God's Design For Church Leadership, Part 1 (Hebrews 13:17) | Worship Service

Call to Worship and Congregational Singing

Well, good morning and welcome to Kootenai Church. We're glad that you have joined us today. Would you please stand as we begin our service this morning with a call to worship from the book of Psalms, chapter 148.

Psalm 148, verses 1 to 5, and it says, praise YAH. Praise YAHweh from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise Him all His angels. Praise Him all His hosts. Praise Him sun and moon. Praise Him all stars of light.

Praise Him heavens of heavens and the waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of YAHWEH for He commanded and they were created. Let's sing together all creatures of our God and King.

Oh. They'll never be ashamed. They'll never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard me And saved me from My enemies. The Son of God Surrounds His saints. He will deliver them. He will deliver them.

Magnify the Lord. Exalt His name. Together that the Lord is good. Oh blessed is He who hides in His saints. He'll give you everything. He'll give you everything. Glory day and eyes. Let us bless the Lord.

Every day and night. Ending prayer. Exalt. Exalt His name. Exalt by the Lord and sing and wonder. Let us praise YAH's loud thunder. He has quenched Mount Sinai's flame. He has washed us with His blood.

Has washed us with His blood. With His blood Presents our souls. To God's Incantation threatens hard to bear us now for the Lord our strong salvation. Yes, oh under grace and justice. Our trust and joy before and good morning.

Church Announcements and the Biblical Counseling Conference

There are just in your bulletin two things. I'd like to draw your attention to first of all as. Well, one of them is rather short one of them was a little bit longer as mentioned or promised last week.

There was a qr code in your bulletin if you'd like to register for the church picnic in august august 18th. It's five dollars for smoked tri-tip. Five dollar donation for everybody 12 and up helps cover the cost of that.

Uh, i'm not going to badger you from here on out. You're going to see it in there. I might mention it a couple weeks before but he who has ears to hear let him hear. Five dollars for smoked tri-tip and If you don't want to take advantage of that you shouldn't be out by yourself unaccompanied by an adult.

Second and this is a little bit more of a extended announcement. You'll notice in your bulletin that there is an insert there for advertising a Three weekend conference in september october and november of this fall.

This is a biblical conf biblical counseling conference that we are hosting here. And the cost is 145 145 per person. And we are doing this where we have there's a biblical counseling training center in spokane.

We're having them come in and put on these three weekends to train anybody who wants to come to this in biblical counseling. And we want to raise up in our congregation people who can do this who are Capable of doing this and willing to do this and there's information there about how to even get a rebate on that as a church.

We're going to sponsor Uh 20 people if you fill out an application for this you can get if you go to all three weekends. You can get a hundred dollars back off of your 145 Commitment to that if you complete the course and go all three weekends september october and november.

So if that is an interest to you, I would encourage you to mark those dates on your calendar. And talk to jennifer barba who's up here in the front row on this side to my left if you have any questions about Um how to take advantage of that or what that's going to involve um.

And we are happy to put that on and host that as a church. We think it will be for the benefit and the blessing of our entire congregation. So i'd encourage you if you are interested in that to avail yourself of it.

It will be time well spent I think. Turn now if you will please to the book of acts to chapter 20. Acts chapter 20. We're going to begin reading at verse 17 and read through the end of the chapter. Acts chapter 20 i'll set this up a little bit before we I read the passage this is During paul's third missionary journey.

He is on his way back to jerusalem. He was in a hurry to get back to jerusalem in time for a feast for he had made a vow and was Intending to be back in jerusalem in order to keep that vow. And he was visiting some believers in various locations on his way back to jerusalem.

So rounding up his third missionary journey. And he could have gone into the city of ephesus and where he had spent a good deal of time. And visited believers there but paul I think feared that that would end up sidetracking him and he wouldn't be able to get away and Get to jerusalem.

So instead he stopped in a place called miletus and he sent to ephesus to have the elders Come out to him and and there next to the seashore by the ship the apostle paul Gave this address to the ephesian elders.

He is convinced at that time that this is the last time that he's going to see this group of elders In this beloved church men that he knew and so there is a review here in this passage of how he had conducted himself In ministry as an apostle and and in establishing that church and then there is also Some direct charge here to church leaders in acts chapter 20.

So beginning at verse 17 From miletus he sent to ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him he said to them You yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in asia how I was with you the whole time Serving the lord with all humility and with tears And with trials which came upon me through the plots of the jews.

How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly and from house to house solemnly testifying to both jews and greeks of repentance toward god and faith in our lord jesus christ and now Behold bound by the spirit.

I am on my way to jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there except That the holy spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city Saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself So that I may finish my course in the ministry, which I received from the lord jesus To testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of god.

And now behold, I know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will no longer see my face. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent to the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of god.

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the holy spirit has made you overseers to shepherd The church of god which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock.

And from among your own selves men will arise Speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert Remembering that night and day for a period of three years. I did not cease to admonish each one with tears and now I commend you to god and to the word of his grace Which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner You must help the weak and remember the words of the lord jesus that he himself said It is more blessed to give than to receive.

When he had said these things he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced paul and repeatedly kissed him grieving. Especially over the word which he had spoken that they would not see his face again.

And they were accompanying him to the ship. You stand with me as we pray. And let's bow our heads. Our father we have been reminded in this passage passage of how precious the church is to you and to your son the lord jesus christ.

For it is a blood-bought community of saints redeemed by the blood of christ and we have sung of that blood and of that redemption and of that purchase price which has Bought the salvation of all and any who will come to that savior.

So we thank you that you have That you have purchased us with such a high cost. We thank you that you care for our souls and have placed over your church men whose duty it is whose charge it is to Guard those who have been purchased by the blood of christ.

We thank you for this Precious body of christ that we get to belong to here. That we can gather together as your people and rejoice and serve you love you fellowship together. Yield our minds and our hearts before your word.

That you would be glorified through the obedience of your people. That is our desire we pray that through our time here in worship and in fellowship and the proclamation of your truth that You would be glorified that your people would be edified encouraged equipped reproved and strengthened in every way.

That you would conform us to the image of christ and make us a holy people. Who have not only been blood bought but blood washed and sanctified by that same grace that has purchased our redemption. Thank you for your great grace.

And we give you these thanks in the name of christ our lord. Amen.

Psalm 62 and the Closing Congregational Song

God brought out his people with a strong and mighty hand And took them out of slavery to behold the promised land. Mountains fled before them and the seas turned back and ran And they saw that He was good.

God is faithful Old to his throne he is with god is. God has come to free us from the bondage of our sin. Tasting of his kindness we cannot go back again. Leads us through the desert to the rivers of His grace working all things.

Have known your mercy And your love as in the past. If days be few or many you will guide us to the last. You have said it. We believe it every promise Old and fast for we know that you psalm 62 verses 5 to 8 it says.

Surely wait in silence for god. Oh my soul For my hope is from him. Surely he is my rock and my salvation My stronghold. I shall not be shaken On god my salvation and my glory rest. The rock of my strength my refuge is in god.

Trust in him at all times. Oh people Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. We're going to end our service music service this morning And sing together our lord my rock and my redeemer Greatest treasure Of my longing soul my god.

Like you there is no other True delight Is found in you or frail to deep to fathom. Exceeds the heaven a fount of perfect wisdom. Wisdom my highest good And cross laid on your shoulders. In my place you suffered bled and died Days.

Now you please turn your bibles to the book of hebrews to chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13.

The Call to Obey Church Leaders in Hebrews 13

I'm going to begin reading at verse 15 and we'll read through the end of verse 19 15 to 19 and then we'll pray together hebrews 13 beginning at verse 15. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to god.

That is the fruit of lips that give thanks to his name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing for with such sacrifices. God is pleased. Obey your leaders and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not with grief. This would be unprofitable for you. Pray for us for we are sure that we have a good conscience desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. And I urge you all the more to do this so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Let's pray together. Our gracious god, we do ask your blessing upon our time of study and reflection in your word. We pray that your spirit would teach us through this text our responsibility. What is the path to our joy and to our glory and delight.

And we pray that you would incline our hearts and our souls in obedience to your word. That we may enjoy your word and obedience to it in every way and we pray that this word may not fall upon our Deaf ears and a hardened heart but receptive ears and a softened heart.

So that you may be glorified through and in your people and in your church both now and forever. We pray amen. Well, we are almost at the end of this list of exhortations in hebrews 13. These are the implications of kingdom citizens implications for kingdom citizens.

We are commanded to obey this series of commands that he's been giving us in chapter 13. Because we have been given a kingdom chapter 12 verses 28 and 29 and because we look forward to a city which is to come.

That magnificent grace that magnificent future grace promised to us. Should so captivate our heart and drive our obedience that that we long to glorify christ through Doing what he commands us to do for the reasons that he commands us to do them.

These are the part of the author's parting exhortations. He is about to sign off with a benediction beginning in verse 20 and going through the end of the chapter. But before he does that as he nears the end of this epistle.

There is one final exhortation that has to do with church leadership. And we find that in verses 17 to 19 and it has to do with church leadership and our relationship to it. Our obligations to it and as you're going to see this is an important topic because it is connected to Our eternal spiritual well-being and good and even our eternal reward and loss.

It is important To the soul of the believer that we understand what the author is describing here in verses 17 and 19. Let us read verse 17 again. Obey your leaders and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls.

As those who will give an account let them do this with joy and not with grief. For this would be unprofitable to you last week. We looked at verses 15 and 16. Verse 17 now is a rather straightforward command.

There's a lot not a lot of background information or detail there. There's a little bit of an assumed Assumed understanding between the author and his audience. Maybe in some assumptions there that I cannot necessarily make with all of us here.

There are a number of questions here that beg for answers. For instance, what does it mean to obey church leadership and to submit to them? In what areas of my life am I to do this? Who are these leaders that are mentioned in verse 17?

What does it mean that they keep watch over our souls? And what does it mean that church leaders will give an account? And what will be the basis of that accounting and to whom will they give an account and when will they give an account?

How do I bring church leaders joy and not grief and how might my conduct in this regard be Unprofitable to me that seems like a rather solemn warning at the end of verse 17 doesn't this would be unprofitable for you something of an understatement.

And I want to confess something to you at the outset. This is a difficult topic for me to preach on in my home church and the reason for that is obvious because This can seem very self-serving. Because I am a leader here I'm in the group that is described in verse 17.

And most of you are in the group that is called to obey the group described in verse 17. So how does a pastor? Preach on this with any of the detail to which you have become accustomed over the last number of years.

Without it sounding as if I have some sort of agenda or I am up here to simply reassert my authority and There's no way that it cannot at least in the eyes of some seem self-serving and maybe that's just the danger of this.

But those of you who know me even a little bit Know that this would make me and it does make me very uncomfortable in my own skin to deal with a subject like this. Not that I have a problem with the command.

I don't. I think it's a good command. If I weren't an elder in the church, I would stand up and preach this passage just as i'm about to preach it to you today and next week as well, but Being that I happen to be in the role that is described here in leadership.

It's just feels a little awkward. I cannot tell you How many times I have thought about this verse since I started the book of hebrews? And thought of it with dread not with any kind of gleeful anticipation whatsoever.

There are five warning passages in the book of hebrews that are considered by Some if not most to be the five most difficult passages in all of scripture to interpret and to understand consistently five warning passages.

I Chose to go through the book of hebrews so that we could address those warning passages. I was looking forward to the warning passages, but since hebrews 1 verse 1 I have been dreading today. Having to deal with this subject from my position as a church leader.

So I want to get this out of the way at the very beginning. I'm not preaching this because we as a church Need to have this addressed amongst us as a congregation. That's not the point of this. That is not to say that there is nobody here who needs to hear the warning at the end of this verse.

And give consideration to the command that's given to us here. It's not to say that but it is to say that the elders did not cherry pick this verse and have me Come up here and preach it because some of you need to something that needs to be addressed.

That was not it at all. In fact, if this were not the next subject in the next verse, I wouldn't be talking about this at all If it were not in the text. So we have a responsibility to deal with the text as it is and however awkward this is going to be for me.

Is we're just going to here we go. So while acknowledging things, let me acknowledge a few other things about this topic of submitting to authority. This sounds very antiquated to our modern ears. The idea of submitting to authority very antiquated to us.

We live in an individualistic era where we can Feel like we are in contact with everybody while keeping everybody at arm's length because we can do it electronically. And we can feel like we are in front of everybody while really being known and transparent to nobody at all.

We can feel like we are not isolated when in fact we are very isolated. Each man can be an island to himself unaccountable and independent and that is largely the spirit of the age in which we live. I have no need of friendship.

Friendship causes pain. It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. Hiding in my room safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me. I am a rock. I am an island. A rock feels no pain and an island never cries.

Right great poet prophet paul simon send those words. That's the spirit of our age. I can be isolated. Transparent to no one accountable to no one. I can do my own thing. I can go from one church to another church without submitting to anybody without heeding any counsel without heeding any Instruction without having anybody watch over my soul and it is possible unfortunately in this day and age to do that month after month year after year for an entire lifetime.

And simply avoid the type of accountability and command that is given to us in verse 17. This command also seems quite unnecessary to modern life. I mean, why should I be in submission to church leaders?

Who are my church leaders? I can just zoom a church or live stream or listen to the podcast later on if I don't have time to go on a sunday morning. It is possible for us to sit in and observe almost any church service in the country.

On any given sunday now that is both a blessing and it is a curse. It's a blessing for everyone and it is a curse in different ways for everyone. Because we can be tricked into thinking that we have pastors who don't even know we exist.

They don't know us. And we can think that john macarthur is my pastor or r .c Sproul is my pastor or this guy who passes a big church in indiana is my pastor. Or for people listening to the live stream and watching the live stream.

You're somewhere else in the country and you think that this is your church and that i'm your pastor and and i'm not. I can't be. I can't possibly be that and fulfill the command that is given to by by implication to church leaders in this passage.

And and somebody sitting at home simply live streaming a service cannot possibly obey the commands that are in this passage. Especially with the spirit of god's intention behind those commands. And then third this command seems quite ridiculous to american ears.

Doesn't it submit to authority? Are you kidding me? We're americans, you know submit to any do you even fourth of july bro? We don't submit to any authority. We get to pick and choose our authority. I know what's best for my family.

I know what's best for me. I know what's best for my life and i'll do it and I don't need anybody telling me what I should do. Or holding me accountable to do what I don't think I need to do. That is the american spirit of the age.

Attitude in 99 of evangelicalism and it is sinful and wrong and wicked and evil to the core. It is as the sin of witchcraft. And we need to understand that and recognize it. So we have a command here and we're just going to do our best to figure out what this command means.

And how we are going to submit? In reality, we submit to all kinds of people all the time. You recognize that don't you? You just don't submit to the ones you don't like. That's how that works for us.

But we will submit to the we will submit to the council or the instruction of our doctor. We go in he gives us the results and he says you need to do this. This is your treatments going to cost you a couple of years of your life.

You're going to have to be diligent. You have to do it every day. You have to do every week. And this is what is going to be required if you want to live through this and get through this. And we will do what the doctor tells us to do almost religiously.

And we will submit to legal counsel that gives us advice and tells us what we are should do and should not do. We'll submit to that we'll submit to financial advisors who tell us what to invest in and what to avoid and how to use our money and how to Structure this for retirement and we will submit to law enforcement at the scene of a crime or at the scene Of an accident and we do all of that.

We submit to all kinds of people all of the time in all kinds of environments. And why do we do it? We do it because we are convinced that they know something that we don't know. That they are aware of something that we are not aware of and that they love us and have our best interest in mind.

That's why we submit to them and I would suggest you it is the same thing that we have happening here in verse 17. We are called to submit to church elders not just because they happen to be the oldest guys among us or the best looking in my case or.

Or for some other reason we are called to submit to them because god in his providence and his wisdom has gifted his church. With a leadership structure that we ought to obey and to submit to and to cherish.

Good godly servant church leadership is god's good gift to his people. Hear that. And a congregation of people who honor submit to and cherish that leadership is god's good gift to those leaders. And when that works as it should.

It creates the closest thing that you can enjoy to have an honor. Now we're going to spend two weeks on this subject next week. We'll get into more of the specifics of the text. But today we're going to deal with some of the generalities here and I want to lay a little bit of a foundation for our understanding of church leadership and this is necessary because I would be foolish to assume that everybody in this building everybody listening to me right now.

Has the same understanding of the church leadership structure that I have. I would be a fool to assume that in any congregation this size. We are going to have all kinds of ideas about what church leadership is how it should be structured.

Who should be in charge of it how it is to be chosen, etc. There is no shared understanding here amongst everybody as there Obviously was between the author and the recipients of this letter because he doesn't go into a lot of detail about this.

He simply gives the command and you can see from the command that he is assuming. That there are certain kinds of leaders there that are worthy of submitting to and obeying. And so he simply reminds them of their duty to do this.

In a large congregation of this size with people from all kinds of different backgrounds. I know that there are people here who come from churches with a biblical structure of church leadership. You were in one before and you now have moved to this area and One of the things that attracted you to kootenai is that you saw the same thing here that you had in a previous church.

I understand there are people here who are like that and there are people here who come from churches with unbiblical church structure and unbiblical church leaders. And you aren't even really aware some of you even what a biblical church structure Should or would look like if you stumbled across it because you've never thought about it.

Some of you here have a church background of one painful experience after another. And one example after another of people in positions of spiritual authority. Who abused that authority and neglected their people and used it for their own ends?

And there are people here who have nothing but great church backgrounds where you went from one church to another and All the lord ever gifted you with was people that were biblical structure and biblical people who cared for your soul.

There are people here who have never given any thought or ever considered what an elder is what a deacon is. What the relationship between them are what they do why they should be qualified who should be doing it and what they should be doing.

And you read elder and deacon in the new testament and you think okay, I see those two things. I'm, not sure what the difference is between them. Do they work with each other in competition with each other?

Do we get to pick and choose which kind we have and what? Assignments we give to them and I don't even know how the pastor fits into that because he's not an elder or a deacon. He's this he's this other entity out here.

The sort of floating by himself and sometimes he takes instructions from the elders and deacons and sometimes he gives Instructions to the elders and deacons and the whole thing can be quite confusing.

Honestly. If you've never given any thought to what church biblical biblical church structure should be. There's almost no end to the variety of ways. The church leadership is structured and operated in the united states around the world.

Unfortunately, and consequently this has created more confusion than clarity among god's people. So today is going to be a brief introduction to this subject and if you want more information on biblical church eldership I'm going to require i'm going to I was going to say require i'm going to suggest two resources.

Two resources for you first something that's more homegrown several years ago. One of our elders dave rich preached or taught a series of adult sunday school lessons on the subject of biblical eldership.

Those are on our website and at one time. They were the second most downloaded resource that we had on our website and not by people. It's not like we just have you know, three or four downloads a year or anything like that.

Not just by people inside of our congregation. But I know people around the country people who have come up to me at shepherd's conference and said I listened to. That series of lessons on biblical eldership that you have on your website by that dave guy.

Is he still with you? And yeah, he is and and they say that that just changed their life changed their church. It is a fantastic series. I highly commend that to you. And if you want to go into even more and better detail than that, I would commend the book biblical eldership by alexander strock.

S-t-r-a-u-c-h alexander strock biblical eldership anything that alexander strock writes is is worth its weight in gold. He has books on elders books on deacons a book on hospitality church leadership, etc.

Anything by alexander strock is worth picking up and reading. Now let's jump to our text. Because we are running out of time and I haven't said anything important yet. Jump to our text. Who are these leaders?

We're just going to answer. I'm again. I'm laying some foundation here for you today. We're going to talk about biblical church structure what that looks like. Why we are structured the way that we are and what you should look for if you're looking for a biblical church structure.

So we're going to begin by looking at what the new testament says about church leadership. Because you'll notice in verse 17 that the term leaders is used there. But i'm going to spoil a little bit of the ending here for you at the front end.

The word for elder or deacon is not used in verse 13. I'm assuming or i'm going to make the case for you that what is understood here is elders in verse 17. Now the new testament is far from silent. About the subject of church leadership and church leadership structure.

Most churches in america have a very laissez-faire attitude towards church leadership just sort of structure it. However, you want to structure it you can do this. You can have a church committee pick a few elders pick a few deacons kind of give them assignments and maybe when you do a really good job as a deacon you become an elder in training and then an elder and.

And and then we got to throw in a pastor. Of course we have a music pastor in there and we should have a a pastor of the sound booth and we have a pastor for youth and we have a pastor of music ministry a pastor for old people a pastor for young people and a pastor for crippled people and a pastor for one-legged people and a pastor for blonde haired people and.

And we just give everybody the title of pastor giving no thought at all to what they should be doing or they should be. That is the approach of most churches. In fact, if you're a faithful giver. We're just going to call you a pastor.

Make you the pastor of technology. Your job is just to yeah, there's one person in the back raising their hands you you get to stream the service. You're the pastor of technology. God has been very clear crystal clear about the subject of church leadership.

And there is though there may be room for Varieties of ways that men within this structure can relate to one another and use their giftedness. I do not believe that there is any wiggle room at all concerning the nature of the structure itself and the roles that people within that structure fulfill.

From strock's book. I only have one quote from him. Even though the whole book would be worth reading to you here one quote from him. Strock says this not only does the new testament record the existence of elders in numerous churches.

It also gives instruction about elders and to elders. In fact, listen to this the new testament offers more instruction regarding elders than on other important church subjects. Such as the lord's supper the lord's day baptism or spiritual gifts.

Stop for just a second. The new testament offers more information About elders and eldership than it offers about the lord's supper the lord's day baptism or spiritual gifts. To tell you what the emphasis in the new testament is.

And yet churches will go to war over those other issues. All the while neglecting what scripture says about biblical eldership. Back to strock's quote when you consider the new testament's characteristic avoidance Of detailed regulation and church procedures when compared to the old testament the attention given to elders is amazing.

Close quote. God has been very clear. Now, what are elders. Who are these leaders? They're not named in verse 17. You'll notice he just uses the word that could be translated guides and it is translated here in the nasb as leaders.

It's not any of the three words that are used to describe an elder or a pastor and it is not the word for deacon. It's more of a general term that is not specific. But I would make the case to you that what is being assumed here is that he is talking about elders and I would Suggest that to you because he describes their office or their work as being those who watch over your souls.

That describes a shepherding work the shepherding and soul care. So while the word elder or shepherd pastor is not used the work that an elder or shepherd does do is described in the passage. He describes their function and accountability.

Now it may be. Because here's one of the interpretive questions. Why does the author use the term leaders and not elders and deacons or elders or deacons? And it may be for this very reason that in this church in That the hebrews was originally written to that there may have been both elders and still apostles who might have lived in that church.

Especially if you're dealing with a gathering of jewish believers sometime prior to 63 64 ad when hebrews would have been written. It's likely that there were still apostles on the scene at that time.

And it's likely that there would have been an apostle inside of that church. So rather than saying obey and submit to your apostles your elders and your deacons. He just sort of uses the term leaders to describe people in the church who had a god-given spiritual authority in the congregation.

This could be apostles and elders or elders and deacons because the truth is that deacons Do have a delegated authority within the church. It is a delegated authority by the elders to do certain things to engage in certain ministries.

And they exercise their certain spiritual gifts in capacities that involve oftentimes degrees of authority. So I think the author is just simply including elders and deacons in this. But I think primarily he is describing elders and we'll return to that here in a moment to show you more why?