Being Led Series

Message

Hebrews 13:7-17

Being Led

When you read through your Bible, especially the New Testament, you will regularly come across headings. The purpose of the headings is to give guidance on the different sections of Scripture that part of the same topic or section.

The technical term for this is “pericope”.

A pericope is section of Scripture that forms one coherent unit, or coherent thought, that can be used to identify a section to meditate or preach on.

It is an interesting topic for another time, but there are all sorts of indicators that are used to try and help define a pericope.

One of those ways is to look for a repeated word at the beginning and end of the pericope.

Turn in your bible to Hebrews 13:7-17

Here is a pericope.

In verse 7 we have the command – remember your leaders.

In verse 17 there is another command – have confidence in your leaders and submit to them.

Between these verse we have a series of teachings.

Not being carried away by all kinds of strange teaching.

The sacrifice work that takes place outside the camp.

Offering the a good sacrifice of praise.

When you look at the teaching it seems to have a bit of randomness to it. But on each side is this command regarding leaders.

So, because of this structure, it is quite legitimate to come to the conclusion that these seemingly random teachings have a connection with remembering leaders and having confidence in the leaders.

So as we have a commissioning of our new leaders today, we are going to have a closer look at what this teaching is, and what some applications of this teaching has for us today.

The first word in this section is a command.

Remember – keep on remembering your leaders

Not the remembering which is – “Do you remember the name of your second cousin married to that aunty we never see anymore?”

Remembering here is a recall of significant and powerful memories.

Paul says to the converted Gentiles in Ephesians 2:12

Remember that you (formerly) were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

The reason Paul asks them to remember is because He wants them to think about the implications and impact of their situation. Their whole spiritual status and spiritual reality has changed. It is a “strong” remembering moment.

Another one of those moments is here.

Remember – keep on remembering your leaders

The author of Hebrews wants the memory of leaders to bring about a strong spiritual reaction.

The leaders will have a spiritual impact.

What is that impact?

Well, there is a second command in this verse.

Imitate – keep on imitating your leaders

You look to the leaders and remember, you see their lives and their actions and their faith, and the outcomes of their ministry, and then you imitate them.

Hebrews is not the only place where this imitation is encouraged.

Paul, Silas and Timothy are in the title of the letter to the Thessalonians.

6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

In this case the Thessalonians are imitators who become worthy to imitate – others were looking at their example.

When you imitate your leaders it can be a great spiritual blessing – until it isn’t. John the disciples writes,

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.

3 John 9-11

Some leaders are memorable – but for all the wrong reasons.

So … here is the issue.

Which leaders do we imitate?

Closely aligned with that is another question … to leaders.

Is the memory you are creating as a leader worth imitating?

Direction and discernment to help answer these questions can be found in verses 8-16.

Verse 8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.

This is a power reminder of the eternity of Jesus. His consistency. His divinity. His sovereignty. These truths are being spoken in context of leadership and following leaders.

When we think about the leadership of Jesus and His connection to the church Scripture tells us.