, not just to be aware of the existence.

It does mean to recognise, it does mean to respect.

But it does mean that the men who are elders, the Church must

recognise them as those whom Christ has placed in spiritual

leadership. And that implies of course the

existence of an office that exists.

It implies the men are saved. It implies spiritual minded men.

It implies men of a certain calibre and certain character.

It's as if Christ is saying to this young church, I have placed

within you certain men over you for your well-being and for your

good. Nobody in the church was to ask

why have they taken on a leadership role?

Nobody in the church is to ask, well, who do they think they are

to say this and that? You see often times in the

church, leadership and membership relationships can

break down. Often times there can be abuse

of power. Often times there can be

resistance to the oversight. Well, let's remember this, that

the Lord has established the office and He has placed men in

that office. And if Christ has set up the

office, He has set it up for a purpose.

And the purpose is this for the church's spiritual growth and

spiritual development. And that's why we believe, of

course, in the office of eldership.

That's why we believe in a church membership.

Are there no verses that teach about A membership being in

submission to the leadership? Are there no verses that teach

about leadership being spiritually minded men?

Yes they are. And here's just one verse.

And notice in this recognition them that labour and no them

that labour among you. You see, let me emphasise that

the word labour means hard work to the point of weariness.

Spiritual leadership in the Church is not a position of

ease. But of endurance, it's not a

position of wantonness, it's a position of a work ethic.

You see part of the teaching elders workload.

He has to be in the study. There has to be the preaching of

the word of God. Here's his job description.

Preach the Word. That's what we're seeking to do

this morning, every Sunday morning, Sunday evening Bible

study. There's expository preaching on

the text to examine the truth of the Word of God.

There's prayer for the whole congregation.

There's pastoral visitation. There's the care of every soul.

The well-being of everyone is important.

There's the administration of the two sacraments, baptism and

the Lord's Supper. There's the oversight of the

church. That's where the curt session

comes in and the deacons, there's administration, there's

the care and maintenance of the place of worship, there's

funerals and there's weddings. And often times that labour is

unseen and much of it is in private.

Much of it's done quietly and you're not even aware that's

going on. But such labour is essential

because as I'm here, I'm a servant under Christ, not living

life independently and living in life submission to Christ.

And he has called me to be a teaching elder.

Then this is part of my job description.

This is what I do week in and week out and I do it unto the

Lord. Not only notice their labour,

but notice their lead. It says and are over you in the

Lord. Now this speaks of an individual

who acts like a Sergeant in the army.

He has got spiritual authority over the men.

This speaks of submission. And you see, true spirituality

includes that. But notice the limitation in the

Lord. The authority of church leaders

is not personal, it's not absolute.

It's delegated, it's derived. It comes from Christ, who alone

is the head of the Church. That's why the Western

Confession of Faith says that there's no other head of the

church but the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Christ exercises authority only as the servants of Christ,

only according to the Word of God.

The final authority for creed and conduct is the Word of God.

And in the Free Presbyterian Church, like in other

Presbyterian churches, this authority is exercised

collectively by the eldership. It's not a single individual

acting independently. That's the pattern of the New

Testament church. Notice thirdly here, notice

these words and admonish you. What does the word admonish

mean? It means to warn, means to

instruct. He's a teacher of the truth.

He's a watchman in the walls. He's a a shepherd who counsels

and and corrects his sheep. It's all about giving guidance.

It's all about the offering of advice.

It includes the teaching of truth revealed in the Word of

God. Remember, sanctify them through

thy word, Thy Word as truth. It means warning against error.

It means exposing falsehood. It means contending for the

faith. It means correcting sinful

behaviour. It means a call for guidance

towards a life of holiness. It means a call to faithful

service. You see, this is all about

wisdom. This is about patience.

This is about love and care. This is about devotion.

Notice also the responsibility for faithful leadership, not

only the recognition. You see, leadership is not about

status and about prestige. As I've said, it's all about

service. It's all about responsibility.

I'm called to labour in the Word and a doctrine.

I'm called to lead as a watchman for your souls.

I am called as a learner to try and teach and help you remember

what Paul says over there in Hebrews, Hebrews 13 and verse

17. He says this.

Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves,

for they watch for your souls as they must give an account that

they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is

unprofitable. For you see this is what a good

leader will do. There'll be the preaching to the

flock. His primary job will be

preaching and teaching the Word of God.

That's primary responsibility, and it must be faithful

preaching of the Word. Second Timothy four and two

preach the Word. The church is built up upon the

preaching of the Word of God, and without the Word, the church

cannot grow in fee, Ethan in holiness.

It will not function properly. It will not grow right.

So the preaching of the Word is primary.

The preaching of the Word is central.

That's why we've got a pulpit in the front of the church.

But on top of that, there's not only the preaching of the Word,

but there's the pastoring of the flock, the pastoral work behind

the scenes, the encouragement of the weak, help for all who are

facing difficulty, the bereaved, the sick prayer.

Another aspect is not only preaching and pastoring the

flock, but protecting the flock, guarding the church.

A faithful leader will guard against false doctrine and

error. It will guard against spiritual

danger. Remember what Paul said to the

church at Ephesus. He says, Take heed, therefore

unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost

has made you overseers, and to feed the Church of God, which He

had purchased with His own blood.

For this I know that after my departing shall grieve His

wills. Enter in among you, not sparing

the flock also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking

perverse things to draw away disciples after them.

There's a need for Watchmen. And not only is the the

preaching to the flock, and not only the pastoring of the flock

and the protecting of the flock, but there's also the purity of

the flock. And part of my job was to

exercise spiritual discipline. Exercising discipline is not a

punishment. The discipline that's exercised

is always for restoration. The goal is always repentance

and healing and the honour of Christ.

The confession of Faith states that censures are necessary.

Why? For the reclaiming of offending

brethren whose sin preventing others from going headlong into

sin. And that's the responsibility of

the leadership. So we've saw the reality of

leadership. We've saw the recognition of

leadership. We've saw the responsibility of

the leadership. Now listen to this as we finish

the respect for faithful leadership.

If you look at verse 12, we've read it.

We beseech you therefore, brethren, to know them with

labour among you and are over you and the Lord and among us.

You notice these words and to esteem them very highly in love

for their work's sake. You see, healthy relationships

don't blossom automatically. Relationships take hard work and

effort. It requires faithfulness not

only in the leadership but also in the membership.

You see, there's not to be any Mavericks.

I'm going to do what I want to do.

I'm going to do what I like. You see, that attitude is

totally unscriptural. That attitude is wrong.

Notice these words and to esteem them very highly.

The word esteem means to respect, respect the office,

respect the work that they're doing.

It means to think of, it means to consider.

It's not based on personality. It's not based on popularity or

prominence or promotion. It's based on the work that God

has called them to perform and to esteem them very highly.

Notice these words that means to display gratitude, support,

encouragement, trust and prayer, Confidence.

Leadership in the church can be a lonely place.

It can involve carrying a heavy burden.

And to be a faithful leader in the church needs a support of

congregation. And I've encouraged you in the

past. If you're hurting, if you've got

a problem, if you want to raise a concern, something you're not

happy with, then come and speak to me.

I'll certainly not bite you. I love you and the Lord.

I'll pray for you. I'll pray with you and I'll try

and help you. You see, this is to be done.

Notice the words and to esteem them very highly in love.

It is not the key for their work's sake.

You see, it's not based on something that's institutional.

It's based on we're a body of Christ.

It's based on we're a family of brothers and sisters in Christ.

And it's having a love for people, having a love for the

brothers and sisters, seeing an individual as a child of God,

seeing them as one for whom Christ bled and died.

And, and, and the love of God in Christ is prominent.

The church, of course, has to be a place of spiritual warmth and

a place of mutual love. And there's the respect.

This is what we are to do, we are to esteem them very highly

in love for their work's sake. And here's the result with this,

we finished this morning the result of spiritual leadership

in Christchurch. And be at peace among

yourselves. That's not accidental, that's

something that's acclaimed. You see, if God's order is

honoured and the Labours labour faithfully and they lead

faithfully and they seek to learn by way of admonishment the

congregation, as a result of that, there will be peace in the

church. And that's a very important

concept because that's on their mind.

The devil seeks to overthrow that.

People forget that. But that's what we're called

upon to do, to be at peace among ourselves, not defiantly, but

deliberately, and devotion. And if we are peace among

ourselves, that unity will be seen, that love will be seen,

that care and that devotion will be seen.

And it's all flowing out. Once we grasp the reality that

God has established a leadership in the church, there's office of

eldership that exists. And not only do we accept that

reality, but then there's the recognition.

What what is it going to do? And here's the responsibility

that flows from that recognition.

And here's the respect for it. And this is the final result.

And the result is and be at peace among yourselves.

I pray this morning the Lord will take these few thoughts and

bless them to you as we have tried to figure our way through

what this verse actually teaches.

And I pray that the Lord will help us and help me.

And I value your prayers as I seek to labour here and be over

you and the Lord and seek to admonish you for Christ's sake.

We're going to leave it there for today.

We'll look at the few more verses as the Lord gives us help

next week.