Follow the Leader
Hebrews 13:7-25
Slide
Everything rises and Falls on leadership – John Maxwell
You may not believe that saying, but we see a lot of truth of that statement throughout the whole Bible.
Consider the history of Israel or the church,
We find good leaders who followed the Lord and bad leaders who didn’t.
And through those leaders we find that
if the people of God are going to accomplish the will of God then godly leadership that the people follow is essential.
Well, you may say, God can do whatever He wants to do to accomplish His purpose.
That is true, but, when we look at His word, we see that God always used leaders to fulfill His purposes.
Not because the leader was anything great, but because God is great and he shows his greatness by using flawed humans to accomplish great things.
Go back through the Bible and you will find
Moses – a reluctant leader if there ever was one.
We see Moses continually trying to not be used by God.
He tried to help God think through what He wants Moses to do.
He says
"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11)
"What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ’The LORD did not appear to you’?" (Exodus 4:1)
"O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." (Exodus 4:10)
"O Lord, please send someone else to do it." (Exodus 4:13)
But God used him anyway, because God is great.
Going on we see
David - the youngest of Jesse’s sons
Joseph – a slave, a prisoner
The Apostles – ordinary and often faithless, God used them in powerful ways.
Paul – a persecuter of Christians used of God to spread the gospel like no other missionary ever.
God used all of these flawed men to lead His people in godly ways.
And when there were no leaders, what happened?
In the book of Judges we see how God would raise up a leader but listen to what would happen when a leader would die and there was no one to lead the people.
Judges 2:19
19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
And a phrase repeated several times in judges is
Judges 21:25
25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
And what they saw fit to do was to worship false gods and do evil and because they did not pursue God because they had no leader to follow, they suffered.
So leadership is essential and it is important that we follow the leaders that God has placed in our lives, not because the men are necessarily anything great, but because the God whom they serve is great.
The author of Hebrews recognizes how important it is for God’s people to be following the leaders that God has placed in their lives, so much so that he makes this his final point of his letter so that it will be fresh with them.
Turn to Hebrews 13:7-25
Slide
Throughout the whole book of Hebrews, he has talked about Christianity being the Superior life over everything else.
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
Follow Jesus.
Consider Jesus.
To do that effectively though, you need to follow the leaders God has placed in your life.
So how do we do that?
What does that look like in real life?
How should we respond to the leadership God has placed in our lives so that it will benefit us?
Well, let’s read this last section of the book of Hebrews and study and apply this to ourselves so we can glorify God.
Hebrews 13:7-25
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22 Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.
23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all God’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
25 Grace be with you all.
This last section focuses largely on the leadership of the church of these Hebrews and the teaching of these leaders.
The author gives an overall picture of how it will go better for these men and women if they follow and listen to their leadership and then he gives some practical ways to do that.
The first thing that the author of Hebrews says is
Remember the Lives of Your Leaders
Slide
Hebrews 13:7a
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life
You need to look at the lives of your leaders.
It helps to give you some perspective on them so it will be easier to follow them.
They make sacrifices
It is easy for us to forget the sacrifices that leaders and elders in the church make and then Satan uses our forgetfulness to plant in our minds other reasons and motivations for their actions.
People will sometimes think that Pastors and elders will do things just because that is what they want done or that it is for their own benefit.
Believe me when I tell you that no pastor or elder that I know has gone into those roles because of the perks or the pay.
They have done so because of God’s call and God’s call has required sacrifice.
If we can remember the lives of our pastors and elders, it will help us to gain better perspective of them and the role God has called them to and will help you to better follow their leading.
Paul experienced some difficulty in leading people too.
In 2 Corinthians 11 we see him combating some of the false teachers that Satan was using to put wrong ideas about Paul into the Corinthians heads.
So Paul reminded them of his life and of the sacrifices he made so he could preach the gospel and help them grow.
He did not list out his sacrifices for the purpose of having people think highly of him. He did it to help them gain a proper perspective so they would follow his leadership and that they would experience the eternal benefit of being obedient to God.
Jim, Andy, Scott
Jim is not an elder so he can be exalted. He cares for God and for people.
Andy did not 7 years going to school so he could get a job paying $100,000. He did it because he wants to glorify the Lord by serving His people.
I did not leave my job at the CME because the pastorate had better perks and hours. We do what we do because we care about people and their eternities.
And I assure you that while there is sacrifice in human terms, from an eternal perspective, there is zero sacrifice.
But this is the whole point the author has been making.
To experience the better way of life of Christianity, keep an eternal perspective as you live in the present.
Leaders need to do that to lead.
The people need to do that as they follow.
My prayer is that as we serve in this church, you will keep in mind and remember the lives of those who lead here, so that the Lord will have an easier time leading through those He has called.
The second thing that the author wants you to do for your own long term benefit is
Follow the Faith of your leaders
Slide
Hebrews 13:7b
imitate their faith.
Leaders are to set before you an example.
When Jesus walked the earth, he set an example before the apostles
John 13:15
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Paul told Titus to “set them an example by doing what is good.” (Titus 2:7)
And he told the Corinthians to
“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Imitate the faith of your leaders.
Watch how they live out their faith
Seek out what they know about faith in Christ
Listen to what they teach about faith in Christ.
The author then goes on to remind them about the faith that those leaders should be and are living in accordance with and that should be the basis of what we follow.
That is the faith we imitate needs to be
A Faith that is by the Grace of Jesus
Slide
Hebrews 13:8-14
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
(from New International Version)
The faith that we follow is not one of legalism.
It is a faith that is by grace received through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:24 tells us that we are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
As we enter in to relationship with the Lord by receiving Him as our Savior, we are redeemed and justified freely by His grace.
Follow the faith of your leaders who are living and teaching a faith that is by grace and not by works.
Now that grace causes us to do or not do certain things, but the motivation for those actions needs to be grace.
And that motivation of grace leads to
A Faith that Sacrifices through Jesus
Slide
Hebrews 13:15a
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice…
We don’t offer sacrifices to obtain something from God.
We offer sacrifices that overflow from something God has done, namely, the salvation He provided through Jesus Christ.
Well, if we are not sacrificing animals, what kind of sacrifices do we make?
Well,
Through Jesus, we make sacrifice with our Mouths
Slide
Hebrews 13:15b
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice… of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Through the power of Jesus in our lives, we can give praise to God in any and every circumstance.
To do this absolutely requires the power of Christ in our lives.
Being a Christian is not always going to be easy.
The author of Hebrews confirms this.
The Hebrew Christians wanted salvation in Christ, but they wanted to avoid persecution that came from their fellow Hebrews.
Americans today want the perks of a relationship with Christ (salvation, blessings) but don’t want persecutions that come with a relationship with Christ.
That is not possible.
Listen to what Peter says
1 Peter 4:12-16
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
We can make the sacrifice of Praise with our mouths in all circumstances but only through Jesus Christ who strengthens us.
We can also
Through Jesus we make sacrifice with our Hands
Slide
Hebrews 13:16
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
By this he means in our actions, in the power and strength of Christ, we can sacrifice in our actions for others because of what Jesus has done for us.
Ephesians kind of sums up the whole teaching of the faith you should be following including grace and sacrifice.
Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We are not sacrificing to earn God’s favor.
We are sacrificing because we have received God’s favor in Jesus.
Illustration – Helping with tree removal
Spoke to a man yesterday
Helping out.
Shared the gospel with him.
Was able to explain that we were not helping to earn anything from God.
We were helping out of gratitude for what God has already done for us and we wanted other people to experience that grace of God.
This is the difference between the sacrifices the Jews made and the sacrifices Christians make.
They sacrificed as part of the old covenant.
God does this and we do this.
Under the New covenant, we have no legal requirements.
We do not sacrifice to get something, but out of a heart of thanksgiving for what God has already done.
Ok, so that is the faith of the leaders that we are to follow.
A faith that is filled with grace that causes sacrifice with your mouths and hands, your whole life.
Now, The author goes on to say that when your leaders are displaying a faith that is filled with grace, and you remember their lives and their sacrifices, then you need to
Submit to the authority of your leaders
Slide
Hebrews 13:17
17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
This is the part about leaders that not many people like.
We have seen to many people abuse their role as a leader.
Bosses, parents, cult leaders.
This Scripture does not give pastors and elders carte blanche to make you do whatever they say.
Peter even writes to the elders telling them how they need to lead.
1 Peter 5:1-3
5:1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
In the passage in Hebrews, the Greek word translated “obey,” (peithoo, NT:3982), (Payth(long o)) means that you do something because you are persuaded that you should follow.
Now this does not mean that you have to be persuaded over every individual thing.
I am not persuaded that I should stop doing something that the eldership says I shouldn’t be doing.
I am not persuaded they are leading the church in the right direction
Well if it doesn’t mean that, what does it mean?
It means that you need to be persuaded that the leaders of this church have been called and are seeking to follow God.
If you look at and remember their lives and they are setting an example in faith for you to follow that is through the grace of Jesus and that is evidenced in their actions, and you are persuaded that the leaders of this church have been called by and are seeking to follow God in their leadership, then you need to follow that leadership even if you are not totally sure of a specific thing they are leading in.
Your attitude should NOT be - “Unless you can prove to me beyond reasonable doubt that your leadership decisions are correct, I reserve the right to” not follow or even rebel against your leadership.
Your attitude should be “Unless I can demonstrate from scripture that you are wrong, I will defer my own preference and help” the leadership to succeed.
This is the attitude that enables a leader to lead with joy, and which results in great profit for those who follow.
Being a leader in the church is a huge responsibility.
Leaders have been charged with keeping watch over your souls.
Leaders job is to lead in such a way that people will have an easier time following, even if it isn’t always easy.
Your job is to follow in such a way as to make it easier for your leaders to lead, even if it isn’t always easy.
The last, and I think one of the most important things you can do to help your leaders to lead in a way that makes it easier and more beneficial for you to follow is to
Pray for Your Leaders
Slide
Hebrews 13:18
Pray for us.
The author of Hebrews asks for prayer.
The leaders of this church need your prayers.
For myself and Jim and Andy to be effective leaders, we need your prayers.
We are unable to accomplish anything or lead effectively in our own strength.
We need the Lord’s wisdom and that Lord’s guidance to lead this church.
This is something that I pray for and I ask you to pray for us.
I feel often as Solomon felt as he began to lead Israel.
As he became king, I think the overwhelming reality of leading the people of God sank in and he asked, “who is able to govern this great people of yours?" (2 Chronicles 1:10)
As I see this church grow, I feel more and more inadequate in leading, but at the same time, I believe fully that God has called myself and Jim and Andy to these roles, so I believe he can equip us, but we need His wisdom and His strength.
Will you pray that for us?
I believe that as you do, God will not only answer your prayers in giving us His strength and wisdom to lead, but I believe it will also help you to be better able to follow our leadership, trusting the Lord’s guidance in our lives and bringing advantage to you as you follow and submit.
I know the leadership of Hickory Creek desires the best for the people of Hickory Creek.
My prayer is that you will recognize that so that it will be easier for you to follow as we strive to follow Christ.
The author ends with a benediction for the people and I want to end our study with this same thing.
Hebrews 13:20-25
20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22 Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.
23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all God’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
25 Grace be with you all.
Grace be with each of you as we move forward as a church in glorifying God and fulfilling our purpose.
Let’s pray.
