Hebrews- Encouragement for a life of faith
Part 16
“Follow the leader “
As we continue our study of Hebrews this morning
We are nearing the end of this great book
Next week we will end our study with a recap of the last several weeks
But for today
Our writer continues on with his exhortations
I love this about our writer
Even as he closes his book
He continues to teach
And continues to show us
How to be better Christians
He continues to tell us and show us j=how to grow in our faith
And how to guard ourselves against the temptations to go back to our old lives
In this passage he tells us we are to follow the leader
----- Pause------
You all are familiar with the kid’s game follow the leader
Right?
One kid would be chosen to be the leader
And then
He or she would set off
And everyone else had to make a choice to follow or not to follow
I can tell you from my experience
Some kids who were chosen
I would willingly follow
Because I trusted them
And I knew they would not take me places that were dangerous or would get me hurt or in trouble
When others were selected as the leader
I cringed
And sometimes I chose not to follow
Other times
I went ahead and followed anyway usually with less than desired outcomes
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Follow the leader is a silly kid game
But when we think about it
It has
Great meaning in our lives
I can’t tell you the times that I should have followed the right leader
But chose the wrong one instead
Many times
I knew right
But chose wrong
Many times I allowed myself to be led astay
Because I followed the wrong leader
Please open your bibles to Hebrews 13
Let me read for you verse 7 to begin our study this morning
Hebrews 13:7
“Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.”
He says
Remember your leaders – the ones who taught you the word of God
The right leaders
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If you are sitting here this morning as a new creation
A born again believer in Jesus Christ
You owe a thank you to someone
Someone at some time took a leadership role in your life and cared enough for you to lead you in the right direction
It may have been your Grandmother
I know I had the privilege of having two Godly Grandmothers
It could have been your Grand paw
Maybe a Dad or Mom
Or Uncle or Aunt
Maybe
A Sunday school teacher
Or Pastor
Maybe a friend at work or at school
Maybe someone who just passed through your life for a moment but had a lasting impact
The point is
Someone
Loved you enough
Cared enough about you
To tell you about Jesus
To teach you about Jesus
Someone loved you enough
To be the point man in your life
Someone in your life
Showed you by their actions
Told you with their words
The right path to take
-----They showed you the right path-------
How did they show you the right path?
They knew the right path because they being good leaders were first good followers
You see
A good leader has to be a good follower
And a good leader has to follow the right leader
And the right leader is Jesus
I would like to take this time to thank al the people in my life who have lead me in the right direction
If you are listening
You know who you are
Thank you
___________
As I said
A good leader must be a good follower
A good spiritual leader
One who leads us down the right path
Is one who follows Jesus!
They are not distracted by the things of this world
They don’t follow the wrong paths
The easy paths
The well traveled wide paths
They know the sound of the Shepherds voice and they follow because they trust
I am reminded of the 23 Psalm when I think of the spiritual leaders in my life
Psalm 23
Reading form the NKJ simply because it is more poetic and this is how I learned it so many years ago
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell[a] in the house of the LORD
Forever.
You see true spiritual leaders follow Jesus
And true spiritual leaders’ follow Jesus because
Verse 8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
You see when we follow Jesus
We will not be led astray
He does not change
He set up a path for salvation that does not change
His death on the cross
His sacrifice
His gift of himself
Is enough
Jesus leads us to salvation through his sacrifice on the cross
And it is by grace that we are saved
A good leader teaches this truth
A good leader
Lives this truth
And these are the leaders we should follow
Verse 9
9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.”
Many false leaders have tried to add to Jesus’ path
Or improve upon his path
But nothing else is needed
They have come up with new ideas
Improved thinking they call it
Or claim to have been enlightened
Given information that only they are privy to
Our writer says
Do not be attracted to strange new ideas
As our leader
Jesus teaches the simple truth
John 14:6
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
John 3:16-18
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
John 1:12
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Acts 4:12
“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Ephesians 2:8-10
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
As a follower it is our duty to embrace and accept the simple truth
Jesus is enough
As leaders we are to teach that simple truth
Jesus is enough
Believing anything else is dangerous
Teaching anything else is dangerous
Matthew writes in Matthew 23:13-15
13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.[e]
15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell[f] you yourselves are!
Adding to The words of God
Adding to the path that Jesus has laid out
It is leading people astray and it is not true
And it will bring sorrow
Jesus is enough
Nuff said
Listen
We are to weigh everything though scripture
If it does not line up with God’s word
Don’t follow the one teaching it
A good leader
A leader who follows Jesus
Encourages
Even challenges you to read God’s word for yourselves ---in context!!!
And to ask questions when you don’t understand
They will tell you to back up scripture with scripture
They will tell you to seek Godly council
They will tell you to pray for guidance and understanding
Then they will tell you to follow the one who follows the truth
In verses 10-13
Our writer returns to the theme of Jesus being the perfect leader
He shows us
How Jesus and the New Covenant is the way
He shows us the true character of Jesus
As a servant King
One who suffered for us
Gave his life for us
How he did not let rejection or persecution keep him from his purpose
Jesus suffered outside of the walls of Jerusalem
For us
If we follow him and we follow those who follow him
We to will sometimes be outcasts from society
But never outcasts from the kingdom
Verses 10-13
We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle[a] have no right to eat. 11 Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. 12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. 13 So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.
But
We will reap the rewards of following the right leader
Verse 14
14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”
Jesus has promised us eternal life
When we follow him
This in simple terms is heaven’ glory a new place with no tears or sorrow
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So to be a good leader we must be a good follower
How are we a good follower?
And how does our following show the world
That we are worth following
Verse 15-16
Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
We should praise God with our words
We should Praise God with our actions
We should praise God with our deeds
Even with our thoughts
Show our love by doing good
And sharing with those in need
As a leader
A spiritual leader
A leader worth following
Praise is huge
When people look at you do they see you praising God?
Do they see you loving God?
Loving others
Do they see you sharing your faith?
Sharing your money
Sharing your stuff
Do they see Jesus in you?
Do they hear Jesus In your words
See him in your actions your actions
Feel him in your deeds
Do they see that you love them enough?
Care for them enough
To return the favor and be a spiritual leader in their lives
As someone has been in yours
Do they see you following the true leader?
Verse 17
“Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.”
Let’s go back in our minds to the kid’s game follow the leader
I am sure some of you can think of times in your life
When you should not have followed someone
But you followed anyway
Listen
You need to trust the one you follow
But
When you trust them
You should be prepared to follow them
God had placed spiritual leaders in each of your lives
If you believe the truth they teach
If you recognize the fact that they follow the leader
Jesus Christ
That they teach the true word of God
Follow them
Support them
Pray for them
Let them serve you with Joy
Nothing makes a spiritual leader happier than seeing someone’s life changed
Through the word of God
Seeing unity within the church brings joy to their lives
Spiritual growth makes them smile
The writer of Hebrews goes on to ask for prayer
For himself and in doing so he is encouraging us to pray for all of our spiritual leaders
Verse18-19
8 Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. 19 And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon.
Our writer closes his book with a benediction
This very simply means he speaks or reads a blessing on those he has been speaking or writing to
Verses 20-21 record his words
Now may the God of peace—
who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
21 may he equip you with all you need
for doing his will.
May he produce in you,[e]
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
He ends with
One last plea and a good bye
Verses 22-25
22 I urge you, dear brothers and sisters,[f] to pay attention to what I have written in this brief exhortation.
23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released from jail. If he comes here soon, I will bring him with me to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all the believers there.[g] The believers from Italy send you their greetings.
25 May God’s grace be with you all.
Close from the heart
Pray
