I am going to dive right in where we left off the last time. We are still in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 7. So turn with me there. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." So, we've talked about what it means to remember. We've talked about what kind of men we were talking about. Now we want to see here in the context of Hebrews 13, who are we to remember? The governors of the church, the considerable ones. the ones who have taught us the Word of God or spoken it to us. So there is an implicit command here along with what follows to find those that speak only the Word of God. They do not teach the Word of men, they do not teach vain traditions, but they teach the Word of God. And so the implicit command here is a command to attend a faithful church. If you're going to submit to the eldership, you must find a church that teaches the Word of God. Notice the qualification of the Apostle here. Remember them which have the rule over you, and who are they? Who have spoken unto you the Word of God. So it must be the Word of God that is taught in that church where you hang your shingle, if you will. Again, we talked last hour about the duty that we have of submitting to eldership, the kind of eldership to which we are to submit. It's an eldership that teaches the Word of God. Well, this is a whole other discussion, isn't it? Because there are all kinds of churches out there. All kinds of elderships out there. But the implicit command here is to find those churches that are true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It cannot be stressed enough in our day. Implicit in these apostolic commands is that we attend and join faithful churches where the Word of God and not the Word of men is taught. And as we spoke last Bible reading in Deuteronomy chapter 8 about seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, so it may mean that some of us will have to forsake the land of our fathers to find a church where we can join. Some of us will have to cross state lines. I know my family and I did, and I don't hold us up as any kind of example in that. All we're doing is following the apostolic command. The apostolic command is to join a church where the Word of God is spoken, where the Word of God is preached, to come under the eldership, to have that kind of relationship with the elders there. But those elders must be a particular kind of elders, not anybody that has the name, you know, those guys that come knocking on your door that are barely shaven that have the tag that says elder. No, no, no, not those kind of elders. The kind of elders that teach the Word of God, who have a commitment. to teaching the Word of God, and that alone, not the doctrines and commandments of men. This means that our earthly estates might suffer. But if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, these other concerns will be filled up in God's good time, as it conduces to His glory and our good. Let me encourage you with the words of Peter. You know, after the After the discussion with the rich young ruler, the apostles say to Jesus, well, who can be saved? With men, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. And then Peter says, well, Lord, we've left houses and lands and all kinds of stuff. He said, don't you worry about that. In the end, you'll have eternal life. And God is able to fill up any lack that you have. But seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness, you see, that must be our prime mover, our directive. So yes, sometimes it'll mean, and my dear wife, you know, I don't mind talking her up a little bit. I mean, you know, she's a very close family. All of her earthly family is back there in Southern California. She packed up with me and followed me out here. And that was, you know, at some cost to her. But I'm sure that if you were to ask her, can I tell them that? If you were to ask her, she would say today that she has gained so much more by coming than she would have by staying. And this is true of all that would seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. They will find that their earthly estates have not suffered beyond what was difficult for them, however, what they have gained." Well, the Apostle Paul put it this way. I'm persuaded that the light afflictions that we suffer in this life are not worthy even to be compared to the glory which is to come. So there is an implicit command here that We exist in a relationship with the eldership of a church that teaches the word of God, a faithful church. People always, you know, they ask me from time to time about moving to an area, this area or that area. Of course, my first question is, where are you going to go to church? That may not be their first question. It is my first question, because if we're thinking about moving to an area, again, are we moving there to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? What would be the reason that we would move there? Now, we can have both, you know, if our employer is offering us a promotion, some other portion of the country, and there's a faithful gospel preaching church there, Bible preaching church there, where you can obey the commandment of the apostle here in Hebrews 13, 7 to to submit to those elders that teach you the word of God, then by all means, you're free to undertake such an opportunity. But if they offer you the best, if they offer you the CEO of the company in a place where there's no faithful church, what would seeking first the kingdom of God tell you then? Of course, we know the answer. But what a blessing it is when we are able to attend a church where we can worship in good conscience and come under the oversight of the session in Presbytery. So as far as those individuals enumerated here, we're not talking only about pastors or teaching elders, for all elders are called to instruct by means of the Word of God, 1 Timothy 3, 2. They're all to be apt to teach. Now, ruling elders, church governors, may not teach as a vocation, but certainly when they sit in counseling, When people ask them questions, when the session meets, there is a mutual understanding, a meeting of the minds, a coming together on what Scripture says there must be. And as I've told many of you before, I'll continue to say it, I'm appreciative of the educational requirements in the RPCGA for an educated eldership, which will only aid them in their duties. All right, so then beyond remembering them, which includes respect, love, and obedience. What else are we to do in verse 7 there? Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Of them, first of all, the Greek word there, it comes from a word that means to gaze intently, to behold. Intently beholding the outcome of their conversation or their living. In this connection, the apostle has in mind the rigors of the ministry, the trials, the triumphs, tragedies, and discouragements. Through them all, elders are to maintain an exemplary issue from their conversation at all times, no matter what the difficulty, no matter how much contact involved in the full contact sport. The elders are to maintain an exemplary carriage. They are to be examples to the flock in all things. As there are certain rigors of the ministry, as we've seen from the ministry of the Apostle Paul here. During that, during all of those rigors and during all of the trials and triumphs and all the rest of it, elders are to maintain an exemplary carriage so that there is something worthwhile for the people of God to intently gaze on, which is what the Greek word carries there. They are intently to behold the conversation of the elders. Elders, you are to live as an example before the people of God. That means 24-7. It means in your recreations, in your labors, in your social life, whatever your lives are, whatever they entail, you must live as examples. And people of God, you are to learn from your elders' example. These are, remember, they are the considerable ones, the weighty ones, the ones whose judgments are considered. So he is to continue to be an example. He is to have an outcome to his conversation. And that conversation and issue is worthy to take note of and to encourage the faint of heart. The people of God are to look for this example and this issue from their elders. The assumption is that they will find it. And so faithful elders will indeed serve as examples to the flock of Christ. And when they find it, they are to gaze intently upon it, not a passing glance. They must have respect for the office and for the faithful officer as they behold his steadfast and diligent labor in instruction, reputation, prayer, watch care, how he deals with disappointment, how he deals with rigor, and they're to take courage from his conversation, from the outcome of it. So this is a great burden upon the eldership to be an example. But it is also great encouragement to the people of God as they behold that example. Notice that they are to imitate their faith. This is a Greek imperative. Faith here has to do with the whole complex of understanding, commitment, conviction, and execution of his profession. It is how faith influences every aspect of his life. And the people of God are to learn their faith from their elders. They are not to be afraid of their elders. Rather, they are to learn from them. The people of God are to trust their elders. And again, this is why we vote, right? This is why we ask assent from the congregation first, because especially in Presbyterianism. And one of the things that sparked the Reformation was a tyrannical church authority. Remember that the Puritans were those in the British Isles that wanted a pure establishment of the church and part of what they thought was destroying the purity was the appointment of wicked ministers over people without their consent. Remember that there were bishops in the church in England in the in the Anglican church but also bishops elsewhere on the continent that were Roman Catholic. They never preached at all. They never once addressed the word of God to the people. They ran the business of the church. They were the businessmen, the CEOs of the parish, if you will. They got to say, you know, who got what benefits? Who got what largesse? Who got what, you know, income? Stipend. They distributed the funds of the church, and so they thought they held the power. See, they weren't seeking first the kingdom of God. These elders here, however, they are to be men whose faith is, if you will, out there, available for all to see, because they're constantly in and among. And once again, how can we be among, or how can these elders be imitated if they're not among the people? How can their faith be known if they're not among the people? All we will know, and this happens a lot, I think, all we know is a caricature of them rather than who they really are. Right. If all we ever do, you know, many of the much of the of the. Of the the the desire that we talked about in the last service, the desire to submit to elders that are long past, long dead. or elders that are somewhere else, is because all we have of them is their memoirs, if you will. We don't really have the nuts and bolts of how they lived, and many of those men of whom we have only the memoirs, when they seem so very wonderful in their memoirs, if they lived among us, we'd understand that they were men of flesh, much like us. And so, We have a it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a and it's not so far as what I would call hero worship. It's not anything like that, but it's an undue esteem to someone that doesn't really exist, that exists only in memoir. Someone who cannot be a proper church guy, you cannot imitate the faith of one who is long gone. Or one that is not among you. But when when I presented a couple weeks back to you, Mr. Dillard and Mr. Betch, part of the reason I did so is because I, for the last 10 years, have beheld their conversation and would hold them up to you for imitation. They have been among us. We know them. We've watched them. We've ministered with them. We've been together. So this word faith here, imitate their faith, It speaks of the whole complex of how elders deal with people that are without the church, people that are within the church, how they judge, how they sit, how they rule, how they order their families, how they work in their callings, and so on and so on, what their recreations are. I mean, how they live the Christian life. And living the Christian life, how we live the Christian life, We need to learn that one from another. And the Lord sets elders particularly in our midst for that very reason. That we'll have somewhere to look. This doesn't mean that the elders are perfect and we hold them up to a microscope and we magnify their faults. Please don't do that to me. You'll find too many. I have lots of faults. And I don't mind you bringing me my faults. Some of you have done that since we started here. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. You know, our desire is to do what's right. So, just like I tell you, as far as the preaching is concerned, you listen for the voice of the shepherd in the preaching of His Word, and that which you hear from Christ you do, and watch your elders, and that which you see That they are, where they are imitating what they see in the Word, imitate that of them. Just like the Apostle Paul said, be followers of me as I am of Christ. This is why the Lord has set elders in our midst. So that we might learn how to order our families, order our businesses, order our callings, order our recreations, how we work in the world, and so on, from them. Watch them. Learn by their example. It is also to teach us that we all need oversight and someone's faith to follow. Many of us were not raised in reformed households, and we need an example to show us how to do that. The people of God are to trust their elders. That's why we vote on them. That's why we state our assent to follow them and to learn from them and to work out the details of following Christ with them. This is how we learn to live the Christian life from the example of those whom the Lord has placed over us in authority. Now, one might say, there are no ministries where I live that are up to snuff. They're not worthy to be followed. And that is certainly possible. It is possible that certain people in this country live in areas where there are no gospel preaching churches, where there are no elders, that if you imitated their faith, it would be detrimental to you. That is certainly possible. There are apostate churches and apostate elders. But the command of the apostle is not thereby... You don't just throw it out. You don't throw out the command of the apostles simply because you look around and you can't find it. So you throw up your hands and say, I'm just going to go on being an independent. Again, these commands are clear. We have an imperative from the apostle here to find elders that will speak the word of God to us, to follow them and to imitate their faith. Seek first the kingdom of God. You know, listen, we didn't just get up one morning in California and say, we got to move. It was a long and difficult decision, took us quite a little bit to come to it. And then after we made the decision, yes, that's what we're going to do. We didn't do it in a disorderly fashion. We didn't just leave everything behind. Packed up what we could and came over. You know, it wasn't Beverly Hillbillies sort of thing. It takes planning. It takes a lot of understanding. It takes a commitment to obey the command of the apostle. Sometimes those commands are going to be difficult for us. We understand that. So make sure then if you're in such a case if you're listening to my voice on the Internet or if you think this church is that way. Make sure that the church really isn't worthy and that you're not overly scrupulous. Right. That's the first thing is that there are many that continue to hold themselves aloof from true churches out of an overly scrupulous conscience. The Lord has never commanded that we walk completely lockstep. He has commanded that we find a place where we can live and grow and be under authority. And then get in contact with someone you do trust and ask them for advice. Again, don't make such decisions on your own. And then if the advice is from someone that his is the only true church, you need to move there as soon as possible. Yeah, run, don't walk to the nearest exit. Make a plan to attend a church where you can fulfill the commands of the apostle. And if it's not local to you, then begin formulating a plan as to how and when you will do it and do it openly. Do it in an orderly fashion. Do it with good communication. Talk to the folks. Don't just show up on their doorstep one day. Talk to them. Ask them what they think. Maybe they know of a church in your area that you don't. Maybe you found a church on the radio or on the internet that you agree with. 100%. Ready to go. I'm moving tomorrow. Before you do, call them. Maybe they know of one 30 miles from you. that you didn't know about. There's all kinds of opportunities, all kinds of possibilities. Just don't operate in a vacuum, don't operate alone. Open yourselves up to counsel in these things. All right. So then let's move on to verse 17. I'm kind of hurrying through because I want to make sure we get to the end of verse 17. Verse 17 says, Obey them that have the rule over you. That's the first phrase there. Obey them that have the rule over you. The word for obey there is not the typical word that you'd see for obey in the scriptures, which is hupotasso, or some cognate of that. Hupotasso means, you know, to get in line. It's a military term. To fall into formation. That's not the word the apostle uses here. What he uses is much stronger than that. How can it be stronger than a military term? Because it involves your inner man. Because the word he uses is patho. which means to be convinced. Now, that's even stronger than simple obedience. Let's take a look. I want to make sure you understand that. So, let's look at a few areas, a few places in Scripture where this verb is used once again. And again, we're talking about it in the passive voice. I know, I know, you guys don't like it when I talk like this, but I've got to make you understand something here. That we have two different voices for verbs here that we can discuss. Active and passive. Okay? If I'm talking about an active voice, I'm going to convince you. But if I'm talking passive voice, you're going to be convinced, right? That passive voice verb is as if the subject of the sentence is put upon by something else, right? It's being put upon, it's passive in the process. We are to be convinced. Okay? Sometimes passive voice verbs, well, passive voice verbs and middle voice verbs are often the same form. The same in form, because we're involved in being convinced ourselves, right? That middle, that reflexive term. So to be convinced, that passive use of that verb appears all over the New Testament. Let's take a look at a few of them. Let's start first in Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16 and we'll go down to verse 31. And he said unto him if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. Of course that word they're persuaded. Neither will they be persuaded. That's the same word that we have in Hebrews 13 17 same word. In Luke 18, just skip over one page. Luke 18, verse 9. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Trusted in themselves. Were persuaded in themselves that they were righteous. Turn over one more page. Luke chapter 20, verse 6. But and if we say of men. All the people will stone us for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And then just a few uses I have I have 19 written down and we don't need to look at all 19 a couple of uses in action will be done. Acts chapter 17. Verse four and some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas and of the devout Greeks a great multitude and of chief women not a few and some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas. I think believe there is what is translated some of them were persuaded. Yeah I believe that that is correct in Acts 21 14. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done." Okay, so these few looks, now there are, I have 19 such verses, but these few, these six that we've looked at here, very clear. that what that verb, how that verb is normally translated is it's translated to be persuaded. Now you can see how the King James translators would translate it to obey because what they're telling you to do is be persuaded of their office, be persuaded of their example, be persuaded of who they are as those who have the rule over you. And if you are, you will what? You'll obey. So be persuaded of them that have the rule over you. Be persuaded that God has put them in office. Be persuaded that this is indeed the due order that God has set in His church. Be persuaded that when they tell you something, when they require something of you, that they're doing it not out of a self-aggrandizement, but for your good, as those who will, as he's going to go on to say, as those who will give an account. So be persuaded of them. The force of the word translated to obey is to be convinced or persuaded. Its active form, we have it in 2628 at Acts, where Agrippa says, All boast, thou persuadest me. Right? That's the active version, the active voice in it. But that passive voice is to be persuaded. Paul was not the problem here, right? You think that the presentation the apostle gave to Agrippa was somehow insufficient, and so Griffith said, oh, almost. If you'd just done this instead, I'd have been persuaded. No. No, it's a will problem, isn't it? That's right. So for those who will not be persuaded, it's a will problem. As long as everything is done in order, as long as everything is done according to a proper order, as long as people are set in office with the consent of the congregation, with the ordination of the presbytery, with the examination and approval of them, as long as all of those things are in place. If people will then not be convinced, there remains another problem. And so the same word is used again in Hebrews 13, 17. It's command to trust and obey, to be persuaded, to be convinced of the elders that the Lord has given you. Now, it cannot be a blind and implicit trust. And any church that would require a blind faith or an implicit faith of you is no church at all but is a synagogue of Satan. That is a true statement. This is why officers are not foisted on the people in Presbyterian churches. We don't require you to submit to people you don't trust. cannot be blind and implicit. Still, apart from evidence to the contrary and absent mitigating circumstances, this command is to be obeyed. This will mean something more than a laissez-faire attitude toward becoming convinced. It will mean that God's people, armed with their desire to obey, will do what is in their power to obey, to become convinced. Now, it may mean that one will ask questions to seek to get to know the elders. They are, of course, as we've seen, to be under authority somewhere. whether here or somewhere else. And so, it becomes necessary that those questions that remain must be answered. And so, who are we to obey then? Who are we to be persuaded of? In whom are we to have that informed trust here on earth? Well, it's very clear. Them that have the rule over you is what the Apostle says here. them that have the rule over you, or those that bear rule. That's the same word as we saw above, the considerable ones. Those considerable ones, it's in those guys that we're to have the trust. Those are the ones that we are to be convinced of. Those, hegelme, those considerable ones, those that we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5, 12, and 13, to highly esteem. to highly surpassingly esteem for their labor's sake. Those that bear the rule. Again, as we said above, we must be convinced that they are put in office at the behest of the Holy Ghost. This is how the Holy Ghost works in our day. This is how he appoints elders. He does so by the imposition of the hands of the presbytery, or as we did it, by the presbytery receiving transfer of credentials. This is how God speaks today. We don't expect an audible voice, do we? If we do, I think we're going to be sadly disappointed because I think that those audible voices that people hear today are really the voices that assure them that they're doing what they will to do in the first place. The Lord does not command your persuasion regarding just anyone. He commands it of you pertaining to those weighty ones, those considerable ones who have been trained, properly ordained, and not having climbed up some other way. Right? And there I'm referencing John chapter 10, where we read of the hirelings who have not come in through the door. They've climbed up some other way. We don't have to follow them. You understand that, right? That if anyone would appoint himself as an elder, If anyone would do an end run around the way that the Holy Ghost speaks in the church, he's not to fall. We don't have to fear him. You remember that those prophets in the Old Testament, if they said something that didn't come to pass, what did Moses say? You don't have to fear them. Don't fear them. Don't fear those men that thrust themselves into office without a due use of the means that God has established. for ordination and for installation of office. And we might add here again that we are commanded to be convinced of those elders that are among you. That is your local session. We must avoid the temptation to shop for counsel outside the structures that the Lord has placed in His wisdom in our midst. It is interesting, and I've seen this happen, so have you. It is interesting how otherwise Calvinists, all of a sudden, when they don't get the counsel that they desired from their elders, become Arminian. How God ceases to speak through the authority structures that he's set in place, and how God has somehow lost control of the world, as it were. And so once Counsel is not received from the local structures. Once we become unconvinced of their authority and their place, we go hither and yon looking for acceptable counsel. This is exactly the opposite of what it means to be convinced. Exactly the opposite of what it means to be persuaded. Exactly the opposite of what the King James translates as to obey. Now, this doesn't mean that Your elders can't be entreated once and again. And that you, you shouldn't have, it does not mean that you shouldn't. So it does mean that you should get time with your elders to convince them of what your desires are. Perhaps you can reason with them from the scriptures. I know Mr. Dillard, Mr. Besch, myself, we would be happy to entertain anyone who would want to reason from the scriptures. The difficulty is when we don't get the counsel that we desire, what do we do with it then? And I've seen, you know, otherwise Calvinists become convinced that God is simply not speaking through the structures that he has said that he would speak through. Suddenly, God's lost his ability to rule through his proper channels. Again, this is not an advocacy of an infallible session or presbytery. These are signs that there are signs however when such structures have become synagogues of Satan and must be disobeyed requiring that which would be sin or forbidding to do that which is commanded. But even then such must be undertaken rightly according to your duty to defer seeking a peaceful resolution. Our elders may not always have the right answer. However unless they are counseling you to sin. which no one on earth has the authority to do. Blessing for you will be found in obedience to their counsels and commands." Do you believe that? Parents, let me ask you this question. There may be a time when your children come to you and ask you for something, and you say, no, I don't want you to do that. Now, let's say it's an indifferent activity. And let's say that you don't have any other reason than you just don't want them to do it. What will be the path of blessing for your child at that point? It would be to obey, wouldn't it? Let me read you the larger catechism on the fifth commandment. What is the honor that inferiors owe to their superiors? The honor which inferiors owe to their superiors is all due reverence in heart, word, and behavior, prayer and thanksgiving for them, imitation of their virtues and graces, willing obedience to their lawful commands and counsels, due submission to their corrections fidelity to defense and maintenance of their persons of authority according to their several ranks and the nature of their places bearing with their infirmities and covering them in love that so they may be an honor to them and to their government. Submission to your elders authority is not an admission that they're always right. Sometimes your elders may offer you counsel that may not be the best for you. And yet, even in such cases, the way of blessing for you most often will be found in obedience. Do you believe that? I do. I believe that. I believe that that if I went to the presbytery with a plan and the presbytery told me no, and I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and the presbytery told me no, that my idea would have to wait until such time as the presidentiary was convinced. Because I believe in the structure of authority that God has put in the church. And so there may be times when the difficult task of coming before your elders or children coming before your parents with something that you believe with all your heart to be right and they say no. Or men Tom, Carl, we go before presbytery and say, this is what we want to do. We really think the Lord is directing us to do this. And we hear no for an answer. The answer has to be no at that point. And it's because there is a structure, there is an authority that God has placed so that we are not living under chaos, under the whim of and tyranny of that which is urgent or that which seems right at the moment. And as difficult as those times will be, they may arise. We have to be ready. We have to be armed. Notice that it doesn't say in the larger catechism here that elders or those who are in authority have no infirmities. It says that those who are under them in authority must bear their infirmities. It's very important to remember. The next command, not only are we to be persuaded of their office in person, we are to do that which flows from this persuasion, yield and obey. And now he uses a more standard term for obedience. He says, submit yourselves. And that is often translated obey in scripture. So be persuaded of them and obey them. And this is what we just talked about. It's not always that we're going to receive an answer that we don't like. Most of the time, I think that people of goodwill, people that understand the scriptures the same way, we're going to be in agreement most of the time. But there will be times when we will be in disagreement. And just like with a husband and a wife, just like with a president and a vice president, just like with a parent and a child, there must be someone that is invested with the authority to make a final decision. And that final decision will stand until such time as it is either overruled or greater light is shed on it. And that decision is changed. But do you see the greatness of such an order that God has established? How we can all in our own places and stations flourish under such an order as that. So it's to obey. The command is clear. We owe obedience and submission to those in authority. It matters not that they're men of flesh with feet of clay. In the church, in the session, in the presbytery, these structures of authority are to have sway in the due exercise of their office. And remember this, that the test of obedience is not when everyone agrees. You understand that, right? If the Lord and His apostles considered obedience when everyone agreed to exhaust the duty of the church, There would never be a command concerning anything for obedience because everybody would always be agreeing. It doesn't work like that. Turn to Luke chapter 12. Verse 13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consists if not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And then he spoke the parable about the rich man whose ground brought forth plentifully. We don't need to go into that. Here's a guy that had a request. He came to Jesus to get that request taken care of. His brother wasn't being fair. His brother was not sharing the inheritance. He probably had proof from his father that he was supposed to divide the inheritance. And he came to Jesus and he said, hey, this guy's not doing his duty. He hasn't divided the inheritance with me as he should have. Now, what was the test of obedience for this man? Are you going to listen to what Christ said or not? Because what Christ said is, Beware of covetousness. He didn't say, oh, well, your brother should be much more fair than he is. Because if he had done that, the man might have gone off happily. Now, we're not told what the man did here. But there are many times when people come to those who are over them in authority with a particular request and they receive an answer similar to what Jesus gave them rather than answering their request. Maybe something else. They get a no answer and then perhaps a mild rebuke as this man got from Christ. What will you do in those times? Remember that the test of obedience is not exhausted when we all agree. The test of obedience where obedience really meets the road is when we don't agree. And when we don't agree, there are those whom the Lord has said, Every decision that you make as those in authority, you will answer to me for in the judgment. They're the ones who must make that final assessment. They're the ones who must make that decision. And it may not be agreeable to everyone. And that is the test of obedience. And where will you be found on that day? Where will you be found on that day? And elders? When you must make such a determination, where will you be found? Will you be found easily swayed by the difficult person that comes to you? Not that any of you would be difficult. Please understand. But there must be courage on the part of the eldership to do what they believe that the Scriptures dictate. And there must be an acceptance, even when the answer is not what you want. That's where the test of obedience is. Children, it's the same for you with your parents, isn't it? All structures of authority and submission have this same test. When the answer is no, the lip comes out, right? The eyes drop, the brow furrows. That may not be saying no on the outside, but it's sure saying no on the inside. And there's a measure of no on the outside with that too. The test of obedience is when we disagree. And the reason for the command is given. They watch for your souls as those that will give account. So when the elders ask a question that you might think is too probing, you may refuse an answer. But before you do, remember that the elder watches for your soul as one who will give account. He is a saying to do his duty and nothing more. He desires before Christ to be of service. And so let him be of service. Trust him and be honest with him. The Lord has placed you in His care. Why will you not place yourself in His care if the Lord has placed you in His care? That's a good question. Is it pride? Well, remember that He too is a man of flesh and knows our weakness as a race. Is it fear of publicity? Remember that the elder knows how to keep it close and those elders who don't The Lord will avenge such gossip and untoward speech. Is it shame? The elder will pray with you and for you, asking the Lord to grant you true repentance from your sin and the assurance of pardon and thereby a sprinkled conscience, which is the only true remedy from shame. Is it fear of looking ignorant or stupid? The elder knows how to deal tenderly with the ignorant and erring, for he has Christ as his example. Hebrews 4.15. So add this to your confidence, to your persuasion. The elder labors as one who must give an account to Christ for his shepherding. This is waiting. This is why no man must enter the office apart from that realization. And having that realization that he will give an account for his eldership ought to give confidence to those who are under the rule of those men, for Christ watches them in their shepherding. He sees if they are tyrants, if they're prurient. You know what the word prurient means? Childish is if they want to just get a peep at someone's wrong. Prurient, P-R-U-R-I-E-N-T. Gossips or partial, respecter of persons, or he sees also if they love the flock, if they sacrifice for the flock, if they spend and are spent on behalf of it. That's a great motivation. When the apostle writes, obey them because they give an account. He tells you that they give an account to encourage you to bring your difficulties to them. Because they give an account. Because they are accountable to Christ. That is a motivation for them not to mistreat you. And I know we are generally suspicious of authority. We have bumper stickers that tell us that. But the apostle here tells us that they give an account to Christ to assure us, to convince us that it's for our good. And then finally, well, actually two more points and we'll be done. The first is that here's another command. See that their labors are attended with joy and not with grief. See that their labors are attended with joy and not with grief. And then he adds, because if their labors are attended with grief, That's unprofitable for you. The first point here. If any of you are at all familiar with the writing of the apostle Paul and I assume that you are. You have seen over and again how many times the apostle would write and take great joy from the faithfulness of those who are who are you know those churches that he's established and if there is any difficulty, how that causes him great grief. Both sides of that are prevalent, are clear in the Apostle's writing here. Let's just look at a couple of those to be sure. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. Verse 19, For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? For ye are our glory and joy. In 2 Corinthians 1.14, we read this, Also, ye have acknowledged us, as also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus." Then he goes on to talk to the Corinthian church, as we've seen, how that when there was any anxiety that was built up between them, between the apostle and the church, what a grief that was. We had no rest in our souls. This is why we were so comforted when Titus found us and told us of your forward mind toward us, because we thought that there was estrangement from the last letter. The Apostle was always exalting when his churches that he had founded were open and free with him and they had a good relationship with one another. But when that relationship became strained and there was any grief involved, how grievous it was to him, that was also open and prevalent in the Apostle's writings. Also in the Apostle John, do you remember in 3 John? I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. No greater joy, says John, than to hear that my children walk in truth. In these passages, we see the great joy that attends the labor of the apostles and how the opposite is also true. Many times the apostle doubted of the love and appreciation of the Corinthian church, and it was a great discouragement to him. And if you want to write this down, 2 Corinthians 2, 1-4. This discouragement is bound to affect the ministry. It is not profitable, but unprofitable to discourage your elders. How can you discourage your elders? Number one, by not heeding their counsel. by disobeying them, by being critical of their ministry. Remember, I told you that the ministry is a full contact sport. It's difficult enough without bearing the criticisms of those upon whose behalf you labor. By stubbornness, especially in sin, and I will tell you that some of the most discouraging days I've ever endured as an elder are those times when folks have been suspended from the table, exercised some kind of warning or censure, Those are very discouraging times. Think of giving an account of your actions, which the elder ought to be doing regularly to Christ in prayer. When the elder who is accountable to Christ for your soul gives his report to Christ on that regular basis as he's praying over the flock, when he comes to your name, will he be met in his prayer? with joy or with grief. And I guarantee you that your elders are praying for you. And so when they pray, when your name comes up, is it joy or is it grief that washes over the elder as he prays for you, as he's meeting with Christ on your behalf? The Apostle here tells us that it should be joy and not grief. Because they're doing their duty toward you, watching over you, praying for you, protecting you, ensuring that the pulpit ministry of this church is a gospel preaching ministry, a Bible preaching ministry. You're doing their duty toward them, your duty toward them, praying for them, heeding their commands and counsels, covering their infirmities and so on. All of those things. And we're all working together here so that there should be, between us, great joy as we move forward together and not grief. It is not profitable to run counter to any structures of authority the Lord has placed in His church or anywhere else for that matter. And there are several verses in the Proverbs that would tell us that. You remember these verses? Turn with me to Proverbs 16. Verse 14, the wrath of a king is as messengers of death, but a wise man will pacify it. Verse 15, in the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain. In Proverbs 19, verse 12, the king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion, but his favor is as dew upon the grass. And 20, verse 2, the fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion. Whoso provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul." And in many ways there we can take those scriptures and apply them to all structures of authority. So we know that there are times when we are responsible to curry the favor of those who are over us in authority. We have to make their job agreeable. Not a grief, but a joy. You know, if we become known to the presbytery here as that wild, upstart Texas church, because we're always doing things on our own, and the presbytery is always sending a delegation down here to reign those wayward elders in, because there's always something going on down there in Texas that needs oversight, well, then we become a grief to those who are over us in authority. And I guarantee you, that won't last. Pretty soon they're going to want to make a change. Pretty soon there's something going to have to happen. And the same thing is true of the relationship between members and elders. Your elders have a weighty responsibility before the Lord. That weight is enough to hinder their joy. Remember what the Apostle Paul said as we read 2 Corinthians 11 today? He said, aside all of these things, there's something else that presses on me. The care of all the churches. That presses on me continually. Now do you think that Mr. Dillard, Mr. Betch, myself, you think we don't feel the weight of the responsibility that God has given us for your souls? We do. We do. That is part of what we bear as elders. And bearing that is in and of itself a responsibility. The ministry is burdensome enough without the grief of difficult sheep. And I don't want to accuse any of you of being difficult. I certainly don't. And I know that none of you would be willingly difficult. Obviously not. That's not my point here. My point is that we must, when the test of our obedience comes, We must together be committed to one another to finding a way through. We must be committed. Now many of you sitting here today have raised your hands in support. You've made your vows. And I praise God that you have. And that your elders are here to help you who have committed those vows to keep them so that we can together find a way through our difficulties. Find a way through our disagreements. Find a way when that test of obedience comes that we will all pass with flying colors. We need to study to pass that test, don't we? All right, then one last thing and we'll be done. One more point. And we'll find that in verse 18. The final command of Hebrews chapter 13. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you." And then he says, pray for us. And that's the final duty that I'm going to enjoin upon you for your elders, that you pray for them. You pray for them for wisdom, for discretion, for understanding, for faithfulness, for integrity, for courage, for patience, for tenderness, For empathy, you pray for your elders. I know that your elders crave your prayers. Second, you need to pray for your elders for the maintenance of your own hearts toward them. Because as you pray for your elders, if there is any hardness in your heart toward them, and I'm not saying there is, but if there is, as you pray for your elders, that hardness will be softened. Those difficulties will be smoothed out. as you keep them in prayer before the Lord and learn to identify with their needs and learn to see that they, too, are men with needs and that they're compassed about with weakness also. Your hearts toward them will be more and more fashioned into how they ought to be toward them. And third, it is an encouragement to duty for your elders to know that you are praying for them when they know they have your support. Their best and last efforts will be yours. All right, so my final exhortation for you has to do with this. We live in a day of egalitarianism and what we think is freedom. It's not really freedom, it's license. We have confused freedom with license in our society. And so we believe that we ought to be able to do anything we want whenever we want to be able to do it and wherever we are. Many people move to Texas because Texas is thought of as the wild and woolly state where you can stake out your claim out in the middle of West Texas somewhere and live as you please. I remember New Mexico used to be that way. Then the government of New Mexico put a stop to that. We live in a place, not just Texas, but in this country, where we have overly prized freedom. We have prized freedom to the detriment of responsibility. In other words, we have gone into license, and we've called it freedom. And so, we are generally suspicious of any authority. Because, you know, it's the American way. Freedom and apple pie. All the time, whenever I want it. Whatever it is. And when people tell us no, our first reaction is, hey, you're hindering my freedom. It's not freedom. That's not the freedom you want. Certainly, biblical freedom has nothing to do with that. You say you're free in Christ? Yes. You are free from the bondage of sin and free to keep the law of God. That's the kind of freedom that we see in the scriptures. And that's what your elders are here for, to assist you in true freedom. Let me read for you in closing from the great theologian John Owen in his commentary on the book of Hebrews. On the other side, that all the members of the church may be kept in due obedience under their guides, it is necessary that they always consider the nature of their office and their discharge of it. When they find that the office itself is a divine institution for the good of their souls, and that it is discharged by their guides with labor, care and diligence, they will be disposed unto that obedience and submission which are required of them. And herein consists the beauty and usefulness of church order, namely, when the guides of it do make it evident that their whole design is with labor and diligence to promote the eternal welfare of the souls of them that are committed under their care, and they, on the other hand, on the account hereof, do obey them in their doctrine and submit unto them their rule. Without this, all pretense of order is but confusion." You see? Two paragraphs from John Owen. He said it much better than I could in almost an hour. Let's stand and call upon the Lord in prayer. Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the offices that Thou has placed in the church. We thank Thee for those who have committed to those offices. We thank Thee also for those who have committed to prayer for them and to be governed by them, to submit and to obey to them according to the scriptures. And we pray, Father, that there would be a community between us all. Strengthen us, Father, in our offices and stations, whatever they be, to fulfill our duty with great diligence. We thank Thee for these things in Christ's name. Amen. Turn with me to Psalm 110, 1-7, page 249. La da da da da da da da da.