Before we pray together, I just want to comment that the way the service has gone this morning is just such a profound reminder of why we gather, is it not? Because in the course of the week, you really do begin to lose your bearings. You begin to lose your sense of perspective. What does this mean? What will it amount to? And many times we look into a future that is unknown and dark and scary to us and you gather in a place like this and in the assembly of those who have a shared faith, you find yourself in the course of a service as we have this morning saying, yes, that's right. Yes, that's the truth I have to remember right now. And Emily, kind of at the end of a long train of thought, has pointed our hearts exactly where they need to be, hasn't she? That God is faithful and has always been faithful because we can look back on days and weeks and years of His faithfulness, the unknown tomorrow. begins to have its own place and perspective. And the things that we're afraid of or fearful of or worried about begin to find their rightful place in the faithfulness of God. I love that. It's why I'm here. It's why I come. And I know it's why you do too. Let's pray together. Father, how we give You thanks for Your words of hope and comfort Thank You for these who've served us. Thank You that they have prepared their hearts and their songs and their Scripture readings and their prayers in order that we might be encouraged and built up in the faith that our hearts might be put together again when circumstances have just absolutely broken down some of the walls of faith. And we have struggled as a people to keep our hearts centered on the living God. And what a gift You've given us, this privilege of assembling in Your name and just taking a break from all the many responsibilities that rest upon us. And they haven't gone away in the last 40 minutes. But you've given us perspective even with regard to those responsibilities that you are the God who is above all and overall and your faithfulness is great. You've been reminding us this morning and speaking so sweetly into our hearts that your steadfast love never comes to an end. Your mercies never come to an end. Your word tells us that they are new every morning. And we wake often. more aware of the difficulties, the questions, the conflict, the fear and the doubt than we are aware of your steadfast love and your mercy and your great faithfulness. But let us say with the saints of old, the Lord is our portion. Therefore, we will hope in him. And how kind you are Spirit of God, we know that it is Your intention to speak words of life and hope, of conviction and exhortation to us. And Your means will be the preaching of the Word in the next few minutes. It will include the teaching of the Word in the Sunday school hour to follow. It will include fellowship with one another, perhaps during lunch or through the afternoon or later this evening. Your means will include our own private prayer You have many different avenues through which You will build us up in the faith and draw us into Your presence. And we are excited about that and praise You for Your kindness, but ask that You would minister in the fullness of Your power and authority to us this day. And we pray that You would use even the fallible human means to minister infallibly to those who are gathered here. Let your word be like a knife that cuts through some of the toughness in hearts this morning. And we ask that you would use it with the skill though of a surgeon, that you would cut away those things that are not of the Lord Jesus Christ in order that we might be healed. that you would grow us into His likeness and make us to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ. That's all we ask for. Breathe life into those who just feel utterly spent. Some who woke again today disappointed that they were not in your presence, just saying, Lord, I do not know if I can live one more day like this. Put your strength into them, please. For those who feel profound confusion in this hour, uncertainty about a future. Maybe there's a big decision. Maybe the failure of the past just dogs them. I pray that you would bring clarity and bring peace and hope. Give wisdom as it's needed. We're just continually reminded, Heavenly Father, of how needy we are. And yet, You also continually remind us of how great You are. We love You for that. Oh, how we love You and thank You and pray for Your presence in this time. In Jesus' name, Amen. Will you go to Hebrews 13 with me, please? Hebrews 13. That was a great word of pastoral care as we began to sing, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. And, you know, when you come into the second stanza, I was thinking about this. I can never sing Christ, Jesus, it is He loud enough. As a matter of fact, that's usually where I, and it happened to me again today, I stopped singing. And what a profound thought that is, that on earth there is no equal to our adversary. And, you know, we would just be lost singing through that. And do you ask who the right man on our side is? And I feel like we should actually not even sing that. We should figure out a way to shout that. You know, so we're not trying to hit the right notes, but just more of a... Christ Jesus, it is He. I don't know, we'll work on some chant or something someday. Teach it to the choir and then let them teach us at some point. Yeah, and I was pretty much done singing after that, just listening to you and praising the Lord that you were still able to carry the tune. But wow, what a blessing. Hebrews 13, find verse 17 please. That's page 1010 if you're using a Pew Bible. I want to read verses 17 through 21. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I want to encourage your hearts with a thought today as we continue through this series, a developing series, on who we are as a church. And just to remind you, and for the sake of those of you who are visiting with us today, we're really developing kind of a one-sentence expression of our identity. And it begins with the God of grace. The God of grace is doing a work of grace to create a people of grace who dwell in a culture of grace. And part of the way that the Lord develops a culture of grace in people like us, people who themselves are the product of His powerful grace, is that He mediates His care through earthly leadership. Christ, the Christ of grace, mediates his gracious care in this present age through earthly leaders. The contrast and almost the paradox in this is that it is an infallible, perfect, all-wise, omnipresent God who is at work through fallible, finite, imperfect leadership. And yet it still comes from him with the view of caring for his church. We spent time Friday evening and Saturday, elders and deacons together here, praying, looking at the scriptures, discussing, just orienting ourselves for the ministry that lies ahead of us. And this is one of the thoughts that I shared with the men and their wives Friday evening, and we revisited it through the day yesterday, just that the Lord is seeking to mediate His gracious care through us. There are two offices that we see in the church, the office of elder and the office of deacon. Both of those manifest something very specific about Christ Himself. Christ is both elder and deacon. He is the perfect elder and deacon, if you will. Elders are charged, according to the Scriptures, to care for the flock in the way that Christ as shepherd oversees His flock. And so we traced in a little bit of study some of those terms. Oversight, shepherding, pastoring. Those are the concepts that you see appearing with this idea of eldering. Well, your elders are Christ's selected servants, well, I'm going to confuse the term there, undershepherds who mediate His gracious care for you at this time. They're not the only ones who do that, but they are key in it. The second office that we see in the church would be the office of deacon. You know, deacons mediate something very specific of Christ's care for you, and they do it through their service. And so that's the second word that you could think of, shepherding care mediated by Christ through the elders, service also ultimately coming from Christ but mediated through deacons for your benefit. We looked at what it means to serve as deacons. It means that you minister or you work in such a way to bring a benefit to those that are receiving your service and your care. Now, Hebrews 13, 17 doesn't really delineate if it is speaking specifically of elders or deacons or maybe both. And I would lean toward elder care. But I can't absolutize that, and I certainly wouldn't die over that. And I do think there is a term for leader that could be applied both to elders and deacons. What I want you to see and be impressed with, even in this passage, is that Christ is caring for his church through earthly leaders. Go back to verse 17 with me, please. And I want to just explore three particular things about the leadership that the Lord is employing. First of all, you will note that these are men who lead the way. A leader is one who goes before, who goes first. first in service, according to the Scriptures, and first in the Word. What do I mean when I say first in service? Well, listen to what Jesus said in Luke 22, verse 26. He is speaking to His disciples and says, Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. You want to be leading the way for me in my In my purpose, you want to be a leader in my church building program? Then you must be a servant. So first in service. The second thought is first in the Word. Go back to verse 7. You're in Hebrews 13. Go back to verse 7 with me, please. We are taught to remember our leaders, those who spoke to you the Word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. So these are those who have been given a ministry of speaking God's Word, bringing the Word of God to bear upon the life of the believer, or in the case, and we often talk about this with the elders, that their responsibility is to bring the Word of God to bear upon the life of the church. So at one level, it doesn't really matter what our personal opinions are, our thoughts or even what experience we've had through life or age old wisdom or what my granddaddy used to say. Those things can be helpful at times. But preeminently, the responsibility of the elders would be to bring the word of God to bear upon the life of the church. I want you to see this in action, go back to Acts 15. The earliest days of the church. There were matters that they had to wrestle through, and one of those was a very difficult matter for them. Most of them were just completely immersed in Jewish culture, and that culture really had its roots in the Old Testament, so it was hard for them to figure out what should be left behind, though it was biblical, and yet what should be brought into the present day. And then when the Gospel just exploded in the Gentile world, the question really became difficult, and so they convened the Jerusalem Council. And in verse 6 you find out, and I'm skipping over, you can read the full chapter later, but in verse 6 we read that the apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. They're going to weigh it out, think it through. And so there is discussion that ensues, and I want you to skip down now to verse 12, And notice that all the assembly fell silent and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for His name. And with this, the words of the prophets agree. So here they are, bringing the authority of God's word to bear upon the life of the church. Just as it is written, after this I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen. I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it. That the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord who makes these things known from of old. Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God. but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood for from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him for he has read every Sabbath in the synagogues. Well these are men who lead the way first if you will in the word. And that's the job of godly leadership. Secondly, they are not only men who lead the way, they are men who are attentive to souls. Go back to Hebrews 13, 17. The writer of Hebrews now says, Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls. You've heard this before, but let me remind you it conveys clearly the idea of abstaining from sleep, night watchman. They are attentive to spiritual things, yes, and sometimes that will translate into losing physical sleep, but the big point is they are watchful. And do you see how it is the very kind of care that Christ Himself gives, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, whoever watches over His precious ones? has appointed earthly representatives who will also watch. I had a conversation with one of your elders recently that went something like this. He asked, did you get some rest last night? And to which I replied, yes, I did. How about you? And his answer blessed me. And he said, not really. I was on the living room floor in the middle of the night praying. I love that. And I know you do too. Praying for us. Praying through some very significant matters for our church family. There's a man who willingly gave up sleep to do the very thing that the Lord has called his leaders to do. What a beautiful reflection of the watchful care of Christ. Human leaders can't do that forever. Eventually, we have to close our eyes and sleep. But that gives you a little idea of what it means, that even while you and I rest, there is one who is ever watchful, and like Christ, who himself is ever praying for us. These are men who are called to watch, to guard the flock. They watch for your soul. I want you to think about that for a moment. Jesus asked a very important question in Matthew 16, 26. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? What shall a man give in return for his soul? What would you exchange for your soul? And the answer is you might actually exchange something in this lifetime, but when you draw your last breath and you slip into eternity, And you realize that you forfeited your soul for temporal earthly pleasures or experiences or possessions and yet you lost your soul for eternity. You would say what a horrible transaction. The Lord is so concerned about preserving your soul that he has put in a context like this men who are called to be watchers And from time to time they will step right into your world and it's uncomfortable for them and it's uncomfortable for you, but the destiny of your soul may be at stake. And they may have a word of exhortation or a word even of discipline, maybe a word of encouragement, maybe a word of consolation, but it has to do with the health of your soul. The Lord Jesus is eternally concerned for your soul. He's not willing to let you just live life with no regard for your soul. These are men who are called to watch. John Owen, old Puritan pastor and author, has written, the work and design of these rulers, these leaders, is solely to take care of your souls. by all means, to preserve them from evil, from sin, from backsliding, to instruct and feed them, to promote their faith and obedience, that they may be led safely to eternal rest. For this end is their office appointed, and herein do they labor continually." Isn't God kind to give you an earthly manifestation of His ever-continuing care for your soul? Third characteristic, they are men who will give account. To give account means simply to return a word of testimony. I served jury duty this past week. Didn't actually get seated, but was in the court and went through the seating process multiple times and actually sat with the jury pool before two different judges. And I'm telling you what, if you've not done that recently, that is an awesome experience. And I mean, it puts fear in you. Especially when the judge starts asking questions about your qualification to serve and he reads the general description of the case and then introduces you to the plaintiff and the defendant and the legal representation and begins to say, do you have any relationship with them that would cause you to render a judgment that would not be impartial? And he goes through all those things. I'm telling you, you're sitting there thinking, I don't think I'm related to these people, but that guy kind of looks familiar. I mean, you're ready to confess stuff that may have never happened. And even down to the, they issued strong warnings day one that cell phones and communication devices are not allowed in the court. And then gave a testimony of somebody just a week before, apparently, whose cell phone had gone off in a judge's court. And he promptly sent them right over, fined them $100, and kicked them out of the court. You better believe every one of us was checking and rechecking. And that judge has absolute authority. And you speak to them with a yes, sir, and no, sir, and your honor, sir, and if it would please the court. And you know, the Lord Himself is going to assemble a great court one day. And He will call the nations of the earth into His presence, and they all individually will give account. Romans 14 describes just a little bit of that for us. Paul writes, it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. And this sobering reality is a reminder to us that we live and serve and exist under the sovereign and eternal authority of God. But the leaders of the church, this local assembly being among them, will also stand before this God and give a personal word of testimony on behalf of those who've been under their care. And Hebrews 13, 17 makes it crystal clear. Again, John Owen writes, they are in their office as accountable persons. such as are obligated to account or to testify. They are not owners, but stewards. They are not sovereigns, but servants. There is one great shepherd of the sheep. Verse 20 has indicated that for us. And Peter refers to the chief shepherd who will one day appear. And it is to this one that we must give an account in our office and of our work and of the flock committed to our charge. We discuss with our leadership team that that means we have a responsibility to get to know you. It's a daunting task, a church this size, and that's part of the reason we're trying to divide you up into elder communities and then have even smaller groups like shepherd groups or Sunday school classes. So, as a leadership team, we spread out. do with a view of getting to know you, because we know a day is coming where we have to give account for you. Now look again at the text with me though. And I want to take just a few minutes to describe from the text what our responsibility, and I include myself in this, because I too am under leaders in this church. I am a leader but I'm just one among equals. I'm one elder among 20. We have 15 who are elected and volunteer their time. We have five who were voted into a pastoral position and are paid but they're all elders. My vote doesn't count any more than another one and I don't have some kind of you know super elder status here. So, this really is applicable for all of us. But notice what is to characterize us as followers. First of all, we're to be people who are willingly following. Obey your leaders. And the way the word is put down for us, it conveys this simple idea, let yourself be persuaded. Let yourself be persuaded. Now, what kind of things would this obedience or persuasion have to do with? Let me give you just another example where the English word is a little different, but it's still the same root word. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man who, after living his life and being cast into hell, actually enters into a conversation with Abraham and beseeches Abraham to send someone back from the dead in order that his brothers would not come to this place of torment. And Jesus gives us Abraham's answer. It's recorded in Luke 16, 31. He said to him, this is Abraham speaking to the rich man, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced or be obedient, we could say. Neither will they be convinced or be obedient if someone should rise from the dead. Well, it's clear there that Abraham is saying they have Moses and the prophets. They have the testimony of Scripture. And Abraham knows. He's speaking with the authority of God's perspective. And though from the rich man's perspective, if a dead guy would come out of the grave, walk into his brother's house and tell him and warn him, then they would turn out of their sinful ways, repent, and not have that kind of punishment awaiting them. But Abraham says, no. The Scriptures have not convinced them. They will not allow themselves to be convinced by a dead guy. That's an awesome thought, isn't it? Well, there's a similar thing that the writer of Hebrews is calling to mind. Let yourself be persuaded. Let yourself be convinced. He's not asking you to check your brain at the door, to check your heart at the door, to just go along with whatever. But he is asking you to humbly walk in faith, trusting that he is mediating his care, his leadership through earthly leaders. And in matters where there's not some clear violation of Scripture and not a violation of your conscience, that you say, OK. Galatians 5 verse 7, Paul says to the church of Galatia, you were running well, who hindered you from obeying or assenting to the truth? What happened? You were going well and then something changed and you changed your mind. You were persuaded of something else. Well, this concept in Hebrews 13, 17 also stands in contrast to the kind of response we see in Romans 2 verse 8, for those who are self-seeking or contentious and do not obey the truth. It gives you some idea here of what might accompany this not obeying the truth, a contentious spirit. But rather they obey unrighteousness. Paul goes on to say there will be wrath and fury. I think when it comes to the obedience we're talking about, it's primarily having to do with the authority of the scriptures that earthly leaders bring to bear upon your life or upon the life of the church. But secondarily, I think it would also include just the day-to-day matters of the church. We willingly follow because this is Christ's plan for leading His church. And again, the Lord is not asking for blind obedience or mindless obedience, but He is asking you to trust His plan of using imperfect leaders to care for you. I'm so grateful that I grew up in a household where I was reminded often by my folks, but my dad primarily saying, you know, no place is perfect. Our home isn't perfect, our church isn't perfect, the school you go to isn't perfect. And it's not just youthful idealism that sometimes drives us to see every little inequity and every little fault and say, it should not be this way, and they ought to do better. Yes, that's why we look for the kingdom, because it'll be perfect then. It's not the kingdom. And I won't re-preach last week's message from Philippians, but again, we must guard our hearts against expecting a kind of perfection from others that we ourselves can't give to God. Do you hold a Christian teacher to a higher standard before God than you actually hold yourself as a Christian student? Do you hold your Christian employer to a higher standard than you as a Christian employee hold yourself to? Be careful. God expects a lot from His people. He expects a lot from the leaders of the church. But even He Himself is the merciful and faithful High Priest. He is very patient and very reasonable. We sometimes think of how frustrated, we've probably all had a teacher like this through the years who just, you know, you can look at their transcripts and find out they were straight A material coming through and just they obviously are expert in their subject, but they can't relate to ordinary people who either don't get it or don't eat, drink, and sleep that particular subject. You know what I'm talking about? I don't understand why you wouldn't be so excited about chemistry. Chemistry is everything. You know, once the Mentos and Diet Coke ran out, I was done. And it's hard for them because coming through school, that was the consuming thing. They loved it and they never missed a point on a test. The wallpaper on their bedroom wall was the periodic table. First thing they see in the morning, they wake up. Last thing they see when they go to sleep. And you, you have posters of basketball stars on your bedroom wall, and they're like, you are a weird kid. I'm obviously exaggerating that. And sorry, chemistry teachers and chemistry people here, I have no bone to pick with you. So chemistry is from God, and it is great. It's just incredible. But you know, Jesus is not like that in the sense that He actually lived a perfectly obedient life, didn't He? He doesn't walk around wringing His hands and shouting at us saying, why can't you people get it? I was human, I did it perfectly. Don't you understand? Can't you get your act together? No, as a matter of fact, Hebrews 2, several chapters before this, tells us that He had to be made like us in every respect so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest. Even though he never missed a point on any obedience exam or righteousness assignment, he doesn't look at you and say, and he looks at you and says, I know. I know how hard it is to resist temptation. I know how hard it is to yield yourself to the heavenly Father. I know. That's part of what gives us hope to submit ourselves to imperfect earthly leaders. Go back to Hebrews 13, 17 because that's the next part of our willingness. We're to obey our leaders and we're to submit ourselves to them. You know, Jesus had to submit himself to imperfect parents, didn't he? He had to submit himself to imperfect rulers in the synagogue. He had to submit himself to imperfect people everywhere he went. And so we follow in his path. So we're to be people who willingly follow. We're also to be people who... I can't skip that, but I'm going to have to hurry through some things. We're also to be people who recognize we will hear a leader's account. A day is going to come where I'm going to hear Sandy McCormick give account for me. What's he going to say about me? It's not that I live my life to please Sandy. That would be the wrong focus, wouldn't it? But I ought to live my life with a view of pleasing God and honoring Him and submitting so that when Sandy as brother and friend and elder enters my world, I better be listening. See, Hebrews 13, 17 teaches that those leaders are going to be called in that great day. And maybe it's the same day where you yourself have given account and then a second witness is called and it will be a leader or maybe multiple leaders. Positively, the text tells us that there will be certain accounts given that will amount to joy. It will be the joy of the one who gives the account that will be profitable for you. But there will also be some accounts given with groans. And the text says very clearly, that will be of no advantage to you. There may be some of you who have actually bounced from church to church to church to church, and to date you've been saying, well, you know, all these places are full of problems and hypocrites and this and that and the other, and you know, the reality is you're the one who has the problem. And you need to learn to submit. And whether it be a private word of exhortation or a corporate decision, the fact that you just go one place to another, to another, to another, is a demonstration that you're not submitted to Christ. Because His plan has been to mediate His perfect grace through imperfect leadership structures. And you're not walking in obedience to Him. And you can open your Bible and try to proof text all kinds of things and show how their doctrinal statement there is inferior and doctrinal statement here is a problem. And the way they apply their doctrine is a problem there. And the reality is God is not pleased with you. And when He calls the leadership team that has shared responsibility for you, there are going to be a lot of groans. But I don't want to leave you at that point. I want you to recognize that the Lord knows there's potential for imperfect people to bring imperfect leadership great joy. And this has been a blessing to me to meditate on this. His word to us is let them do this with joy. Let them do it with delight. Give them a reason to rejoice as they reflect upon ministry with you, ministry alongside you, ministry over you. And here would be some examples of this. What gives a leader joy? Well, listen to Philippians 1, verses 3, 4, and 5. Paul writes, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. So what's the source of his joy? He's writing to a church that has partnered with him. They have been there alongside him, not physically at every moment, but they've supported him financially. They've sent people like Epaphroditus to encourage him. They've been with him. And it gives him great joy to think about that. or 1 Thessalonians 3, 6-9. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see you, for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, listen to this, now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you? For all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God. So the faithfulness of this group and their, similarly, participation in the work is cause for great joy. And Paul seems to be expressing his thoughts in such a way to say, I don't even know how I could possibly verbalize it, describe it all. It's not that he's saying there's no Thanksgiving to be offered. He's just saying, where would I begin? How could I possibly express all that's in my heart when I think about you all? He wrote a letter to Philemon, commending one man for his ministry and says, I've derived much joy and comfort from your love. So he's been the recipient of it personally. Because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. And he knows that Philemon has this gift of just blessing other people. And as Paul sets his heart on it, it gives him joy. So when Paul stands, and boy, I mean, Paul's going to have a lot of people to give an account for, isn't he? But there are going to be folks like Philemon and churches like the one at Thessalonica and the one at Philippi that when Paul stands before the Lord, he's just going to express one joy and example of joy after another. And you know, can I say for your encouragement, unless some of you walk out of here saying, have we given these guys any reason to be glad? Oh, yes, you have. Yes, you have. Let me give you a couple of specific examples. Recently, I had one of our members just stop me for a moment and say, you know, I just want to tell you what a blessing prayer meeting was Wednesday night. I prayed with a group of ladies, and there was one lady in our group in particular who just prayed very specifically and so sweetly that it just moved me to tears. prayed for me knowledgeably and personally and tenderly. And I'm making a little note there going, that's awesome. It gives me joy to hear that kind of thing. It gives me joy when deacons come back and say, you know, I went to help such and such a family or household and I found that the so-and-sos had already been there and so-and-so had called and has given them some help. And you hear reports like that and you just say, that is wonderful. What joy. It gives us joy when people respond to the word, whether it be a private word of exhortation or even in a public preaching or teaching setting like this, and people write notes or send emails or just stop us and say, oh, the Lord used that word in my heart. I want to let you know how God is changing me and growing me, and it's been hard in this way, but I think I'm making some progress. I want you to pray for me. And I'm hearing those reports, and other members of our staff, our elders and deacons hear such things, and their hearts are full of joy. So you're doing it, you're doing it. And as I've prepared to preach this message, I've just prayed, Lord, guard this from coming off in a self-serving way, because ministry is not about the happiness of a group of guys. Ministry is not about this leadership team getting its way. No, we are men under God's authority who will stand before Him one day and give account for what we've done, how we've done it. But the Lord has a word for us here, doesn't he, as followers. So I thank you for what you have already done in this, but want to encourage you to continue doing it so that all of us can anticipate that great day of accounting with joy. The Lord, God of grace, is doing a work of grace to create a people of grace who live in a culture of grace. And part of His means for maintaining that culture of grace is to mediate His gracious care through earthly leaders. What a plan. What a God. We're going to take some time, just a few minutes here at the close of the service, to pray for our elders, our deacons, and their wives. And they're seated all over the sanctuary this morning. I'm going to ask them to just stand in their seats. Not in their seats, but at their seats. and wives, too, who are present. Some cannot be here today, various reasons. Some are serving ministry responsibilities this morning. But would you just set your heart as well as your eyes on those who are nearest you? and choose one of these couples who is standing near you. Some are actually alone this morning, but join me in praying as I pray over them. Let's pray for God's blessing. Pray for His grace to be given. for His wisdom to be poured out in their hearts and minds. They will have many important decisions that the endurance of Christ would be something in them through the coming season of ministry. They're going to need many things. So we can at least pray for these few things for them this morning. So join me please in praying. Father, first we give You praise for Your Son, Jesus Christ. He is great. He is glorious. There is no one like Him. And how thankful we are that the man of your choosing is the man who stands on our side. And though on earth there is none to equal our adversary Satan, Satan is no equal to Christ. So what kind of a distance is there then separating us from you if you are that glorious and great? And yet in your mercy you've closed that distance. so that there need be nothing between us and you on this day. And you've made your people to be joint heirs with Christ and given us all the privileges and all the benefits and all the blessings of your own sons and sons we are. So we come to you in the name of Jesus. your only begotten son, our elder brother, the one who is the head of the church. And we pray now that by your grace and power you would bless these elders and deacons and their wives and give to them everything that they are in need of. There is no way that they can mediate the gracious care of Christ as shepherds and servants in their own strength. It's an impossibility And so we're praying, Father, that You would place Your divine wisdom into their hearts and minds so that as they render decisions and establish direction for the ministry that it would be exactly as You would do it. Would You preserve them from personal ambition and would they We rather take up Your good and gracious purposes as You have intended them for heritage. We pray that You would give them strength. We know that You have called them to watch over souls. And sometimes that will mean sleepless nights. It will certainly mean a heavier load upon their hearts as they listen to the members of this congregation and bear those burdens willingly and pray and exhort and confront and encourage and do all kinds of work. Lord God, give them strength. And then I pray that you would bring your peace into their hearts. That even though the world itself groans and cries and even vies for their attention that you would shield them from it and that as shepherd you would speak your words of peace into their hearts that they might be in a position to speak words of peace to those here who need it. Thank you for their willingness to serve. And we ask Lord God that your blessing would rest upon them. Would you bless these ladies. They are uniquely designed and equipped to help their men pursue the will of God. And so we ask that you would give them that measure of wisdom and strength and peace that they will need. Give them patience. Give them understanding. give them a renewed vision of Christ day by day so that even as the pressures and cares of this flock seep into their households, that they would not be distressed or alarmed by that, that they would quickly carry it to you even as they seek to help their husbands carry this ministry. We give you praise, Father, that you are coming again And while we are grateful for this church, we know it's not perfect and it won't be until Jesus comes and we're all in His presence and then we'll be united forever as one people. But we want heritage to manifest the glory of Christ and we want people who come in and out of our doors, who interact with us in the business world, in the academic world day by day and week after week to see Christ in us, to sense His presence, to hear His glorious character in the way we talk and interact. So would you continue to grow all of us and change us And we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our great Savior. Amen. Will you stand with me, please? And I take you to the end of the passage that we read at the very outset of the service, the benediction from Hebrews 13 that speaks of the great shepherd of the sheep. Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.