Acceptable Worship Part 2 - Honor Your Leaders

You may be seated, kids. You are excused to your King's Kids class if you would open up your Bible to Hebrews 13.

We are coming in for a landing in the book of Hebrews. Two more sermons.

So we are in Hebrews chapter 13 verses 7 through 19 this morning.

Hebrews 13:7–19

And I'm going to read this. It's on page 1197 of your pew Bible.

So hear God's Word.

Remember your leaders.

Those who spoke to you the Word of God.

Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings.

For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

Therefore, let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

Through him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have.

For such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

But obey your leaders and submit to them.

For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience desiring to act honorably in all things.

I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

May God bless the reading of his word.

We are living in an age of skepticism towards leaders.

It's just kind of where we're at right now.

Whether political leaders, local, national, whether business leaders, whether educational leaders, even church leaders.

Church leaders have come into some rough times of late.

Sexual scandals.

Spiritual abuse scandals.

Financial scandals.

It seems like every week we got a new scandal.

Couple that with the internet.

And there's been a rise of skepticism to church leaders.

In some degree, it's understandable.

You may find yourself in this sanctuary skeptical of church leaders.

Maybe even cynical of church leaders.

Or maybe even you're done with church leaders.

You're done with the church.

I'm so glad that you're here this morning.

Church leaders can be pointed to as the reason why people leave the church.

And maybe you've lost faith in church leadership.

Or maybe you're relatively new to the church and you're just kind of like,

I've never heard anything on church leadership before.

I'm glad you're here too.

I'm going to ask you to give me a yes and amen on two questions.

And I'm guessing it may be a resounding yes and amen.

The foundations of this building may shake.

You ready?

I am an imperfect man.

I am an imperfect leader.

Yes and amen.

That is true.

So let me ask you, church.

In light of verse 17,

why would you ever obey and submit to your imperfect leaders?

Well, here's the answer.

God gives godly leaders for the good of his church.

He calls up those men, those overseers, elders and pastors

who are holding fast to Christ themselves

so that they can help others hold fast to Christ as well.

So three points this morning.

Our past leaders.

Second point, our present leaders.

And our third point,

our timeless and unchanging Christ.

God gives godly leaders for the good of his church.

And as they hold fast to Christ,

they're going to help others hold fast to Christ.

And there lies your confidence.

Christ.

So let's look at point one,

our past leaders.

Look at chapter 13, verse 7.

Remember your leaders.

Now this could be this reference to leadership.

These influencers could be a reference to like Paul or Apollos or Timothy.

But most likely,

the writer of Hebrews is referring to local church leaders.

Men who regularly spoke to you the word of God.

What's being alluded to here is the primary teaching office of the church.

It's the office of elder.

It's the office of pastor, of overseer.

If you just kind of fall,

let your eyes fall to verse 17,

you see the basic job description.

Those who will keep watch over your souls.

The focus here is on past leaders

who in order to watch over souls,

speak the word of God to them.

And in their speaking of the word of God,

they will have been proclaiming Christ.

Because Christ, Hebrews 1, 1 and 2,

is the final word of God.

So the connection we have here

is a connection between Christian leaders

speaking God's word

and the care of souls.

And we're to remember them.

Now I would be in agreement

with a number of Christian scholars

who believe this reference

to remember your leaders

is actually to leaders who have already died.

Past leaders.

Past leaders who are faithful to Jesus

all the way to the end.

And that's why we're called to remember them

in verse 7,

but we're not called to

obey and submit to them.

We're to remember them.

And we're shown three ways we're to remember.

They remember how they spoke the word of God to you.

How they constantly spoke to you God's word.

Pointing to you to Christ over and over again.

When he wanted to hear it

and when he didn't want to hear it.

They spoke Christ to you.

They led with God's word.

We're also to consider the outcome of their faith.

Their legacy.

What they leave behind.

The leaders that the writer of Hebrews has in mind

left quite a legacy.

If you would flip back into your Bible

to chapter 10, Hebrews 10,

Hebrews 10:32–34

verses 32 through 34.

We've looked at this passage numerous times

because this was a suffering church.

The writer says,

Do you know what is required

for a church to go through a season of suffering

rejoicing, enduring?

They need leadership to do that.

What a legacy.

The leaders being spoken about here in verse 7

are the men that led this church early on

through a really hard season of suffering.

Remember the outcome of their way of life.

They endured to the end.

They held fast to Christ all the way to the end.

Remember that.

Consider that.

What did that require?

They were faithful.

We're also told to imitate their faith.

A faith that endured to the end.

We've been called to imitate quite a number of people

here in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Chapter 11 is the whole kind of passage

of the heroes of the faith.

Over 20 people named.

These saints of the Old Testament

who by faith endured all the way to the end

because they were looking forward to a better country,

a heavenly homeland,

a city whose architect and builder was God himself.

We are to imitate that kind of faith.

12, 1, and 3,

the ultimate example of endurance,

Jesus himself,

who suffered the cross

in order to accomplish our salvation

and give us an example of endurance

all in one shot.

And here in 13.7,

we have one more group

whose faith we are to imitate

Christian leaders who have died,

who were faithful,

who didn't stray from Christ,

who were willing to suffer for Christ,

who were constantly offering up

the new covenant sacrifice of praise

to God through Christ.

God gives godly leaders

for the good of his church.

He gives godly leaders

who hold fast to Christ

in order to help the church

hold fast to Christ.

Do you have past leaders

who you can look to,

who you can remember

and consider the outcome of their faith

and you can imitate,

do you have them?

Thank God for them.

Thank God for those models

of faithfulness.

Perfect?

No.

Faithful?

Yes.

Maybe when you look back

and think about

men who've given leadership

to churches you've been part of,

that ended with scandal.

Consider the outcome of their faith.

But don't imitate it.

Or maybe you're saying like,

hey, I'm pretty new

to this whole Christianity thing.

It's not like I've got examples.

I'm new.

Read Christian biographies.

There are some great missionary biographies

that point to men and women,

but the three I'm going to give you

are excellent stories of men

who are faithful.

Adoniram Judson to the Golden Shore.

Hudson Taylor,

Spiritual Secret.

John Patton,

the missionary

to the New Hebrides.

These,

you read these stories

and they're stories

of men

who have endured so much.

It's,

it's really quite encouraging.

But I would say

one,

one other thing.

I'm going to make a transition

from point one,

our past leaders,

to point two.

you have present leaders

that you can look to

who are imperfect,

yes and amen,

but faithful.

God gives godly leaders

for the good of His church.

Let's move to,

point two,

our present leaders.

We move from leaders

who have died,

verse seven,

to leaders who are alive,

in verse 17.

And look at the job description.

We're told to obey your leaders

and submit to them.

Here's the job description.

For they are keeping watch

over your souls.

In the original language

of the New Testament

in Greek,

Koine Greek,

that word keep watch over,

keep watch,

it literally means

to go without sleep.

Like a night watchman

who works the third shift

he's on guard,

making sure the property

he isn't taken advantage of.

Like a shepherd,

keeping watch over his sheep

by day and by night,

making sure no wolves come in.

This idea of keeping watch over

carries this sense of vigilance.

A leader, an overseer,

a pastor or an elder

prayerfully keeps his eye

on those God has entrusted

to his care.

To protect from wolves

and false teaching,

to provide healthy doctrine

and intervene when sheep are hurting.

Christian overseers,

watch over that part of you

that matters most,

your soul.

That part of you

that is eternal,

that part of you,

your inner being,

that worships God.

It all starts there.

We're to watch over your souls.

First and foremost,

a Christian leader,

elders, pastors,

overseers,

are entrusted

with a sacred responsibility

by God himself

to see to the well-being

of the Christians

entrusted to their care

in their church.

It is weighty.

In Acts chapter 20,

Acts 20 · chapter mention

if you want to turn there with me,

it's on page 1105

of your pew Bible.

In Acts chapter 20,

Acts 20 · chapter mention

the apostle Paul,

in verse 17,

sends for the elders

of the Ephesian church.

And he says,

hey, meet me in my latest.

It's a poor city.

He was on his way back

to Jerusalem.

And it's there,

in my latest,

that he meets them.

And in verse 25,

we read this.

And this is Paul speaking,

and now behold,

I know that none of you

among whom I have gone about

proclaiming the kingdom

will see my face again.

So in other words,

he's like,

this is the last time, guys,

I am going to see your face

as long as I live.

So immediately,

you know,

this is serious,

a serious moment.

The apostle Paul

is about to charge

these elders

with something weighty.

In verse 26,

therefore I testify to you

to this day

that I am innocent

of the blood of all.

He has a clear conscience.

For I did not shrink

from declaring to you

the whole counsel

of scripture.

He spoke to them

the word of God,

Christ.

And then in verse 28,

he says,

pay careful attention

to yourselves

and to all the flock.

So to elders,

he's saying,

pay careful attention

to yourselves

and all the flock.

Flock, shepherd.

He's calling them

to a shepherding task.

And not only are they

going to pay attention

to the flock,

to themselves.

Our elder team,

we have Les Martin,

Steve Bickle,

John Tippin,

myself,

and Zach Melgren

is going to be put in,

Lord willing,

as an elder this January.

We care for each other.

We look out for one another.

This isn't a good old

boys club.

We pay attention

to ourselves

and to the church,

his flock,

in which the Holy Spirit

has made you overseers.

The Holy Spirit

has made you overseers.

And so this chapter 20,

we have elders

pastoring as overseers.

It's all one group of words

describing one office.

It's a weighty call

to care for the church

of God

which he obtained

with his own blood.

The blood-bought flock

of God.

And Christian leaders

were under shepherds

of the chief shepherd,

1 Peter 5.

And so this responsibility

given to us by God

carries an authority

but it's a derived authority.

It's not our own.

It's God-given.

We exercise it

with God's word.

It's a word authority.

And we call people

to obey God

from his word.

God has given

his under shepherds

the right to intervene

in Christians' lives

out of care

for his flock.

In verse 17,

in the middle of it,

there is a phrase

that any church leader

finds very sobering.

As those who will have

to give an account,

according to 2 Corinthians 5,

all of us will have

to stand before

the judgment seat of Christ

and give an account.

But Christian leaders

uniquely will need

to stand before Jesus

and give account

for all of their teaching,

all of their leading,

how they led,

cared for the flock of God.

It is a weighty thought.

How we shepherd

matters to Jesus.

and it's sobering

and motivating.

We want to do it well.

Do you know why leaders lead?

We lead for the name of Jesus.

We lead God's people

unto Jesus

for the glory of God

that you would hold fast to Christ.

And you know what it begins with?

It begins with us

not straying from Christ.

It begins with us

being willing to suffer for Christ.

It begins with us

offering worship to God

through Christ.

It's called integrity.

It's a clear conscience.

And this is why God

insists on certain qualifications

being met by the men

who serve as elders

and overseers

and pastors.

I want you to see something.

If you turn in your Bibles

to 1 Timothy 3,

this is on page 1178

of your Pew Bible.

These are the qualifications

for an elder,

a pastor,

an overseer.

I'm just going to read it through.

This saying is trustworthy.

If anyone aspires

to the office of overseer,

he desires a noble task.

It is a good thing.

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.

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

where he may become

puffed up with conceit

and fall into the condemnation

of the devil.

Moreover,

he must be well thought of

by outsiders

so that he may not

fall into disgrace,

into a snare

of the devil.

we are entering

into the fall

and we've moved

our nomination process

for elders and deacons

into the fall now

and I just want to get

this in front of you

because this matters

in terms of

who leads our church.

Man of character,

perfect,

no,

trustworthy,

yes.

Do you know why

these qualifications

are in place?

because the Lord Jesus

loves his church.

He's not just going

to hand his church

over to anybody.

But men who are

proven characters,

perfect,

no,

faithful,

yes.

So let me ask you,

knowing this

about a New Testament

leader,

a pastor,

how do you respond

to them?

What's your response

to an elder,

an overseer?

Well,

in verse 17,

we're shown,

we're told,

obey your leaders

and submit to them

for they're keeping

watch over your souls.

That word obey

means to do

what they say

insofar as it's

God's word.

We lead with God's word.

Our authority is derived.

We're going to call you

to things

from God's word

for the glory of Christ.

What's interesting

is that word obey,

there's a couple

different words

in the original language

for obey.

This one

carries a nuance

of trust.

To trust

your leaders.

To be confident

in them.

That they're not

going to mislead you

or take advantage

of you.

They're not in it

for themselves.

They're in it

for Christ

and for your welfare.

You are to obey

to your leaders

and remember,

we,

our leadership team,

our elders,

we're looking

to care for each other

and just as we

are giving oversight

to the church,

the church

submits

to the oversight

of its elders.

do you see

the correspondence?

Oversight is responded

to through submission.

You're essentially

allowing your elders,

your overseers

to watch over your soul.

It is not a forced

submission.

This is voluntary.

This is something

where you're opening

yourself and say,

okay,

love me to Jesus.

Help me to hold fast

to Christ

all the way through.

And we know

from last week

in 1228,

therefore let us

be grateful

receiving a kingdom

that cannot be shaken

and thus let us

offer to God

acceptable worship

with reverence

and awe.

This is a way

we worship God

and how we

respond to

our leaders.

this isn't blind

obedience

or submission.

In so far

as your overseers

call you

to hold fast,

to trust Christ,

follow them,

obey them.

But if your overseers

are requiring

something of you

that obviously

grieves God,

it is your

responsibility

to not obey,

to not submit.

it's a worship

of God.

But man,

that's not

what any of us

want.

There's that

little phrase,

let them do this

with joy

and not

with groaning.

By the way,

let me just

let them,

your overseers,

your leaders,

do this,

keep watch over

your souls

with joy

and not

with groaning.

maybe you're

thinking,

well,

here it comes.

Let me just

help you understand

what is being

said here.

Don't think

of this as

your leaders

taking something

personally.

No,

here's the joy.

This is the context

of the book.

The joy

of leaders

of a church

is when they

are watching

their church

hold fast

to Christ

all the way

to the end.

That's where

the joy is.

1 Thessalonians

3.8,

Paul says to

this Thessalonian

church,

he says,

and now we

live

when you are

standing

steadfast

in the Lord.

Joy.

1 John 3.4,

maybe you're

familiar with it.

John says it

this way,

I have no

greater joy

than to hear

that my children

are walking

in the truth.

It is a huge

joy

when your

overseers,

pastors,

and elders

hear of

bold steps

of obedience,

of owning

sin,

of seeking

Christ,

of worshiping

him.

That is

huge joy.

And the

back side,

the flip side

of that is also

true.

The groaning.

The groaning

is when

you are trying

again and again

to help

a brother,

sister,

and the Lord

to follow

the Lord,

but they

arch.

They resist.

They get

defensive.

They make

it very

difficult.

And

often times

you can

watch them

walk away

from the

Lord.

This task

of leadership

is full

of heartache,

but it's

full of joy

as well.

it's no

advantage

to you

if you

are arching

under the

leadership

of your

church,

because what

that means

is you're

arching

under

Jesus.

It's no

advantage

to you.

The best

thing that

your leaders

can do

for you

is for

themselves

to hold

fast to

Christ.

to

not

straight,

to

draw

near,

to

be

willing

to

suffer,

to

offer

sacrifice

of praise

through

Christ.

That's

the best

thing that

we can

do.

Your

present

leaders,

God

gives

godly

leaders

for the

good of

his

church.

Last

point,

our

timeless

and unchanging

Christ.

when you

have a

church

whose

leaders

are

holding

fast

to

Christ

and

the

church

is

holding

fast

to

Christ,

do you

know what

that means?

Jesus

Christ

is the

controlling

center

of that

church.

He's

the

sun

and

everything

is

orbiting

him.

It's

a

beautiful

thing.

What I

love about

this

passage

is that

it's

book-ended

with

leaders

past

leaders

who

have

died

verse

7

and

then

present

leaders

who

are

living

verse

17

and

what

you

have

in

between

in

8

through

16

is

the

timeless

and

unchanging

Christ.

The

one

who

connects

past

leaders

and

present

leaders

and

future

leaders.

It's

all about

him.

Verse

8

is

one

of

my

favorite

verses

in

the

Bible.

Jesus

Christ

is

the

same

yesterday

today

and

forever.

I'm going to have you say that with me.

You ready?

Jesus Christ

is the same

yesterday

today

and forever.

He's the one that never changes.

Christ is the last and final word of God.

Hebrews 1.

Christ is the creator and upholder of the universe.

Hebrews 1.

Christ after making purification for sins

he sat down at the right hand of God

in glory.

He's on the throne.

He's a giver of grace

right now.

Christ is greater than the angels.

Christ is greater than Moses.

Christ is greater than the little biblical priesthood

because he's from the line of Melchizedek.

Christ through his once for all sacrifice

shedding his blood

he inaugurated the new covenant

which is better than the old.

He's made it obsolete in passing away.

Christ is built on better promises.

There's no changing

in the eternally existent

second person of the Trinity

from everlasting

to everlasting.

He is God.

Totally God.

Totally man.

He is

our great

salvation.

Timeless and unchanging.

He's at the center

of it all.

salvation is found

in no one else

and we must not neglect

this great salvation.

That's why Christian leaders

must hold fast to Christ

because he's at the center

of it all

and when we're holding fast

to Christ

we can help others

hold fast to Christ.

So he's at the center

of it all.

So in light of who Jesus is

he's at the center

of it all.

Let me just point you

to a few ways

we keep Christ central

together.

How we hold fast

to Christ.

The first is in verses

9 and 10.

Godly leaders

keep their church

from being led astray

from Christ.

Verse 9

Do not be led away

by diverse and strange

teachings

by false teachings

and false teachers

leaders

stand in the gap.

We say no

you don't want to go that way.

You don't want to follow that.

You don't want to digest

that bad stuff.

In this context

it had to do with

the teaching

under the old covenant

on food

and former altars

and sacrifices

of animals

and the writer of Hebrews

is saying

no no

that's all gone.

it has no benefit

for your heart

only God's grace does.

And so your leaders

what we're aiming

to do is this

we're aiming

to

lead you to Christ

through his word

again and again.

Not

get in the way

of people leading you

away from Christ.

Christ

we want you

to hold fast

to him

all the way

to the end.

So we're going to

tell you

don't go down

the way of legalism

don't go down

the way of licentiousness

worldliness

has no benefit

long term benefit

for your soul

only God's grace

from the throne does.

Godly leaders

keep their church

from being led

away from Christ

into false teaching.

Godly leaders

the second thing

help their church

suffer for Christ.

In 11 and 12

we read

for the bodies

of those animals

whose blood

is brought

into the holy places

by the high priest

as a sacrifice

for sin

are burned

outside the camp.

It's being talked

about as the day

of atonement

when the high priest

would slaughter

an animal

on an altar

outside the tabernacle

and he would

bring the blood

into the holy of holies

sprinkle it

on the mercy seat

and then the body

of that animal

sacrifice

would be brought

outside the gate.

It wouldn't be eaten

by the priest

it would be brought

outside the gate

because it was seen

as unclean

and burned.

Outside the gate

outside the camp

means something

that is defiled.

And if you look

at verse 12

so Jesus

also suffered

outside the gate

the once and for all

sacrifice

for our sins

for salvation

he was seen

as being

outside the camp.

It's a picture

of suffering

it's a picture

of being

kind of like

made an outsider

outside the gate

of Jerusalem

on Calvary.

Christ's death

the death

of the Messiah

on the cross

is scandalous.

To the Jews

it was

it was just

utter weakness

to Greeks

it was just

foolishness

but for those

who are being

saved

it's the power

of God.

God the leaders

help their church

go outside

the gate

to where

Jesus is

to bear

his reproach

to suffer

with him

and you know

the one of the ways

we do it

look at verse 14

for here we have

no lasting city

but we seek

the city

that is to come.

Our job

is to keep

reminding you

again and again

hey

life isn't here

it's not here

we're passing

through

we're aliens

and strangers

we're on our

way

we're Zion

bound

godly leaders

help their churches

go outside

the gate

finally

godly leaders

help their

churches

offer

new covenant

sacrifices

to God

through Christ

we read here

in verse 15

through him

Christ

and let us

continually

offer up

a sacrifice

of praise

to God

not food

not animals

no Christ

is our once

for all sacrifice

do you know

what we offer

up

praise

lips

that acknowledge

God's name

Zach

Melgren

keep giving

us

great songs

that we

would be able

to offer

up to

our God

Sunday

after Sunday

just

sacrifices

of praise

with our lips

together

to give him

the glory

that's a new

covenant

sacrifice

brothers and

sisters

that's the

result of

Christ's

sacrifice

but there's

another

sacrifice

here

do not

neglect

to do

good

and to

share

what you

have

for such

sacrifices

are pleasing

there is a

horizontal way

of offering

praise to

God

of acceptable

worship

and that is

not neglecting

to do good

and to share

what you have

and given

that this is a

passage

about leaders

there's probably

some dimension

of this

is don't neglect

to do good

to your leaders

to share

what you have

with them

these are

ways that we

are keeping

the timeless

and unchanging

Christ

center to

our life

together as

a church

by not being

led astray

from him

but rather

we draw near

by be willing

to suffer for

him outside

the gate

by offering

sacrifices

to God

through

Christ

we together

hold fast

to him

God

gives

godly

leaders

for the

good

of his

church

let me

wrap up

by saying

this

we are

to remember

our past

leaders

who held

fast to

Christ

I've got

some

we obey

and submit

to our present

leaders

who are

holding fast

to Christ

so that they

can help

us hold

fast to

Christ

and we

keep the

timeless

and unchanging

Christ

central

together

not being

led astray

being willing

to suffer

giving him

praise

we live

at a time

when

there is

growing

skepticism

over leaders

even church

leaders

but church

that doesn't

need to be

true of

us

of Christ

the King

church

God

God gives

godly

leaders

for the

good of

his church

would you

repeat

after me

Christ

is my

risen

and reigning

priest

and king

the anchor

of my soul

the same

yesterday

today

and forever

that's

kind of

like in

those moments

when you're

marrying a

couple

and you're

walking through

the vows

and they

kind of

jump in

let's try

that again

the same

yesterday

today

and forever

to whom

we hold

fast

together

hey

why would

you

obey

and

submit

to the

leaders

of

Christ

the

King

church

here's

why

God

gives

godly

leaders

for the

good of

his

church

not

perfect

but

trustworthy

in order

to hold

fast

to Christ

to the

end

let's

pray

God

in

heaven

we

thank you

so much

I thank

you for

Steve

and for

Les

and for

John

I thank

you for

Zach

and God

as I

thanked you

this morning

thank you

for this

calling

this

sacred

responsibility

of giving

leadership

to your

people

your blood

bought

people

God

thank you

that we

are in

this

together

Zion

bound

God

would you

grow

us

would you

keep us

from straying

from Christ

would you

make us

willing to

suffer for

Christ

outside the

gate

and God

would you

cause there

to be

in us

growing

joy

as we

offer

sacrifices

of praise

to you

Sunday

after Sunday

in Jesus

name we

pray

amen

amen

Thank you.