our text to introduce the subject at hand for us. The first is in Hebrews chapter 13, verses 7 and 17, and then 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 through 5. The subject of our message, the second in a short series, is upon the subject of pastoral authority. 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, the word conversation denoting lifestyle. Verse 17, Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you." 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1-5. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. Be instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." We will spend some few minutes by way of review, to both review and to again properly introduce the subject that is before us this morning. There are various areas of our faith that we never seriously study or consider. There are some areas that we take for granted unless we enter into a time of crisis. It should be simply common sense, although many professing Christians lack common sense. It should be common sense that a time of crisis is not the time to investigate anything so vital as the subject of pastoral authority. Pastoral authority is inherently related to any given issue in the realm of the church and its life. So we will not be put into that terrible position of being sidetracked in any issue by having to reconsider or argue about the issue of pastoral authority, I have chosen to bring this series this month. We will note in our series the following. The nature of pastoral authority, the scriptures and pastoral authority, the aspects of pastoral authority, and the practical issues and pastoral authority. In our first message last Lord's Day, we dealt with the issue of the nature of pastoral authority. As we looked at the nature of pastoral authority, we noted three things, three things essential to our understanding. The terms used for the pastoral office the responsibilities of the pastoral ministry and the goal of the pastoral ministry. We saw that there are six terms used in the word of God denoting, describing the pastoral ministry, and that each of these terms is directly related to the broad spectrum and the exact nature of pastoral authority. The terms are pastor, elder, bishop, minister, servant, and steward. Each of these terms is directly related to the broad and general area and the specifics of pastoral oversight, shepherding the flock of God, and pastoral authority. We then noted the responsibilities of the pastoral ministry and we took these directly from selected passages of scripture. Feed my sheep, tend the flock, shepherd the flock. God gave pastors, teachers, ministers for the maturity of the people of God. that the assembly come to harmony and unity and maturity in the faith, and be not children tossed to and fro and led astray with every wind of doctrine, warning every man, teaching every man, that we may present every man perfect, that is, mature, complete in Christ. Preach the word, the instant in season, out of season, We prove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." These are the scriptures and others that we noted, taking from the scriptures themselves the responsibilities of the pastoral ministry. Then we concluded our study with the goal of the pastoral ministry. We saw the goal of the gospel ministry as the conversion of sinners. baptizing them, bringing them into the sphere of the local assembly, and there as and under the pastoral ministry, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever our Lord has commanded. We've seen the means of achieving that goal, and we noted three. There are three interrelated means of achieving the goal that God has set for the pastoral ministry. The efficacious means the work of the Spirit of God. Graceless people cannot be pastored. Those who will not submit to the authority of the Word of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit will not submit to any pastor. the efficacious means of achieving the goal that God has ordained, the efficacious work of the Spirit of God. The instrumental means, of course, is indeed the Word of God, the Scriptures. For the Word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully limbed and completely outfitted unto all good works. The instrumental means, the word of God, must be received as it is in truth the word of God and not merely as the word of man. Those who do not and will not submit in obedience to the word of God cannot be pastors. The third was the institutional means, that is, the work of the pastoral ministry in the context of the local church. Preach the word, the instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. The institutional means the word of God in the context of the pastoral ministry. Now this morning we approach the Scriptures and the pastoral ministry. We did not put this first, because our first study was preparatory. We were drawing the perimeters in our first study, and now we will take selected passages of scripture. Indeed, every major passage of scripture that deals in any way with pastoral authority, we will give an exposition of that passage, and then we will make some practical observations upon it. the Scriptures and pastoral authority, and we look first at Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 through 16. Some may wonder why we should have such a series. I have already dealt in the introduction with the need for such a study simply because we do not want to be sidetracked to draw the perimeters of pastoral authority in a time of crisis. That usually happens whenever an issue is brought before the membership of any church. The pastor will take a stand that he believes is scriptural, and rather than deal with the stand, many people began to question pastoral authority. We should not be surprised at this, because if we read Romans chapter 9, we find that the first thing that men do is to question the character, the authority, and the prerogative of God. And if they question God Almighty, it's a certain thing that they will be sidetracked into questioning pastoral authority. There is a further reason for this study. That is, every member of the Church, in order to properly pray for the ministry, to pray for the Church, to submit to pastoral authority, and therefore to the word of God, should well be studied in this subject. In theory, we all believe. In practice, we are prone to deny. Our first scripture is Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 through 16. And he that is the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord and head of his church, and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints. That means for the maturity of God's people. The word derives from teleos, which means to be brought to completion, to be finished, to be made complete. For the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith. That is, until we are all well doctrinally taught in both faith and practice. and of the knowledge of the Son of God, the need for an intellectual ministry, unto a perfect or complete and mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive There is a great need and an essential need for constant doctrinal preaching, which both exposes the truth and also exposes error and deceit. You note that the Apostle Paul, under inspiration, does not only deal with the doctrines taught, but he deals very thoroughly with the false prophets who teach them. Oh, we are told today, names should not be called from the pulpit. Love the sinner, but hate his sin. In a sense, hate the false philosophy, hate the false doctrine, but never speak against those who promulgate such things. That is not Paul's inspired approach, being led by the Holy Spirit, but to deal with the teachers as well as their false doctrine. In our being scriptural brothers and sisters in Christ, let us indeed be scriptural. By the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. The ministry of the pastorate is designated and designed for the maturity, the unity, and the harmony of the local assembly, and therefore the pastoral ministry, with its inherent authority, enters in completely and fully to every aspect of the faith and life of the Church. We have four observations upon this passage. Observation one, God is a God of order, and He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. He gave. God is a God of order. The created universe is necessarily referred to as the cosmos, that is, the ordered the orderly, the arranged universe. The divine order stretches from the heavenly bodies to the minutest detail of the atomic particles. There is no place in God's ordered universe for chaos. That includes the family, that includes the church. God's order is to be manifest and evidenced in every area of human relationship. The two basic institutions that God has ordained, marriage and family and the church. God has ordained for the husband and father to be the responsible and accountable head of the marriage and family relationship. If that in any way is sidestepped, ignored or denied, there is sinful chaos within the marriage and family. God has likewise ordained a spiritual headship for the church. The pastoral ministry, the eldership are the responsible and accountable spiritual headship for each local assembly. Therefore divine revelation has provided for sufficient organization, leadership, and authority within the local assembly for its unity, for its maturity, and for its own edification and harmony. To sidestep, to ignore, to disdain or to disobey or revolt against, pastoral authority is to establish chaos within the local assembly. This year marks 37 years in the ministry for myself as an individual. I can tell you, not necessarily pragmatically, But I can tell you, no, more than from my own experience, I can state this unequivocally from the Word of God, in addition to the corporate experience of most mature individuals, that most people's problems are of their own making. Your problems and my problems are usually of our own making. and we bring them into the sphere of the church, not because we want them dealt with or solved, but because we want attention and sympathy without the truth of pastoral authority. Listen to me very carefully with what I am saying. I am dealing with the universal malady of mankind and with Christians, or at least professing Christians in particular. What you want is sympathy. What you want is attention. But very, very seldom what you want is the truth of God in the context of pastoral authority. If you wanted the truth of God in the context of God-ordained authority, you would come to the pastor. You would come to the eldership. But because you want attention and sympathy and you have a heart prone to gossip, you speak to others in the church and the pastor only hears about it second or third hand. This, my friend, is unquestionably sinful. Sinful disobedience to the authority that God has ordained. Observation number two of our text. God has given to his church the necessary offices for the edification, the learning, the growth and maturity of his people. What gifts or abilities God has given within the assembly, if they are exercised according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, there will be no disunity, disharmony or crisis within the church. But if people intrude into the spiritual leadership of the church through attention, through gossip, or through the desire to be important in their own eyes, there will be problems within the church, for the Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion. When there is a crisis within the church, When wives are speaking against their husbands to other members, when husbands are speaking against their wives to other members, this is sinful behavior and one can speak about his own marriage relationship and be guilty of gossip. Because we are not in obedience to the God-ordained authority. You may give to another member attention. You may give to another member or visitor sympathy, but there is one thing that you cannot possibly give, and that is the truth with pastoral authority. And those people are coming to you because they will not come to the spiritual leadership of the church. If the Holy Spirit guides in the conversation, the counseling and the exhortation, there will not be an outburst of sinful behavior. When there is an outburst of sinful behavior or there is blundering on the part of some, it speaks of sin and a derisiveness toward pastoral authority. Our third observation God calls men to the gospel and pastoral ministry. God raises up men for this office and He equips them for this ministry. The divine call to the ministry must never be taken lightly. It's not a light thing to stand before a congregation on the one hand and before Almighty God on the other as one who must give account Is there anyone in this congregation who can stand this morning and say, I am the one that God has ordained to give an account for the other members of this church? Then why are you so prone to interfere in my ministry? I am the one who seeks to do it with joy and not with grief, and others come to gossip about things because they want attention and sympathy, but they do not want the word of God with authority, and yes, and love. The disciples were concerned. Our Lord said, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Did he suggest then that they all rush into the harvest? No. If anyone had a high view of the Christian ministry, it was our Lord. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labors are few. Oh, then we can all minister. We can all go forth, helter-skelter through the fields, knocking down the wheat, pulling up the wheat along with the tares. After all, we're all the people of God. What did our Lord say? Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send laborers forth into his harvest. There is always authority. Always authority. The Lord Jesus Christ never sidestepped legitimate God-ordained authority. You say that is quite extreme. You are pumping yourself up. Shall I be more vile yet? Our Lord is speaking to his disciples, and he said, The scribes and Pharisees, and weren't they an ungodly lot? Who has anything good to say about a scribe or Pharisee? He said, The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, therefore whatever they say unto you, do it. You didn't know that was in the Bible, did you? You did, but not in this context. I'm simply impressing you with the high position of pastoral authority that our Lord acknowledged in the Christian ministry. I want to look at the call of God, because there are those who do deny it. There are those who believe that the Christian ministry is open to anyone, that we are all gifted by God, and what we should do is Discover our spiritual gift and then use it. If it is from the Holy Spirit, it will bring unity and harmony to the assembly. If it is selfish and self-centered, it will bring trouble to the people of God. There is a subjective aspect and an objective aspect to the call of God to the ministry. The subjective aspect of this call is an inward strong personal compulsion and conviction followed by a strong desire for the work of the ministry. This is scriptural. Those subjectively who believe they are called to this work are often reticent about it. They believe they are forced or pushed into the work of the ministry. They're overawed by it. They're overpowered by it. They are crushed by it. And yet they are in it because they believe that God has called them to this work. Our Lord said to his disciples in John chapter 15 verses 16 and onward, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. And that is quite applicable to later preachers and pastors. Acts chapter 9. Ananias, here am I, Lord, go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire there. For one, Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he prayeth." He's become a praying man, he's a believer. All of the objections of Ananias about Saul and his persecuting the church and so forth. God said, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before princes and kings and rulers, and I will show him how great things he must suffer for my sake. Paul was called to the ministry. Acts chapter 20 and verse 28, Feed the flock of God, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. God places or puts men into the ministry. 1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 11 and 12, Paul said, God counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Then in 1 Timothy chapter 3, this is a faithful saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. There is this compulsion, this desire, this thrusting into the work of the ministry. However, this is all subjective. We can be mistaken about the call of God. We can be mistaken about this desire for the ministry. We can be mistaken about many things, and you say to me this morning, then, why are you preaching about this in public? Because it means that you are vitally involved in what I'm saying. You're vitally involved in the call of the ministry. Because this church called me as pastor not on the basis that I told you I believe that God has called me to preach, but that you, we trust with some spiritual discernment, saw the gifts and the graces necessary to manifest in evidence the call of God, and on that basis you called me to be your pastor. You're involved in this. This is the objective aspect. Not only is a man called of God, or claims to be, But if this call is genuine, not merely emotional, not merely stemming from some base motive or desire for fame or pride or whatever, this call will be accompanied, number one, by the necessary qualifications, the graces and the gifts that God gives to those called to the ministry. There will be some gift for preaching, and there will be a personality, a character, disqualify for the minister. Relationship that does not disqualify for the minister, but rather qualifies. Number two, the church individually and corporately has to have enough spiritual discernment to see this. Who ordains a preacher? Who sets apart, officially, publicly, a minister of the gospel? Not other ministers. You say, well, a presbytery or a council does this. Ministers representing various churches get together, question the candidate, and they ordain him. Not so. They recommend him to the church for ordination. You, as a member of a church, should have an intense interest in anyone who says, I believe I am called to the ministry. You should, in prayerful consideration, be able to discern by gifts and graces the man who is genuinely called of God. And if you discern that a man is, because of his life, his character, his personality, his family, or his own personal life, is not qualified for the office of the ministry, you should have nothing to do with him in that regard. You should certainly not sit under his ministry. But if you do, If you do think the man is called of God, if you do think that he has been gifted in grace by the Holy Spirit, if you do believe that he is qualified for the pastoral ministry, then you had better not set his pastoral authority aside as a light thing. We're all involved in this, are we not? We have men who are preaching in other places from this congregation. We have men who stand in this pulpit beside your pastor, whom we hope will be brought into an eldership. There's a need for other elders as our church grows. Your pastor, and I'm not complaining, I'm simply stating a fact, gives to this church, God's called him to do it, sixty to seventy hours a week. He preaches six times a week in addition to pastoral duties, and he does more than sit on his rear end with his nose in a book. There is hardly anything that goes on in this church that the pastor either has not dealt with scripturally or is in the process of dealing with scripturally. And if you think for one moment that the pastor is lax, you haven't come to talk to him about the given situation, you've blundered into it by avoiding his pastoral authority. Our fourth observation on Ephesians chapter four, the goal of the pastoral ministry, if scriptural, is to bring the people of God to spiritual maturity doctrinally, that great need for constant doctrinal preaching, to prevent them from being seduced by false teaching, and to bring about the loving harmony of the church in mutual edification. Look at those words in Ephesians chapter 4. They haunt me. And beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, they should haunt you. Speaking the truth in love. Speaking the truth in love. We can speak in love and slant the truth and do great amount of damage to the souls and lives of men and women. People will come to us wanting attention, wanting sympathy, but they do not want the authority of the Word of God. And they go to others in the church rather than the pastor because they want love, but they don't want the truth with authority. That does a great amount of damage, not only to the church as an entity, not only to the people who sidestep the God-ordained authority, but it involves you in gossip and disobedience to what God has ordained in the local assembly. Our next passage, Acts chapter 20, verses 28 through 31. This is directed toward pastors. Does not mean that you can go asleep for a few moments, because it also by implication applies to you. But this is focused to pastors especially. I read this because it deals with pastoral authority. It also deals with how we should pray for the ministry and support the ministry, for times are critical. Paul speaking to the elders of the Ephesian assemblies, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." We are to be impressed with the high place that even the local assembly has. to the Lord Jesus Christ. He purchased it with his own blood. We are precious unto him. He does not look down into the affairs of even the local church. As a mere spectator, he is vitally interested to his life's blood in the affairs of your life and mine. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Watch therefore, and remember that by the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears. Paul, in his three years ministry at Ephesus, daily warned, with tears, emotionally, as one of the greatest issues and crises of his ministry, for these individuals to take care of the ministry over which the Holy Spirit had placed them. This is awesome. You say to yourself, perhaps, The pastor's in a great position of authority. He's well taken care of. He seems to live on a higher plane. No one's critical of him as they are of me. Or as one woman who aspired to marry a minister said to my wife and to another minister's wife, who's now with the Lord, she says, Oh, I want to be a preacher's wife. to dress in fine clothes, drive a nice car, live in a nice home, and have everyone think well of me." And my wife and the other minister's wife, who is now deceased and with the Lord, they had to put their hands on their mouths to keep from just laughing in her face. When I proposed to my wife Christmas Eve 1966, I took her into my study, I got down on one knee, had the engagement ring earned by cutting and splitting firewood for a living at that time. And I proposed to hear somewhat in the following words. Are you willing to leave everyone and everything and marry me? Are you willing to be maligned and mistaken, mistreated, misunderstood and suffer everything? And she said yes and I married her and it's all come true. My one fault is that I was too honest. And if she didn't believe it at that time, she certainly believes it today. Paul said, we are made as the offscouring of the earth, scum, garbage and dung. A great liability. It is not that the pastor or the spiritual leadership, the elders are above everyone else. They've been called into accountable, responsible headship. Little children, boys and girls, young men and women. Does it gripe you at times that mom and dad get to do things that you don't? Boy, if I were dad, we'd do this and we'd do that. We'd have pizza every night. We'd spend all this money. We'd go here and we'd go there. We would have a whole garage full of Nintendo toys. We'd have a computer in every room. Well, dad thinks differently because he's dad. Dad's responsible. After you've watched TV and played your games and gone to bed at night, hopefully after family worship, Mom and Dad are sitting up and you hear the low tones, hopefully low tones, as they discuss the bills and how they're going to make the ends meet. Sometimes Dad has to take an extra job, sometimes things have to be sold. You can't understand that because dad has been put by God in a different office than you have. So is the pastor. It's not an office of privilege. It's an office of great responsibility. I speak to the husbands and fathers in this congregation. Have you ever sat down alone and thoughtfully considered that someday you will stand before Almighty God and Jesus Christ as the judge of all men, and you're going to have to give an account for the souls of your family. God has placed you in that position. You're simply not going to stand before God as an individual. You're going to stand before God as a husband and father, and you're going to have to give an account for your family in the position where God has placed you. And as a pastor, I have to stand before God someday and give an account for people who couldn't care less whether I live or die. People with whom I've labored hour after hour in tears and prayer, giving them the truth of the Word of God in love and having them absolutely refuse to obey the Word of God. And what can I say about it? Because these are private matters, I can never bring them before the church. And I live with it. And despite that, If you think it's hard to come to church Sunday after Sunday and sit here in those hard chairs for preaching, I have to look people in the face every week who are living in rebellion to the word of God, and I'm still trying to be their pastor. This is the office of responsibility, a great responsibility. And I wonder how much joy I will have on the Day of Judgment when I give an account for the souls of men and women, husbands, fathers, wives and mothers. and others who have utterly spurned the counsel of the word of God. They go to others because they want attention. They go to others because they want sympathy. They refuse to come to the pastor because the pastor gives them the truth with pastoral authority. And if he didn't, I tell you, my friends, the church would cease to exist. Observation number one. God calls, appoints, or places men to the pastorship or eldership through the work of the Holy Spirit. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. The Greek verb is in the eris eteto. It means to put or to place. Yes, there is a definite call to the ministry. God puts places or appoints men into the spiritual leadership of the church through the work of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever come to the pastor for counsel and said to yourself before the meeting, This is the man whom the Holy Spirit of God has placed over me in the context of this church for the good of my soul. Have you ever said that? No, you haven't. How can I get the attention I want? How can I get the sympathy that I want? How can I get the pastor to put leverage on my husband because I, as a woman, just can't get the job done? How am I, as a man, going to get sympathy from another man? And so you come and you try to manipulate the pastor, and when you find you can't do it, you start spreading out to other people in the church, because what you want is attention, sympathy, but you don't want the truth and loving authority. You see, we're all intimately involved in the nature, the issue, and the authority of the pastoral ministry. We are all members of one body. And what affects one? affects all. This divine appointment is necessarily made evident both to the individual and to the entire congregation. Go into any church before the service begins, look around, and you are usually able to spot the man who is in authority. He has a different personality. There's something about that man that is different. And if he's a God-called man, you know that there is an authority in his life, in his preaching, in his teaching. In his very personality, there is an authority there that is far above and beyond his individual personality. That is an evidence of the call of God. It is possible, even at age 59, that there's four or five men in this church who can whip me physically. Most of you probably can't. Old age and skill and breaking all the rules makes up for youth and idealism. But every man in this church, to a given degree, has a fear of me. Why? Because I'm a fat, old, bearded man, 59 years of age? No, because you realize in the preaching of this church's ministry that God has called me. And like a prophet of old, there is a difference in my personality. And it doesn't come from psychology. It doesn't come from education. It comes from the call of God. How can you lightly set aside the pastoral authority, then, to gossip among yourselves? You see, we're all involved, are we not? We should pray for the pastor of the congregation or the eldership of the congregation more than for any other people, even more than for ourselves, because they are the ones that God has ordained to watch over our souls. Observation number two. There are great warnings for the pastoral ministry. The primary warning is for the pastors themselves and then for the church. Why? Because uncalled and unqualified men will enter the pastoral ministry and either unwittingly or knowingly seek to destroy the work of God. The warning here in Acts chapter 20 is for the pastor. Take heed to yourselves, primarily. Grievous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. People will come and be schismatic and pull away people after themselves. These men, of course, have a light view of the pastoral ministry and almost always very base motives for the work of God. Observation number three, the work of the pastoral ministry is inclusive in nature. Feed the flock of God is literally shepherd the flock of God. Tend to the people of God as a shepherd tends for his sheep. To shepherd God's church is to exercise oversight. It implies authority. The Holy Spirit has made the pastor, the overseer, the elders, the overseers, or the superintendents of the assembly under Christ. Not arbitrarily, under Christ. But because he has done this, he has neither called nor qualified anyone else for that work. How can you lightly assume to pastor other members of the congregation? Has God called you to do this? Has God called you to arbitrarily do this and never even contact the pastor or the eldership and said, this is what we're attempting to do. Pastor, do you know anything about this? Yes, I do. And the pastor might be able to say that for months he's been working with these people, but you don't know it because they're not about to tell you. What they want is attention, what they want is sympathy, what they want is money, what they want is I don't know what. They want help of some sort, but they don't want to face the issue because they're afraid of the pastor's authority, and they ought to be. And you are involved in their sinful behavior, the rebellion against God, if you do not at Say, Pastor, what do you know? Do you know about this situation? Yes. What do you know about it? I can't tell you. You see, you think the problem's over there. I see the problem is over here. And it's of such a private and sensitive nature, I can't even tell you. Because you've heard one side of the story. Are you now the pastor? God forbid. Serious, isn't it? If this is the work of God, now if the church is simply a social organization, and I would that all God's people would be pastors. But it's not. It is ordained of God and it's serious. The last thing any of us would ever want to do is in any way harm the work of God, and yet people do in a very light way, simply because they never stop and consider the very issue of pastoral authority. Observation number five, pastoral authority is absolutely essential to the well-being of the church. It is the pastor or the elder's responsibility to maintain order through obedience to the Word of God. It is the pastor's responsibility. It is the responsibility of the eldership to maintain order by obedience to the word of God. Very simple. But when, as well-meaning as people might be, they interfere in that work or work through something, blunder into something, as well-meaning, as compassionate as they might possibly be, without the pastor's knowledge or help They are creating a sinful condition, and by helping people in such a state, they may be furthering their disobedience and rebellion to the word of God. We will deal with this in great detail later, God willing, but I'll say simply at this point, through your compassion you may help someone. And in helping that person financially, emotionally, scripturally, food, whatever it might be, you may be in that very act furthering their rebellion against the Word of God. And you don't even know it, because you failed to consult the pastor who usually knows the intimacies of the members of the church. By giving money to another church member, you may be furthering drug addiction. You may be furthering indolence. and a deadbeat who won't pay his bill. You think it's compassion. You think it's wonderful. You say, my, my, God is using me, and that's a wonderful thing. But because you failed to consult the pastor, you do not know the pastor may have been dealing with this individual for months, and you think the problem is at A, and the problem is really at B, and you don't even know. You blunder into the situation, and what surprises you is the pastor himself is not enthusiastic about it. What the pastor ought to do is knock on your door and give you a piece of his mind and, speaking the truth in love, whip you in pastoral counsel. But he's too kind to do that. My responsibility as pastor is to maintain order. through obedience to the word of God. Very simple. And the entire church is involved in this. Can a pastor pastor a church that will not be pastored? No, he cannot. If this is the work of God, it will be pastored to God's glory. Finally now, observation number six for the well-being of the church, especially as it grows in number, and in a multitude of responsibilities, it is commendable and even necessary for a plurality of elders to exist. Your pastor's getting old. He feels it this past year. I'll guarantee you that. I haven't slacked off in what I give as much as I can to the work of the ministry. I contracted to do an extra year's preaching this last year, and I did it on the radio. That's an extra year's ministry in addition to preaching and teaching here six times a week. I did it. Did it tire me out? Yes, I was exhausted. Had some type of a breakdown about a year ago, and I'm somewhat recovered from that. But it's the work of the ministry. It's gaining a hearing. You gain a hearing, and the men who preach in other places know this. You gain a hearing wherever you can. If you can't get a hearing at A, you try for a hearing at B. The kingdom of God does not come with observation. There's no great work of revival going on now. We deal with people individually. We deal with two or three. We go and hold a Bible study in a home. We do what we can to gain a hearing. But the pastor is getting older. This church should be seeking out one or two men to bring into the eldership. When your pastor dies, he certainly won't retire. He can't do that. Some denominations retire their pastor. Some of them just try their pastor. I've been tried already. You should be looking at some men who, in personality and family and gifts, lift them up to the eldership that God should bless and this church should grow in number, in influence and in spiritual prosperity. These are the real issues. Our time is gone. I must draw this to a conclusion. We'll continue on, God willing, next week. Let me say this before I dismiss you. When Paul speaks to Timothy, Paul is now ready to die. He's going to shortly be beheaded. Tradition tells us at least. He was killed, we know that, and as a Roman citizen, probably beheaded. He said, The time of my departure, my exodus, is at hand. My annulusi, my pulling up tent pegs and going home. He was anticipating this. He was in his late 60s. He was broken in body and in health. He was a prisoner at Rome. He writes to Timothy. Preach the word, the instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not hold up under sound doctrine." That's the word he uses on echo. They'll not hold up under sound doctrine. But after their own strong desires shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. But you, Timothy, very personal, emphatic personal pronoun is used here in the Greek. Very personal, very heartfelt from Paul's heart to Timothy. But you, Timothy. You, Timothy, keep on being clear-headed. Don't be carried away with all of this. Don't be shaken by false doctrine. Continue to be clear-headed. With a sense of determination, endure hardships. With a sense of urgency, practice evangelism. The pastoral ministry never replaces the gospel ministry. So I conclude on a gospel note. You've heard some strong things today, very practical preaching. very practical, necessary preaching for every congregation. But I close with a gospel note. The church is not to be a burden. The life of the people in the church is not to be burdensome. It is to be filled with joy. We are brought to spiritual maturity. The whole body is brought together with the unity and harmony of the Spirit of God. As you look to the church, you don't see these things. You see a person here, a person there, a family here, a family there. You see problems and so forth. You don't see this church as a spiritual entity, perhaps, because you're unconverted. You see the human side, but you don't see the work of God going on, because the kingdom of God is not coming with great observation. It's a spiritual work. I see the difference as the pastor. The members usually see the difference as members. They're attuned to the needs, the blessings of God, and they pray for one another. But you on the outside, perhaps growing up in this church, seeing problems and issues in people and family, perhaps as a visitor. You come, you see, and perhaps you quite misunderstand. Let me tell you this. until God opens your eyes by His Spirit and guide you by your words, you will never see the church for what it is. The people of God gathered together, covenant together for their edification, for the glory of God, for the evangelization of the Lord. You're blind to these things because your eyes of your heart and your understanding have not been opened. The Bible says, Our Lord said to Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Your eyes have to be open. May God, by His Holy Spirit, open your eyes. to see Jesus Christ as the all-sufficient and only Savior. May God open your eyes to see the truth and glory of his holy law. May God open your eyes that you might see yourself as a lawbreaker and a rebel, and you might be reconciled to God through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You might be enabled to reach out by faith and lay hold of Christ. Your eyes should be open And you should indeed be a child of God. Do not criticize the church. It's God's work. What you see are the outward husks. You do not see the true work of the kingdom of God going forth. May God, by his grace, bless this study. May God, by his grace, convict us where we are mistaken. May God, by his grace, honor his truth, bring glory to himself, and convert those among us who are yet in their sin. O Lord God, bless thy word. Glorify thyself. These hard things to be said, easy to understand. Sanctify them and use them and glorify thyself to the upbuilding of the church, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.