Sermons

The Letter to the Hebrews Obeying Leaders Who Watch Over Our Souls Hebrews 13:17ff Most of the time the preaching here at Mercy Hill focuses on one book of the Bible, going through it verse by verse from start to finish. And one reason we do this is because it helps ensure that you will get a balanced diet of biblical truth. For example, think of the rich food we’ve feasted on in the book of Hebrews – • That Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, equal to God the Father in every way. • How Jesus is the perfect high priest with the complete sacrifice for our sins, • That, because of Christ, we can confidently draw near to God and receive all the grace and mercy we need, • That we must battle unbelief in our hearts. • How we need each other to help us not be deceived. • That just like Abraham, the way we obey is by faith – by trusting God’s promises. • That every trial we face involves God’s loving training. • And that our hearts will be strengthened by God’s grace. What a feast! So what is on the menu for this morning? It’s a truth that’s a bit outside my comfort zone – one I would not ordinarily choose to preach on. To see what that truth is – let’s turn to Hebrews 13:17. If you don’t have a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Hebrews 13 is on page 1010 in the Bibles we are passing out. This is the last chapter in Hebrews. And in this chapter the author covers urgent and specific issues his readers need to work on. So look at what he mentions in v.17 -- 17 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. So here he is talking about how believers should relate to church leaders. So let’s start with this question -- Who are the leaders in the New Testament church? If we open the New Testament and ask what leadership offices were in the church? what we find is that churches had two main offices. First of all, there were elders, who are also called pastors and overseers. The book of Acts says that every church planted by Paul was led by a plurality of male elders who fit the qualifications found in 1 Timothy and Titus. And we see evidence of elders throughout the rest of the New Testament. So that’s why we have a plurality of male elders here at Mercy Hill. Jerry Shipp and I are the elders right now, and we are working hard on raising up a third, and then Lord willing a fourth and even more. Then secondly, there were also deacons. Deacons are either men or women who fulfill the qualifications described in 1 Timothy 3, and who help the elders in shepherding the church. All of our home group leaders are deacons, as are the leaders of various other ministries. So with that in mind let’s look back at v.17. When we read “obey your leaders and submit to them,” you should be thinking of Jerry and me and your home group or ministry leader. But we also need to ask -- What does Jesus Christ call these leaders to do? And to answer that, read v.17 again – 17 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. Your leaders are called by Jesus Christ to keep watch over your soul. This is like what a shepherd does as he keeps watch over his sheep. He loves his sheep, cares for his sheep, brings a sheep back if he’s in danger of wandering toward a cliff. He makes sure his sheep have pasture and clean water. He protects his sheep from wolves and coyotes. So Jesus Christ raises up leaders to watch over your soul. Which means -- They get to know you, hear your story, understand you. They think about you, your life, and how you are doing. They pray for you, earnestly crying out to God to help and strengthen you. They encourage you when you are struggling, They comfort you when you are discouraged, They lovingly push you when you are lazy, They humbly correct you when you are wandering They affirm you when you are doing well. Isn’t that beautiful? This is how Jesus Christ wants the church to function. Jesus Christ wants every believer to be part of a church where we have leaders who watch over our souls. Jesus loves you. He purchased you with his own blood. And so he wants you to have loving leaders who watch over your soul. But sadly – many believers don’t have this. Either because they are not part of a church community. Or because they go to a Sunday worship gathering here, and maybe a Bible study here, and maybe a ministry there – but they have no one who is called by Jesus Christ to watch over their soul. So every church needs to ask – how are we going to structure our church so we can watch over every soul? And there are lots of possible answers – but our answer is – through home groups. Which is why we encourage everyone to do everything they can to be part of a home group. So church is not just a Sunday gathering. And it’s also not just a Sunday gathering and a small group here and a ministry there. Church means being part of a community in which someone is called by Jesus Christ to lovingly watching over your soul. Jesus loves you that much. He wants every one of his flock to have this. And what motivates leaders to keep watch over your souls? Leaders are motivated by zeal for Jesus’ glory and love for you. But there’s another motivation mentioned in v.17 – 17 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. Notice that we are to keep watch over your souls AS those who will give an account. So the fact that we know we will give an account motivates us to keep watch over your souls. So leaders, think of this. One day you will stand before Jesus Christ. And he will look at you with great love and say – tell me about George. I love George, I died to save George – how did you watch over him? Tell me how you prayed for him? Tell me about how you listened to him. How did you love him and weep with him and comfort him? Did you confront him? Did you encourage him? How did you watch over him? So let me urge all of us who are leaders – watch over the souls for whom you are responsible. • Get to know them – their joys, their burdens, their struggles. • Pray for them – earnestly and diligently and sacrificially. • Encourage them where you see them growing. • If you see them stumbling – go to them. Call them. Meet with them. Weep with them. Love them. Point them to Jesus. Warn them. Encourage them. • If you see them lax in some area – humbly ask them about it. Open God’s Word with them. Help them work through their questions. Speak God’s truth to them. Encourage them with what God can do in their hearts. Tell them you are committed to them. • And when you see them doing well – affirm them, encourage them, thank them, bless them. Most of this will never be seen by anyone else here on earth. But Jesus sees it all. And the day is coming when you will give an account to him of how you have cared for his flock. So – watch over the sheep who are allotted to your care. So that’s what we leaders need to hear. But the main command in v.17 is directed not to the leaders – but to everyone else. So let’s ask -- how should we respond to these leaders? Read v.17 again – 17 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. We are to respond to them by obeying and submitting to them. So what does that mean? There are at least four crucial points. First, it DOES mean giving weight to the counsel of your leaders, and after prayer and consideration obeying it. Let’s say your home group leader meets with you, asks how you are doing, and you share that you aren’t getting any time in prayer or God’s Word. And after talking more you share that you are playing computer games for 3 or 4 hours every night. And your leader lovingly and humbly listens to you. And then with great tenderness and strength he looks you in the eyes and says – You need to stop the computer games. It’s spiritual suicide to not get time in prayer and God’s Word. So he encourages you to stop playing computer games until you have re-established a rhythm of daily time meeting the Lord in prayer and God’s Word. And maybe at first your hackles rise up, and you think – who is he to tell me what to do? But then you remember – he is watching over my soul. He’s going to give an account to Christ for how he has watched over my soul. So you give weight to his counsel. You pray about his counsel and think about his counsel. You see that his counsel is biblical. So you obey his counsel. Second, it does NOT mean obeying your leaders over Christ and His Word. We do all we can to make sure that Mercy Hill leaders would never tell you to do something against Christ and His Word. We have a very rigorous application and assessment process for deacons, and an even more rigorous application and assessment process for elders. But you might still face this, if not here, then elsewhere. So what should you do if a leader ever urged you to believe or do something against Christ and his Word. Like what should you do if a leader told you that Jesus Christ was not fully God? You should understand that your ultimate obedience is to Jesus Christ and His Word, not to that leader. So if a leader ever tells you to believe or do something against God’s Word – you must obey Christ and His Word – which means you must not obey that leader. Third, it does NOT mean keeping your opinions or disagreements to yourself. Let’s say you think your home group needs more prayer time – that the prayer times have been rushed and too short. Since you are supposed to be obedient and submissive to your home group leaders, would that mean you not say anything? Not at all. We are a body. We need each other. You might have exactly the wisdom your home group leader needs. So if you have a concern, don’t keep it to yourself. Don’t let it fester. And don’t share it with others, since that could harm the unity of the Body of Christ. Instead, take it right to your leader. Share it humbly, lovingly, and respectfully. They will listen to you. They will respect your opinion. So talk with them. Pray with them. Great good will come out of that. Questions? One last question? Why is it so important to obey and submit to your leaders? Read the verse again -- 17 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. If you obey and submit to your leaders, the their watching over you will be with joy. But if you don’t, if you are rebellious and complaining and divisive, their watching over you will be with groaning, groaning with concern for you, groaning with weeping for you, groaning with sorrow over you. And the author says that would be of no advantage to you. Which means it would be serious for you spiritually. So what does this mean for us? Two things -- Leaders – watch over those who are allotted to your care, because you will give an account. And the rest of us – obey and submit to our leaders.