Brothers and sisters, remain standing out of respect and adoration for the word of the Lord and turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. We shall read from verse 17. Hear now the word of the living God. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." Let's pray together. Sovereign Lord, We cast ourselves to You this morning, acknowledging that there is no understanding, that we have no understanding and no light apart from You, apart from the blessed Spirit of truth. And we pray that the Holy Spirit would come and descend upon us to enlighten our minds and our hearts to see our duties and to see the Lord Jesus. We pray that we would leave here refreshed and nourished under the Word of Grace. We pray for those who are here this morning that do not belong to Jesus Christ. Have mercy upon them, O Lord. Will this be the day that You call them out of the kingdom of darkness, out of Satan's realm of wickedness, and bring them into Your blessed presence and cleanse them and give them the robe of righteousness? Oh God, save sinners. Manifest Your grace. Minister, Lord, to Your people, those who know You. Those who walk in the covenant of grace, dear God, minister to them. Give them grace as needed. Give them light to live righteously and justly. O God, strengthen them, preserve them, that they may finish this race and see your glorious face. Minister to us now, we ask, dear God. If you do not meet with us, we have met in vain. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. There is, this morning, a dual purpose to our sermon. This morning, it will continue to motivate and to stir up obedience and submission in you as congregation members, those who belong to Christ by virtue of membership of the church, And it will also be used to motivate us as elders to fulfill the awesome and weighty task of shepherding the flock of Jesus Christ. Two purposes this morning are found in our text. Instead of preaching one sermon, on just the role and duties of the elders, I think we should incorporate that in the motivation that you have to obey and to esteem and to submit to those church officers the Lord has placed over you. We've been talking about authority now for the last several weeks. and that there are no loopholes in this text. There are no loopholes in your obligations and duties as church members to obey those ecclesiastical officers that Christ has placed over you. And we've looked at several things that you need to bring to the table in your obedience. It's not a blind, implicit obedience, but it's a knowable, it's a knowledge that you bring to the submission and obedience to your officers. You are to be Bereans and to search the Word of God. And that when you find their instructions to be compatible with the apostolic teaching of Scripture, you are to, with joy, submit and obey without hesitation. because that you realize that your submission is ultimately not to fallible, sinful men, but to the great Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. And what born-again believer does not want to submit to their Lord? What born-again brother and sister who has had their sins washed away, who have been translated out of the kingdom of misery and darkness, and brought into the fellowship of the living and true God where you can call Him Father. What saint of God does not want to submit to Him? And brothers, I'm here to tell you that there's a believer in quotations that have a problem submitting to ecclesiastical authority in the first place. They must look as in their own heart. Because the Holy Spirit bears witness to that authority. and bears witness to that truth. And the Holy Spirit seeks and yearns to yield to what He has written and to the other persons of the Trinity. We'll never fight the truth of Scripture. You know, it's often said by our children, and this is the immature thinking, that our children or at least oftentimes reveal, but probably more so think, that there's going to come a day that they're not going to have any authority over them. That they desire to grow up and to long for that day that there's no one going to tell them what to do. Maybe they've said this to you during a time of discipleship. Maybe they've revealed their heart to you when they said, I can't wait to move out of the house so that I can be my own master and my own boss. Oh beloved, now's the time to teach them that they'll never be their own master. Young people, boys and girls, Learn now that the Lord Jesus loves you so much that He has placed several authority structures around and about you for your protection, for your care, to nurture you. All for His glory and all for your good. Everything that is for God's glory is for your benefit and your good. So we need to know now that there's never going to be a day, never a day, teenagers, where you're going to be your own master. You're always going to be, at least under the watchful care of God, but you will be under some human authority. You will always be under some human authority. And your submission to them as they lawfully lead you will be an indicator of your heart. What a great blessing that is, because oftentimes we don't understand what's in our heart. Oftentimes we don't know, and we find we're confused, and we wonder if we're believers. We're wondering, you know, am I truly born again? Do I truly love the Lord Jesus Christ? And what you have to ask yourself is, how do I relate to those authority figures that Christ has placed in my life? I mean, particularly in this text, how do I relate to my pastors and to my elders? How do I respond to their rebukes, to their instructions, to their exhortations? Do I fluff it off? Do I seriously consider their opinion? Do I seriously take into consideration what they have instructed and taught me? That's the question. That is the reflection of your heart, how you respond to those things. And the Lord's given you tangible ways for you to say, you know what, I don't find myself very submissive. I don't find myself very submissive to church authority. I don't find myself very submissive, maybe, to my parents. And that's a huge indicator that something's wrong. That's a huge indicator there's a problem. And I pray that you'll seek the Lord's face as we continue to work through this passage of Scripture. That you will seek the Lord's face and that you will find forgiveness and grace. And that this day you would commit yourselves to submit to those who watch over you, particularly your pastors, because they watch over your souls. Brothers and sisters, the book of Hebrews was written by a man who had a profound knowledge of the Old Testament. The author of the book of Hebrews, whether it was the Apostle Paul, or whether it was one of his disciples, or whoever the author was, we know for a fact that he had a profound understanding of the Old Testament. No other book in the New Testament expounds the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ like this book. And the author uses the Old Testament to do it. The author uses the Old Testament to set forth the glory and the offices of Christ in prophet, priest, and king. He expels Christ like no other author in the New Testament. And he quotes constantly from the Old Testament. There are, in the book of Hebrews, 70 direct quotations, at least in the New American Standard, 70 direct quotations out of the Old Testament in 13 chapters. 70 direct quotations. That's not counting Hebrews chapter 11. And if you're familiar with that chapter, you'd understand how many more times does he quote directly out of the Old Testament. I didn't even count Hebrews chapter 11. Nor does that count all the implicit statements. All of the allusions to the Old Testament found in his writing. All of those allusions to Christ about sacrifice, about sins, about their obedience out of the Old Testament. I believe that we can clearly and with a clear conscience say that there are literally hundreds of quotations and allusions from the book of Hebrews directly pulled from the Old Testament. Now what is He teaching us? He's teaching us if you want to rightly understand the Old Testament, you better look for Jesus. If you're going to rightly understand what the Old Testament taught, what it set forth, it set forth the ministry of the great Mediator that all men need, that all nations must bow and kneel to. He sets forth the glory and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ out of the Old Testament, showing them that this is the gospel of grace. It was revealed to you in the Old Testament. And now that you have the reality of it in the New Testament, what are you wanting to do? You're wanting to apostatize. You're wanting to leave the race. You're wanting to leave the track. You're wanting to have it easier than you have it now. You're not willing to persevere in your confession of faith. The author of the book of Hebrews does not slide a wedge between the Old and New Testaments. He sees the Bible as one covenant document. And he seeks to understand it in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're studying the Old Testament, if you're reading the Old Testament, and you have not asked yourself this question, where is Christ? You do not understand the Old Testament. That's a great hermeneutic as you read the Bible. You need to understand, what does this passage of Scripture teach me about the Lord Jesus Christ? We see here that this verse 17 is no exception to his use of Old Testament phraseology and figures because he says, not only does he desire that they obey their leaders and submit to them, but then he attaches this phrase, for they keep watch over your souls. He uses a term that these Hebrew Christians would have been familiar with. He says that they keep watch, these pastors, these elders, these ministers of the Word of Grace, keep watch over your souls. They would have noticed and recognized it. It would have jumped off the page to them because they would have immediately thought about those Old Testament prophets as being watchmen. over Israel and being the mouthpiece of God. That those prophets came preaching to them the very words of God, and not to obey that prophet was not to obey the living God. That's why Jesus even told His disciples, He carries that out from the Old Testament only into the New Testament when He said, listen, as I send you out into these homes, if they reject you, they reject Me. If they accept your teaching, they accept Me. The same principle. Brothers and sisters, there are at least four motivations in this verse that will do two things. Number one, it's going to motivate you to obey and submit. Secondly, it's going to motivate us who stand in the place of authority to tremble before the face of God. I don't know of any other way to say it. It's going to cause you to cast yourselves upon the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to put off your flesh and to submit to those who love you and who are trying to lead you. And it's going to cause the elders and the pastors to cast themselves to the mercy of Christ because we can't do it. We are totally dependent upon grace, all of us, to obey and to submit and to lead and guide. But there are at least four motivations found in this text. And our first motivation is this. It's their office. The first motivation that you have to submit and to obey is the very office he is speaking of when he calls them watchmen. When he says, for they keep watch over your souls. They are appointed by God. We talked about that appointment a week ago. that these watchmen that have been placed over the church have not run presumptuously. They just did not run on their own and say, listen to me, I come in my own name and I come in my own authority, listen to my words. That's not what he's saying. He says, brothers and sisters, there have been those who have been appointed as watchmen over your souls. And of course, the reverse and the other application to this is that elders and ministers are watchmen. Their office in this verse of Scripture is described as a watch, to watch, to look for danger, to watch out for those who would come into the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and destroy the flock of God. They are called watchmen. John Brown says this, the Hebrew Christians were to be obedient to their spiritual rulers. They were to consider the Christian ministry as an ordinance of Christ and yield obedience to those who filled it, insofar as they taught them the doctrines and commandments of Jesus Christ." Now, we talked about that. That means that these watchmen and these ministers do not and are not to teach their own will. We do not have the prerogative to impose upon the Lord's sheep our personal Likes or dislikes. We are to minister to the congregation of the Lord with the Word of God, as spiritual stewards of grace. He goes on to say this, but they were to obey from an enlightened regard to authority and were to submit themselves both to their faithful instruction and faithful reproofs. And I think that's a great point to make here because it's often easy for us to submit to exhortations and it's more difficult to submit when we're rebuked by those whom God has placed over us. But there is an obligation to submit to both instruction and reproof. Now, brothers and sisters, these watchmen have as a charge to watch over your souls. Now, what is the charge? A charge is a commission given by someone in authority. Christ has charged His ministers to watch over the souls of the congregation, to watch over the souls of His sheep, His flock, His people. That charge acts as a burden. The word means to load a wagon. That means the elders and ministers have the load placed upon them to carry the spiritual burdens of the people. They keep watch over your souls. And they have only one mission in mind. Elders. The saving of God's people. That's it. One goal is the saving of the Lord's people. That's why our Confession of Faith in the Directory of Public Worship says this, the church has two functions and only two. And it's not entertainment. It's not to make sure everybody's busy. It's not to make sure that everybody has happy time and everybody has their, quote, self-needs fulfilled. The church has two goals. to call the sheep from the four corners of the earth and to sanctify them to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. Preparing the people of God to stand before Him and to hear those words, Well done, good and faithful servant. Now enter into the realm of God. Beloved, that's it. To preach the gospel and to teach in such a way that the sheep hear the voice of Jesus Christ and they enter into that blessed relationship. And once they're in that relationship, they must be changed. They must be sanctified. They must grow in grace and put off all these bad habits. Ministers are to help the sheep tend to their ways that they might be sanctified in growing grace, that when they get ready to flee, to leave the course, to leave the race, they come along and they help the sheep stay the course, persevere. You don't want to do this so that they'll persevere until the end. Christ has appointed certain men for the spiritual improvement of His elect. has appointed certain men, not all men. There is a doctrine going around the church today, and it's a misunderstanding of the priesthood of believers. There is an understanding that in the priesthood of believers, everybody is alike, and they are alike in one sense. They are alike in that they all need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are alike in the sense that they all need His grace and mercy to minister to them, and they have nothing in and of themselves worthy of anything. But there are certain men out of the elect that God establishes as ministers and watchmen for the sake of the sheep, because He knows that in this life it's a militant church. He knows that in this life, we are at war. And he knows that in this life, Satan is doing everything he can to thwart, to derail, and to confuse you in such a way that you cannot accomplish what God has set forth for you to accomplish. They are spiritual-minded, mature men who understand their calling. They have as their goal the everlasting salvation of God's people. Everything. You know, everything we do, Bible studies, fellowship, prayer meetings we have during the week are all for that purpose. That's it. We pray because we know without prayer, we're not going to persevere. We come to the means of grace because we know without the means of grace, we're not going to persevere. I mean, we don't take the Lord's Supper just so we can go around telling people we can take the Lord's Supper every week, because we're more spiritual. You only do it once a year. We do it every week. We take the Lord's Supper because we know we need Jesus. And that we know we cannot make it in this life apart from Him. We cannot raise godly children. We cannot be godly husbands. We cannot be godly wives. Faithful brothers and sisters, good church members, apart from the grace of Christ. Without that grace, we will use and abuse one another. And without that grace, we'll easily put off the Lord Jesus Christ and live according to our own standard. You see, brothers and sisters, he uses this phrase pulled right out of the Old Testament to teach us that ministers are watchmen over the congregation of the Lord. Ezekiel 3, verse 17. Let's go there and look at that passage of Scripture together. Ezekiel chapter 3. Notice what it says here. And again, you can notice the words and phrases we've already used to build up your understanding. Chapter 3, verse 17, the Son of Man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, warn them from me. When I say to the wicked, you will surely die, and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand." Yet if you have warned the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered yourself. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die. Since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. However, if you have turned the righteous man, that the righteous man should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning, and you have delivered yourself." You see in this passage of Scripture in the Old Testament how seriously God takes the appointment of His watchman. He says, I've placed you as a watchman over Israel, and if you don't tell them the things that I've told you to say, if you don't tell them the warnings, if you don't tell them all of the things that I have commanded you, I am going to require it of you, watchmen, elders. How was the prophet of God going to deter them from their sin and wicked ways? He was going to preach and teach. He was going to teach to them the will of God through His Word. And if the Word of God did not detour that sinner from his sinful ways, the prophet would stand before God blameless, but the sinner would die. Turn to Acts chapter 20. We see here again the continuity and unity of the Old and New Testaments. Acts chapter 20 and verse 26. I'm going to read to you the context of this passage of Scripture. Starting over in verse 18. He says, And when they had come to him, he said to them, You yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials, which come upon me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, Bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Scripture solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course in the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus. to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent. of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." You see, beloved, you see in this text, the continuity and unity of the Old and New Testaments, what is Paul affirming? Paul is affirming his ministry as a watchman, as an apostle over the church of Christ, the church that Christ has purchased with His precious blood, those lambs that Christ loved so dearly that He gave His own life for them. Paul says, I've been called to this ministry to shepherd these sheep. And I stand before God with a clear conscience because I never cease, day and night, any opportunity that I have to preach and teach the whole counsel of God. I've warned you. I've exhorted you. I've reproved you. And I've encouraged you. And I stand before God blameless of the blood of these men. You see, the same principle found that we just read in Ezekiel chapter 3. Has God changed His mind? No. Does God desire less of ministers today and elders as He did then? No. Not if the New Covenant is a better covenant. Not if there's more responsibility given to us in the New Covenant. If there's more glory, there's more light, there's more revelation, there's the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, listen, they live in the shadows. We have the reality. How much responsibility? are we loaded down with, who have the whole revelation of God, who have the outpouring of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Beloved, we have no excuse. We have no excuse. Paul says he's innocent of the blood of all men because of his faithful teaching and preaching ministry. Now, I know some people have used this verse, and I've actually been in meetings where When Paul said that he was innocent of the blood of all men, that verse was used to manipulate believers into being witnesses for Christ. You know, you know, the kind of witness I'm talking about. We're all witnesses. We are all witnesses and understand this today. You are witness. You are witness to the Lord Jesus Christ right now as you listen. These little children, these boys and girls, these other families are watching you, seeing how you react and how you respond. What are you going to do with this information? You are being a witness to Christ right now. You're going to witness to the world how you raise your children, all the things that you put your time, labor, the things you spend your money on. It's easy to just go talk to people about Jesus. It's a lot harder to live for Him. I mean, it's easy to tell people they need to repent. It's easy to tell people they're going to perish without Jesus. It's another thing to see you humble yourself before the grace of God, to see you like the publican in the temple beating his chest, understanding the misery of sin and praying for the Lord's grace just to be upon your family because you know you're a miserable father, you know you're a terrible mother, and it's only by the grace of God that these children are ever going to make it. And I'm being a little facetious. But you see, beloved, we are full of weaknesses. We are full of sin. And the more time we spend in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we see it. Now, we are a testimony all the time. And this verse should not be used to manipulate people to jump on the old woman walking down the street. You know, to feel guilty. I used to feel guilty when I walked in the store and there was ten people standing in line. If I didn't witness all ten of them, I was a terrible Christian. That's not what he's saying. It's referring to ministers. Elders. Those who have been given the appointment, those who have been given charge over the household of Christ to minister to those people under their care the whole counsel of God, and not just focus on, like some churches, and I'm going to say this, and if I offend you, please come see me. We're not evangelistically centered. It's not just about saving the lost. It's not just about families. We're not a child-centered church. We're not husband-centered. We're not wife-centered. You know, it's not just the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word. We understand that the Word contains the revelation of Jesus Christ, and we can't know Christ apart from His Word. We're a Christ-centered, God-centered church. We understand that He has a church and He has appointed ministers over that congregation, over His people, to minister to them the means of grace and the grace of His Word. Beloved, we're not. Just so we can say, well, we had 1,500 saved this year. We baptized 150. And yet people are sitting in the pew starving to death. People are sitting in the pews. They can't manage their marriages. They don't know what to do. Husbands don't know how to love their wives. Wives don't know how to submit to their husbands. Children, they don't know what to do. Parents don't know what to do with their children. They're confused. I mean, but we baptized 150 people. And God will require the blood of those saints on the elders. What's our second motivation? We see our first motivation is the appointment of the office. Our second motivation is the function and goal of this office. Our second motivation for you to obey gladly and to submit to ecclesiastical authority is the function of the office. They watch over souls. That's their function. It is also a motivation for elders not to get caught up into the mundane activities of trying to please every family. Trying to please all of the whims of every family. And we want to please you. We desire deep down in our heart to be pleasing to you. So that when you speak our names, that you have a smile on your face. Brothers and sisters, I promise you we want to please you. But we answer to a higher authority. We answer to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And we cannot bow to your every whim. If we did, we'd be disobedient to our Savior. You must understand the function and the goal of our office is not to impose upon you things just to keep you busy, but only those things that are going to help you stand before God. and be accepted into His presence. That's it. Our prayers, our labors, our tears. Paul said, I did not cease day and night crying and weeping for your souls that you'd be saved. That's the goal in the work of the ministry is that the sheep will be saved. So our second motivation is the functioning goal of the office. It's to watch over your souls. You know what's interesting? When you meet people, you know within the first 30 minutes the things they like. Right? I mean, you know within the first 30 minutes as you get to know someone, the things they begin to talk about, whether it's their business, their wives, their children, their church, their money, their goals, whatever it may be, whatever's on their heart, usually that's the things that they want you to know about them first. And it's always, it seems to me, that men are more apt to be more concerned about where they put their money than where they put their families. They're more concerned about putting their money with an investor than they're going to get the highest interest. And there's nothing wrong with that. But why won't he take the time? I mean, he invests the company. I mean, he investigates the company. He sees what kind of returns they've had on their investments over a period of time. I mean, he wants to make sure that if he deposits his life savings and earnings in this institution, that it's going to be profitable for him. How much more your souls? I'd love for somebody to come and investigate this church and say, we want to talk to you. What kind of elder are you? Are you this kind of elder? How do you fit Ephesians chapter 4? How do you find Acts chapter 20? How do you relate to Hebrews 13, 17? Pastor, tell me, what do you think about the appointment of Christ's officers? Are you a watchman? Praise God! When men Women and families begin taking their souls, of their souls and the souls of their children so seriously, they don't put themselves and plant themselves in any church unless they meet these qualifications. If they don't meet them, run as fast as you can. And I mean it. Well, they had about a third of them run. Because your soul is on the line. And you know what? You might be a strong Christian man, husband. Grown up in the Reformed faith, reading your Bible, and your wife is coming along behind you, and praise God for it, but I'm going to tell you something. All preaching is affectional. Good preaching is affectional. Bad preaching is affectional. Sit under bad preaching and over time you'll become dull and lethargic and apathetic. And you know what? It may not affect you. You may get to heaven by the skin of your teeth, but guess where your son and daughters are going to be? That's what we're talking about, souls. So our second motivation is the function and goal of the office itself, is to watch over souls. And that's it. Don't expect anything else out of the elders of Zion Presbyterian Church than your salvation. That's our interest. It's to see your family grow in grace and to finish the race. John Brown said this. the spiritual improvement, the everlasting salvation of their people, is the elder's great object. And to gain this great object, they must watch day and night over your soul. In the Greek language, in Hebrews chapter 13, that's what it's referring to, is those who watch while you're asleep. The watchman worked at night when no one else was up. Everybody was tucked away in their bed, safe for the night, because the watchman was on the wall and he was looking out for danger. Pastors are like that. True, biblical, godly shepherds are watching over the sheep while the sheep sleep. They're always looking out for danger. They're always wanting to know what kind of books are you reading? What kind of influences are you under? What are you thinking? How are you thinking? What's your goals for this year? How are you raising your children? All of these things the pastors are constantly working and growing and maneuvering around in your family so that they may cut off any danger that may arise in all those things. Beloved, we've already said this before, you don't have opportunity. If you're a Christian man, let me tell you, you're doing everything you can to make a living. You're doing everything you can to read your Bible diligently and to pray with your family. You know what? Look, don't even worry about teaching. Don't even worry about the future of this church. You want to worry about the future of this church? Start today working in your homes. Don't worry about where the elders are going to take us next month. Worry about, I'm going to be godly, I'm going to focus on this, and I'm going to let my ministers and my elders watch over my souls. I'm not saying you can't read books you like. I'm not saying don't fill your life with other books. I'm saying, first and foremost, start with your family. First and foremost, start with yourself. Read the Bible and spend time with your children. Be an influence on them. Hug them. Kiss them. Pray with them. Catechize them. Lead them. That's what's needed. Let the ministers minister. And let the families grow in grace. Brother, with all the things I've just said about being a teacher, do you still want to be a teacher? Do you still want to step in that position? You know, I'm here to tell you. Unless you're gifted in that area, unless the elders see that God has gifted you in that area, you can't teach. And I'm not saying that because I don't love you. No, I'm saying it because I do love you. And I'm trying to protect you. And I don't want to dare put you in a position where you're going to stand before the Lord and give an account for something you're not prepared to do. I wouldn't be a good minister. I wouldn't be a good elder. They watch over their souls. Now, they must keep watch. Now, let's look at several passages of Scripture. Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 4. We're going to see the same principle. 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 16. Notice what Paul says here, and I'm just showing you the continuity of Scripture. Pay close attention to yourself, Timothy, and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. Pay close attention, Timothy, to the things that I have taught you, for they will save yourself and they will save others who hear you. Richard Baxter said this, one of the most sobering, statements I have ever read. He said, on that day of judgment, there'll be a many a minister standing with the goats. He said, there's going to be a many an elder, many a minister standing on the side of the goats. And yes, they preached the gospel. Yes, they led people to Jesus Christ. But yes, they themselves fell to heed and bow to the same King they preached. And I'm going to tell you, that's a problem in America today. We've got men that have gone without an appointment, and we've got men who are in desperate need of saving themselves. Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 18. Look what he says, this command, Timothy, I entrust to you, Timothy my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you that by them you fight the good fight. What's the minister supposed to do? He's supposed to fight the good fight. Verse 19, he is supposed to keep the faith and a good conscience. which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith." Why? If you read the first part of the chapter, he tells you why. Because they dabbled in vain things. They dabbled in an unscriptural use of the law. Turn there. Let's look there. Let's look. Look at verse 3. As Timothy 1 Timothy 1 3, as I urge you upon my departure from Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God, which is by faith. 6. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussions, wanting to be teachers of the law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or matters about which they make confident assertions." Turn over to 1 Timothy 2, verse 7. I just want to show you these verses. Verse seven, for I was appointed, Paul says, a preacher and an apostle. I am telling the truth. I am not lying as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. First Timothy, chapter four, verses six and seven. in pointing out these things to the brethren. And notice what he tells Timothy. In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Jesus Christ, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following, but have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Verse 11. Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance, with the laying on of hands by the presbytery." Verse 14 is another verse. signifying an appointment, an ordination of the presbytery where churches, through the laying on of hands, sends out its ministers. Take pains with these things, be absorbed in them so that you progress, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things. Why? Because they're going to save you, and they're going to save those under your care. Doesn't sound like a church Timothy had was full of all kinds of programs, does it? And I'm not against programs. But beloved, we must be consumed with the teaching and preaching ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. That saves families. That saves the children. These children that are under the sound preaching of the gospel allows the Holy Spirit to minister to them the words of grace. Now let me ask you a question. Did the Hebrews need watching over? Yes, they did. Turn to Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5. And you see, beloved, listen. This apostolic church, the very beginning of this apostolic church, I mean, this church is barely 30 years old. And they were already willing to leave the faith. We're no better. We're no different. Be careful about being excited about the Reformed faith. Be careful. Be careful that it's just a fad. When we use the term Reformed faith, you know what we mean? We're just talking about Bible Christianity. It's not a fad. It's the Bible. Calvinism is nothing more than Scripture and biblical Christianity. Be careful that the Reformed faith doesn't become a fad where you have a lot of books in your library and you know a lot of facts, but you don't know Jesus Christ. And your children don't know Him either. Hebrews chapter 5, look at verse 11. Concerning him we have much to say." Talking about Melchizedek. And it's hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. They need a watchman to watch over them. Why? Because there was a time when the pastor or the preacher could preach to them deep doctrinal issues. No longer. He's not saying that you can't understand the doctrine of Melchizedek in Christ. He's saying, I can't even explain it to you in a way that you can understand it because you are so dull in your hearing. Now, here's the key word here is become. They become dull of hearing. They were not always like that. Beloved, we must be careful. And the Lord's placed over you watchmen. And if we as elders are biblical, true shepherds of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is my prayer that we won't allow you to become dull in hearing. For you to take heed to the things taught in the Word of God. Look at verse 12. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God. And you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, but he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." Let me say this. Are you having a hard time discerning between good and evil? If you are, the reason is you've become dull of hearing. Verse 14 says, who because of practice, practice, have their senses trained to discern good and evil. If you want to be able to discern good and evil, you must practice the Word of God. You must look into the mirror of God's law and not forget what you see. You must see all your imperfections and you must cry upon Christ for deliverance and grace and submit to your ministers as they preach and teach and minister to you the Word of God. And if you have an area in your life that you need special attention to, Knock on the door. And we'll be glad to shepherd you in that area. But we can't read minds and hearts. We cannot read minds and hearts. And every time you shake somebody's hand and say, how you doing? Fine. It's only six months later you find out it's not fine. And the first thing you want to say to them, you want to go to them, you love them so much, you want to grab them by the shirt collar and say, brother and sister, I've been asking you for six months how you're doing. And every time you told me you're okay, and now I find out you're not. What's wrong? We can't read hearts and minds. We want to know if there's a problem. And we may not have the answer, but we know men who will. Because we don't know everything. There's another passage of Scripture in Hebrews that tells us, I mean, these churches, these Hebrew Christians needed shepherding. Look at Hebrews 6. These are very strong passages of Scripture. Because chapter 5 teaches us that they once were in this position of great knowledge and understanding, and now, They were in a position of being like infants. How so? How can that happen? Beloved, you can find yourself five years ago being a stalwart of the faith. Boy, being able to quote Scripture and you can look at yourself now, you barely can remember the books of the Bible. Why? Ask yourself if you failed to practice what you've heard. Look at Hebrews 6. Notice the danger of being under the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and not heeding to it. Be careful where you go to church. If you go to a church that's going to preach to you the Word of God, the whole counsel of the Word of God, it's going to put more responsibility on you and your family. So look at verse, chapter 6, look at verse 7 and 8. Now he talks about this apostasy, partakers of the Holy Spirit in verse 4. Verse 5, having tasted the good Word of God, the powers of the age to come. 6, and then have fallen away, it's impossible to renew them again to repentance. Now look at verse 7. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled receives a blessing from God. But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. Beloved, the Word of God is like the rain. Just as the rain falls upon the ground and the ground soaks it up, it either produces thorns and thistles or useful vegetation. What's it producing in your life? What has the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ produced in your life over the past year? Has it produced thorns and thistles or has it produced fruit? If it's produced fruit, beloved, you've received a blessing from God. If it's produced thorns and thistles, it says it's worthy of being cursed and cast into the fire. Look at verse 12. Or verse 11, and we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. I could go on and on about how the church of these Hebrews needed shepherding and ministers to watch over them, but what had they become? Dull and apathetic and lethargic. Spiritually lazy. Not only that, they have stopped going to church. Many of them have stopped gathering with the saints of God and assembling for praise and worship, which is to their detriment. Which fostered their apathy. Let me tell you this, and this is a verse I definitely don't want to forget. These were the ancestors of the Hebrews. I want you to look at your family. Maybe you're first-generation Christians. I know I am. I don't really have much to compare myself to as far as generations. But I do know what faithfulness looks like because I can look to Jesus and Paul and faithful men around me. But maybe you're a second-generation Christian. Are you walking that same path of heritage and faithfulness? Children, teenagers, will you carry the candle of faith into your lives and into your family? Or will you neglect it, walk away from it, treat it like it's not important? They had in their past ancestors that did not heed the Word of God, and God destroyed them. He says, look at your ancestors. Look what God did to them. And He will do the same to you, because He's faithful. That's all about these warnings. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12, in verse 15, he says, I will allow myself to be spent for the sake of your soul. Talk about me if you wish. Say whatever you want to say about me. Do whatever, I mean, whatever you want to say, whatever makes you feel good. I know these other apostles are coming and they're saying that I have no ministry, but Paul says this, I will absolutely exhaust my life for the sake to see you come to Christ and persevere. That's the heart of the elder. Our third motivation for obedience and submission, is that these shepherds and elders will give an account. That's what the text in Hebrews 13 says. It says that those who watch over your souls will give an account. There will be a day of reckoning. There will be a day where all accounts are settled, and those men who have been appointed by Christ to shepherd His sheep must give a record and an account of all those placed under their care. I wish it were not true. I mean that. I'm not that spiritual. I tremble before those words. But it's true. And there's nothing I can do about it. And as a vessel of clay, elder shepherd, fragile, shepherding other vessels of clay that are fragile. Beloved pastors, you are to submit and obey your leaders because they will stand before God and give an account of their shepherding on your behalf. Pastors, shepherds, overseers, watchmen, elders, etc. They are all appointed by Christ for the salvation of His people, the elect. And I've told you about the two-fold work of gathering and building up the saints, and we will be judged according to that work. That's why we can't bow a knee to your whims. That's why we can't please every family. That's why we can't institute every good idea, because it's Christ's church. And when we stand before God, that will be no excuse. Well, we wanted this family to join the church, and we had to bow down to them. And Christ will say, it's my church. I shed my blood for her. You have no right to impose upon my sheep your will. None. You did not shed your blood for her. I did. They are my sheep, not your sheep. You are the under shepherd. I am the chief shepherd. This is an unavoidable reality. We will stand before God as elders and pastors and teachers, and we will hear the words of Luke 16 to give an account of your managing. There's no room for laziness in the ministry. There's no room for elders to be elders who do not have time to shepherd the flock of God. Because when you stand before God, all that's going to fall by the wayside. And there's not going to be a good excuse. There's not going to be a good reason why we did not shepherd the flock of God with the Word of God, by the grace of God, by the Holy Spirit of God. Do you still want to be an elder? Pastor, let me go ahead and skip to the end and bring some applications to this. I have a lot more to say, but beloved, there's no room for self-willed shepherds in the Church of Christ. You don't pick elders because they're businessmen and they're good ones. You don't pick elders because they wear three-piece suits. You pick men who, number one, know the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know what? You can be around people and know they have a love and passion for Christ. We talked about this in the ladies' Bible study. You know, is our homes Christian? Is there something inherently, distinctly Christian about our household? When people visit our homes, do they know that you are a Christian family? Or do they have to really look hard? And the first requirement is that that man of God knows Jesus Christ. He's been forgiven of his sins. And another qualification is that he rules his own household well. Or he can't be an elder. He's not proven faithful in his own home. He's not proven to be faithful to Jesus in his own home. How will he be faithful to Jesus in the church? No. He disobeyed Jesus in his home and he will disobey Jesus in the church. Look at all these elders. Look at all the churches. Look at their families. And that's the kind of minister they are. I have no respect for a man that has more concern for the church than he does his own children. Because that tells me it's superficial. A man that loves his own flesh and blood and children and prays and cries and weeps and encourages and exhorts his own children, he will do the same in the church. That's why John Knox wept when they told him he was called to preach, because he understood what God was going to require of him. John Knox knew that there would come a day that he would stand before God and he would have to give an account for the souls that was under his care. And that's why John Knox's philosophy was, me and God make the majority and I will bow a knee to no whim of man because I must give an account to the chief shepherd. I will not stand before men and give an account. I will give an account to Christ. And I must stay the course. John Knox wept and locked himself up for days to figure out, this, this, why did God do this to me? Why did God call me to this office? But I must obey. I must obey the voice of the chief shepherd, and if he called me to the office of pastor-teacher, I must submit to it, and I must yield myself to it, and I must pour out my life, and I must stand between the wolves and the sheep. I must guard them with all my being, and I must stand before God and give an account." Beloved, we need more pastors like that. I pray that God make us like that. And if you don't have men in your midst like that, you don't nominate them for elder. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 5, he said, knowing the fear of the Lord, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, because we know we must give an account. Beloved, our last motivation, our fourth and last motivation, is that it's absolutely unprofitable for you not to obey and submit to your elders, Because you have proven to be a grief to those who love you dearly and seek your best. Your fourth motivation is to obey and to submit, because when you obey and submit to that God-given leadership, they shepherd you with joy. That's what the text says. Those who watch over your souls, as those who will give an account, let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. William Gouge makes this comment about the text. He said, there seems to be a double reference here, either to the duty and obedience of the people and to its ministers. That is, it is profitable for you as church people. as a congregation, to submit and to obey your God-given leadership, as it is profitable for ministers to labor wholeheartedly to the flock, so that when they stand before God, they can joyfully give an account for their work and ministry. So it's unprofitable for both. Beloved, it's unprofitable for you if you're always seeking some new experience. And the simple faith is not enough. Stop wanting more and realize you have everything you need in Jesus Christ. It's not about having more. It's about realizing, as Paul says in Ephesians, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may see the power and knowledge of Jesus Christ and of His glory. If you could just see Christ, you would not ask for anything. You'd have it all. Quit seeking something else. Realize you have it all in Jesus Christ. Realize His Word, and His Word teaches that He's given you everything you need for life in godliness now. Doesn't mean He's given you everything you want, but He has given you everything you need to stand before Him and hear, well done, good and faithful servant. And there's nothing else that matters, I'm just going to tell you. You can make gazillions of dollars, and it's not going to heaven with you. You can have all the accolades of men pat you on the back, give you all kind of men of the year trophies. I mean, you can be invited to every barbecue and make in Georgia. When you stand before God, none of that's going to matter. Did you know Christ? And did your shepherds help you know Christ? William Goode, you give several reasons why this needs to happen, why you need to have this motivation. He points out the fact, he says, you know, pastors and elders and ministers are known for their weeping over their flocks. Jeremiah wept. Paul admonished congregations with tears. The Lord Jesus wept over the hardness of heart of the people." And he goes on to say, he says, several reasons to a blessing for these ministers and elders. He says, no good can come of anyone who does not heed the admonition of his pastor. The pastors, he said, are the people, they lose the benefit of their pastor's watchful care. And the minister leaves them to their own folly. I mean, a minister can only spend so much time encouraging and exhorting you to stay the course. There comes a time when a minister leads you to your own folly for the Lord to teach you those things that you must learn on your own. He doesn't have time to beg you to obey the Word of God. He will. I will. We will. But beloved, there is going to come a time when you must answer for your own folly and that they must direct their attention to the sheep that will listen. Secondly, he says those who don't obey and submit to their pastors, they lose their affection and encouragement. They show no concern for spiritual matters. And, you know, It's interesting because I gauge your spirituality when I talk to you about what you think about the sermon, not whether Jess preached a fiery sermon or not, the content of it, about how you're applying it to your life, what's the Lord doing. And I'm concerned about those who never want to talk about spiritual things. I'm concerned greatly for those who do not want to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. who have a hard time talking about it. I fear for you. But those who obey and submit find great affection in the heart of the pastors. Thirdly, they provoke God either to take away their faithful ministers or to take them out of the faithful flock. William Gouge makes an important comment here. He says, you know, He says, if they don't love to submit and obey to their leadership, God may take that light out of that fellowship. God may take those elders out of that flock and take them somewhere else. Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon one time because three elders died in that city. In the city that he was ministering in, three elders died. A teaching elder and two ruling elders. These were godly, faithful men. Jonathan Edwards preached the sermon. He said, God's judgment's on this city. He's taken away the light. He's taking away the light of those men who are willing to lead the flock to the green pastures. Do we view that? Do we have that same understanding, beloved? The reason God has filled Macon, Georgia and this United States with false teachers and preachers is because His judgment rests upon us. And you can barely see a flicker of light. You can barely see it. He says, you won't follow, I'll give you men that will preach for you. You want programs, you want to be entertained, I'll give you preachers that love programs and entertainment. He says they provoke God to take away their ministers. And fourthly, he says the bottom line is this. If you're not willing to love and obey and respect your ministers, he said, you cause them to labor over you with a heavy and burdened heart. The time in their study is spent. on their knees, weeping over your souls, not studying the word of God to minister to the flock. But they're crying out to God on your behalf for him to have mercy upon you. Beloved, may we realize that this is how Christians are to live in the church. Congregation obeying and submitting to godly leadership. appointed by Christ and godly leadership being the example for you to follow. May God have mercy upon us. May God give us the grace we need to perform all of our duties. Let's pray. Father, so ill-equipped Lord to lead I pray, Lord, You give us mercy as elders. Lord, we're so weak. Give us grace. Lord, continue to give us grace and mercy and a deep love and affection for Your sheep and Your congregation. Lord, may we have the mindset of Paul. May we be willing to spend our lives for the sake of those to know Jesus Christ and to stand before Him complete and ready to receive everlasting salvation. Lord, I pray for those here today that don't know you, and they know that. They know they don't know you. They know that they don't truly love the Lord Jesus Christ, that they have not repented of their sins. Have mercy upon them. Lord, and those who do know you and are walking in the covenant of grace, Lord, minister to them grace. Lord, that they see the benefit of obedience and submission to your under-shepherds. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.