Some of you would be familiar with the name Roger Staubach, the former quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. He was a committed Christian, and it was a marvel to me that he remained in the Roman Catholic Church. You might ask the question, can a person be a self-conscious Christian in the Roman Catholic Church? Well, I think the answer is yes. But I would draw back a little bit if that individual was a self-conscious Catholic. That is, if that individual actually believed that salvation came by Jesus Christ, and in addition to that, his or her own works were necessary as meritorious before God. Such a person would not be able to make a confession of faith in a Reformed church. So this matter of being self-conscious about what we are and who we are is rather important. I think that, as I've had the privilege of being among you, that you are self-conscious Christians. And I'm glad for that. And I wonder tonight if you are self-conscious about your corporate church life. I think there are indications that this is the case, but I want to challenge you along this line this evening. as our text, I think, challenges us along this line. I'm going to bear down on Acts chapter 20 and verse 28, which is a very familiar verse. 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. And the challenge is something like this. Know yourselves as a blood-bought body over whom the Holy Spirit has placed guardians and shepherds. Know yourself as a blood-bought body with appointed Holy Spirit appointed guardians and shepherds. I think this is where Acts chapter 20 and verse 28 is leading us this evening on this particular night. You are a blood-bought body. Is this not the case? Look at our text again. 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." You are a blood-bought flock and church, a flock of God. And the imagery is purposeful of sheep. And sheep are not known to be the most bright of creatures. Sorry, that's the case. But this is the case. And the church is understood to be a flock of sheep. And again, as I say, this is purposeful imagery because the flock does need guidance. The flock does need care. The flock does need a shepherd. And of course, the Good Shepherd is Jesus Christ, whom the Bible tells us knows the name of every one of the sheep. He knows you by name. And when He knows you by name, that's not only intellectually, but He knows you by name as His flock. And you are the church, the text tells us, the church of God. purchased with his own blood. That word church indicates that you've been called out from the world. You are a flock which has been separated from the rest of the world, called out of the world to be the people of God in this world. And it is God's church. Aren't you glad you heard the note of this in one of the prayers that was uttered, that this is God's church. It was purchased, as Paul puts it, in a rather unique way, with His own blood. And how could that be? Only by way of the incarnation, only by the way of God, the great, ineffable God of all condescending to become a man and take on human form so that the blood that he shed was, in a sense, the very blood of the divine being, the blood of God, a great price purchased by this great price, the blood of God. And so you are the church of God. Years ago, I remember serving in a little congregation where the elders, having come out of a more liberal denomination and having a rather independent streak, thought to themselves, this is our church. We planted this church. This church belongs to us. And as a result, if you cross them, you see, you are in trouble because they didn't have the divine perspective that it is God's church purchased with His own blood. And you have been given elders to watch over your souls, the text tells us. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Be on guard, the injunction is. And the injunction is to the elders, as you look at verses 17 and 18 from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called him the elders of the church. And so the injunction is really to the elders of the church, the leaders of the church at Ephesus. And we are called as a congregation this evening to listen in on the words of the Apostle Paul as they've been given to the elders of the church. And these elders, we know, are of two types. They are ruling elders and what we have come to call teaching elders, and the teaching elder or the pastor. And these men have been given charge to watch over your souls. And their work, as we understand it, is what we call ministerial and declarative. That is, they are servants. these elders. They are servants of God and they are your servants. And it would be a good thing to get the practice. I've done this over the years. When you sign your name at the bottom of a letter, why not put your servant or your fellow servant? This is the perspective that the elder ought to have. Their duties are ministerial, that is, service-oriented. service under God and service in the church. And their duties are declarative. In other words, the elders are placed in your midst to declare the truth of God among you. That's one of their duties. And that duty falls primarily, not entirely, but primarily on the shoulders of the one who teaches and preaches on a regular basis. And so we have these two types of elders, and they are given the care of souls in the declaration of the Word. And I know in this congregation, having become familiar with the elders at least, that they are anxious with regard to your status before Jesus Christ. and before God in Jesus Christ. Do you trust Jesus Christ, who died on Calvary's cross? Do you trust Him as the one who paid the penalty due to you for your sins? And do you find your salvation and your satisfaction in Him? And these elders of yours are concerned about that, and rightly so. This is their duty before you. And this work, if they're going to carry it out, it means that they must guard themselves. Look at the text again. Be on guard for yourselves. You see, if you're going to help others, you need to take heed to yourself first. And that's what Paul's perspective is here. for the elders of the church. This goes for the pastor, and this goes for the ruling elders, to take heed, to guard themselves first. A little examination of this particular word will indicate to you that it has to do with not only outward matters, but matters of the heart. In other words, if you're going to take heed to something, that you not only hear about it, but you act upon it. In fact, the Hebrew word for hearing carries with it that sort of an idea, that it's not only the audible sounds that you gather in your ears, But actual hearing involves stepping out and acting upon what you hear. You become a doer of the word. And therefore, the elder becomes an example to the flock. And I think this is in part what the Apostle Paul is getting at here. And so you need to pray for your elders. I've been in churches where people grumble about their elders. I hope that doesn't happen here. Rather than grumbling about your elders, you need to pray for them and seek the Lord on their behalf, that they will indeed be individuals who not only watch over your souls, but watch over their own souls. Let me say in this context a word about commitment. in this light. The teaching elder and the ruling elder ought to have equal commitment to the Word of God and to the hearing of the Word of God and to the doing of the Word of God. There ought to be no disparity between the ruling elders and the teaching elder or the pastor with regard to the matter of hearing the Word of God, studying the Word of God, and commitment to the Word of God. I think sometimes we get the idea that there is a disparity between the two. But that ought not to be the case. Where the disparity comes in is that the teaching elder has the privilege, not only the opportunity, but the privilege to teach and to preach as the full-time duty which he exercises. And the ruling elders are not in that capacity. They have other duties and responsibilities in their employments. But that does not lessen their commitment. And so, again, as we look at the text, these elders are not only serving you in this blood-bought church to watch over your souls and watch over their souls, these elders The text is telling us, our guardians and shepherds. Our text again, 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. And in the New American Standard Version, the word I'm translating guardians is translated overseers. In some translations, it's rendered bishop, and we have a view of a bishop, don't we? Disabuse yourself of that idea, because the word here may actually be, as I've indicated, translated guardian. And it's linked with the whole idea of shepherd. And the chief shepherd and guardian of your souls is none other than Jesus Christ. And these elders, the pastor and the ruling elders, are his under-shepherds and guardians. And what does a guardian do? Well, a guardian works to see that everything is carried out in proper order and is done as directed in the Word of God. That's the idea of guardian here. I had the privilege this last summer of being elected the moderator of our Synod, the Reformed Presbyterian Synod, and my job was to ensure that the meeting was conducted and carried out in accordance with the law and the order of the Church. That's the job of the moderator, to see that that work is carried out properly, and from that perspective I was a guardian, as it were. And this is what the elders are to do. And the elders are shepherds. Shepherds. What does a shepherd do? The shepherd stands in front of the flock. There's that imagery again. And leads the flock. and guides the flock, calls the sheep by name, follow me. And from this perspective, the shepherd is an example again to the flock, because the shepherd is one to whom the flock looks. And I know this is the case here, that you look to your elders, rightfully so, and they are placed in your midst to be shepherds and guardians." Do you know the difference between a shepherd and a cowboy? I heard this distinction given at an ordination service years ago by an elder whom I'm very fond of, and he exhorted the young pastor, just remember, you're a shepherd, not a cowboy. And this fellow raised cattle. He was familiar with how you get into the cattle truck with a cattle prod and you jam the cattle and they start jumping around in the truck trying to get out of the way. That's not the job of the shepherd. It's not the job of the elder or the pastor. because the pastor is a shepherd, to guide the flock and to lead the flock forward. Not to behind the flock and push the flock, but be in front of the flock and lead the flock forward. And Jesus Christ again is the great example, is he not? And then the text tells us in a wonderful way that the Holy Spirit is involved in all of this work. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers or guardians. And the word translated made in the New American Standard Version may be translated appointed. And I'd like to show you how this works, how the Holy Spirit is pleased to appoint elders in the church. Look with me first of all, if you would please, at Acts chapter six. Just a couple of verses here. This is a text about the appointment of deacons, but deacons are also officers in the church. And now, at this time, while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the Twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, It is not desirable for us to neglect the Word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task." You see, under the direction of the elders, new officers were selected. by the congregation. Select from among yourselves, you see. So, under the direction of the elders, new officers were selected by the congregation. How is this done? Well, let's look quickly at another text in Acts. Acts 14 verse 23. Acts 14 verse 23. When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed." Another indication of the appointment of leaders, elders. And the word appointed here means this, the raising of the hand. And it's a word that was originally used to indicate voting by the raising of the hand. And so the elders would say to the congregation, it's time for us to appoint new leaders in the church. How are they to do this? by a vote with the raising of the hand. This is how it was done. Quite significant. And then when you turn back to Acts chapter 20 and verse 28, what is the outcome? Look at the text again. Be on guard for yourselves. and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers." When the process is followed under the direction of the elders of the church, the outcome is that the Holy Spirit has determined and appointed the leadership. I think we need to let that soak in a little bit. You are a blood-bought church with Holy Spirit-appointed guardians and shepherds. This is what Paul is telling us. And God does use means. God uses means the means of the preaching of the word to bring men and women to salvation, to bring young people and children to salvation. God also uses means in the appointment of the leaders of the church. And certainly when the proper means are utilized, you would say with regard to your own salvation, would you not that it was by the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life that brought you to Jesus Christ, and that you are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit, that it was through means that God brought this about. And in a similar fashion, dear friends in Christ, God uses means in the appointment of his leaders, so that in the end, you may say, the Holy Spirit has appointed, has made these men guardians and shepherds. And so I submit to you tonight, dear friends in Christ, that you are a blood-bought body with Holy Spirit appointed guardians and shepherds. You need to be self-conscious about this, and I urge you to be self-conscious about it. Yes, you need to be self-conscious about your own salvation and your status before God in Christ. That is a necessity. But you also need to be self-conscious about the fact that you are a blood-bought body with Holy Spirit appointed guardians and shepherds. You need to know that this is the case and to rest in it. There is assurance here, friends. There is assurance here, friends, because in the end you may converse with your elders, you may converse with your pastor, and you can say, thank you, Lord, that you, by the power of your Spirit, have given to us as a church these leaders. And you may have confidence here that God is with you, and that as God is with you, He has not left you as orphans, that Jesus Christ has not left you as orphans, that as the great shepherd and guardian of your souls by the power of His Spirit, He has been pleased to appoint in due process these leaders that he's given to you. And so my exhortation to you tonight is simply this once again. Know yourselves. Be self-conscious about this. Know yourselves as a blood-bought body with Holy Spirit appointed guardians and shepherds. Let's pray together. Father, thank you. Thank you. This is no small thing about which we talk, and we're grateful, Father, that you give us direction in your word. You give us direction with regard to not only our personal lives, but you give us direction, explicit direction, with regard to our church life, our corporate life as the body of Christ. And I thank you, Father, for this congregation. I thank you, Lord, for their commitment to you. And I pray that as they move forward in their life as a church, that they might know, that they might be self-conscious about, that they might know that they are a blood-bought body with Holy Spirit-appointed guardians and shepherds. Bless them to this end and work this out in their life as a congregation, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.