0:00:01.451,0:00:03.741
I've had some neat [br]opportunities in my life

0:00:03.741,0:00:08.078
to preach in some different places,

0:00:08.078,0:00:10.034
different countries,

0:00:10.034,0:00:12.120
different venues.

0:00:12.120,0:00:14.278
I regard getting to be here

0:00:14.278,0:00:15.623
for the weekend as perhaps

0:00:15.623,0:00:18.139
the highest honor of my life

0:00:18.139,0:00:21.847
to get to participate and have this pulpit

0:00:21.847,0:00:26.052
to proclaim God's Word to a church

0:00:26.052,0:00:30.156
that has been so massively influential

0:00:30.156,0:00:32.036
in my life.

0:00:32.036,0:00:35.809
And so I thank God deeply

0:00:35.809,0:00:37.655
for the privilege of getting to open

0:00:37.655,0:00:40.675
God's Word to you this morning.

0:00:40.675,0:00:42.523
And I thank you specifically Garrett,

0:00:42.523,0:00:46.502
for giving me this opportunity.

0:00:46.502,0:00:49.764
I hope it won't be one that you regret.

0:00:49.764,0:00:51.229
And you'll know whether it is

0:00:51.229,0:00:55.815
in just a short hour.

0:00:55.815,0:00:58.927
Yesterday, I found myself "amen-ing"

0:00:58.927,0:01:02.730
the faithfulness of Charles and Dick;

0:01:02.730,0:01:05.325
that God had given grace to them

0:01:05.325,0:01:08.382
to keep them faithful all of these years,

0:01:08.382,0:01:10.789
and I found myself filled with tears.

0:01:10.789,0:01:12.424
I have a 13 year old daughter,

0:01:12.424,0:01:14.455
so she kept giving that embarrassed look,

0:01:14.455,0:01:21.573
like would you stop [br]gulping back those sobs?

0:01:21.573,0:01:24.508
But I've pastored the church I pastor now

0:01:24.508,0:01:26.851
for twelve years,

0:01:26.851,0:01:30.273
so I've gone a quarter of the distance

0:01:30.273,0:01:32.800
of these men.

0:01:32.800,0:01:37.037
And I suspect that the next three legs,

0:01:37.037,0:01:38.866
the next three decades

0:01:38.866,0:01:41.380
are harder, not easier.

0:01:41.380,0:01:43.639
And when I just amass and think

0:01:43.639,0:01:46.990
about all the difficulties

0:01:46.990,0:01:49.637
that a person goes through [br]in the course of a year,

0:01:49.637,0:01:51.183
just to keep preaching the Word

0:01:51.183,0:01:53.461
and keep loving the people,

0:01:53.461,0:01:55.979
it just gives me tremendous

0:01:55.979,0:01:59.580
respect and love for Charles and Dick.

0:01:59.580,0:02:01.049
Where is Dick this morning?

0:02:01.049,0:02:02.816
I want to be able to look at him.

0:02:02.816,0:02:07.676
There you are.

0:02:07.676,0:02:10.495
I have the privilege of having served -

0:02:10.495,0:02:12.025
I have a number of co-pastors,

0:02:12.025,0:02:13.808
but I have the privilege of serving

0:02:13.808,0:02:15.717
beside one co-pastor in particular,

0:02:15.717,0:02:18.875
Jeff King, who is one [br]of my dearest friends

0:02:18.875,0:02:20.316
on the planet

0:02:20.316,0:02:23.795
who is the opposite of me in every way.

0:02:23.795,0:02:25.391
And Steve Welch, who's a friend

0:02:25.391,0:02:26.822
of this congregation says that

0:02:26.822,0:02:28.038
he looks like Dick.

0:02:28.038,0:02:29.646
I don't look like Charles,

0:02:29.646,0:02:34.725
but that's where the similarities end.

0:02:34.725,0:02:40.784
And I know what it takes to put up with me

0:02:40.784,0:02:43.083
in the course of a week or a year.

0:02:43.083,0:02:44.671
I think if he were here would say

0:02:44.671,0:02:48.202
he knows what it takes to put up with him.

0:02:48.202,0:02:52.453
It's a miracle when [br]people can stay friends

0:02:52.453,0:02:57.013
and stay side-by-side in the ministry,

0:02:57.013,0:03:00.923
and when Mack Tomlinson got up yesterday

0:03:00.923,0:03:04.119
and said: think about church history.

0:03:04.119,0:03:05.910
How many have labored side by side

0:03:05.910,0:03:06.813
for forty years.

0:03:06.813,0:03:08.591
And I'm not expert in church history,

0:03:08.591,0:03:09.832
but I kind of thought -

0:03:09.832,0:03:11.782
my first initial reaction was, well Mack,

0:03:11.782,0:03:17.200
that's easy - there must be a lot.

0:03:17.200,0:03:19.183
And then I couldn't think of any.

0:03:19.183,0:03:24.588
And so, no small task.

0:03:24.588,0:03:28.681
And you ought to pray fervently

0:03:28.681,0:03:30.964
and in an informed way

0:03:30.964,0:03:33.279
for the four men who are graced

0:03:33.279,0:03:34.342
to be your elders,

0:03:34.342,0:03:35.761
that the Lord would give them

0:03:35.761,0:03:38.064
a supernatural unity.

0:03:38.064,0:03:40.090
I have the privilege of laboring aside

0:03:40.090,0:03:41.525
some very faithful brothers,

0:03:41.525,0:03:43.911
but I know that unity among the pastors -

0:03:43.911,0:03:45.387
even pastors as like-minded

0:03:45.387,0:03:47.760
and as godly as the ones [br]I serve alongside of -

0:03:47.760,0:03:51.289
it takes work.

0:03:51.289,0:03:53.344
Nothing short of work.

0:03:53.344,0:03:55.624
I have spent way more time in Denny's

0:03:55.624,0:03:59.775
than I ever wanted to working

0:03:59.775,0:04:02.597
to keep that unity at times.

0:04:02.597,0:04:06.931
And it's a miracle that it's kept.

0:04:06.931,0:04:08.808
I was delighted to be here yesterday

0:04:08.808,0:04:11.111
just because what you did yesterday

0:04:11.111,0:04:14.006
for your pastors was right.

0:04:14.006,0:04:16.423
It was just right at so many levels.

0:04:16.423,0:04:19.765
We're to respect those who labor among us

0:04:19.765,0:04:21.399
and are over us in the Lord

0:04:21.399,0:04:23.977
and admonish us and esteem them

0:04:23.977,0:04:26.886
very highly because of their work.

0:04:26.886,0:04:29.290
And people are afraid of doing [br]things like you did yesterday

0:04:29.290,0:04:31.769
because it might make the pastor proud.

0:04:31.769,0:04:33.950
And I'm not denying that [br]there are proud pastors,

0:04:33.950,0:04:35.327
but I'll be honest with you,

0:04:35.327,0:04:37.648
I think the general tendency of pastors

0:04:37.648,0:04:39.350
is not to be proud,

0:04:39.350,0:04:42.434
but to be discouraged.

0:04:42.434,0:04:44.381
Most of the pastors I meet

0:04:44.381,0:04:48.986
are mildly to severely depressed

0:04:48.986,0:04:52.149
about who they are.

0:04:52.149,0:04:53.675
And so for them to get a season

0:04:53.675,0:04:55.532
where they get to hear what God's grace

0:04:55.532,0:04:56.639
is doing in their life,

0:04:56.639,0:04:59.015
it is a sweet, sweet thing.

0:04:59.015,0:05:00.394
Don't make it every Sunday.

0:05:00.394,0:05:01.433
You'll spoil them,

0:05:01.433,0:05:03.401
but it can be a really great treat,

0:05:03.401,0:05:16.708
say, every forty years or so.

0:05:16.708,0:05:21.450
The gift I want to give you

0:05:21.450,0:05:25.682
this morning is a text.

0:05:25.682,0:05:28.024
And it's a text that I believe

0:05:28.024,0:05:34.347
that if it's heard and obeyed,

0:05:34.347,0:05:36.471
will give, I hope, another forty years

0:05:36.471,0:05:42.028
of tremendous blessing to the church.

0:05:42.028,0:05:44.115
Dick and Charles are probably not hoping

0:05:44.115,0:05:46.970
for another forty years,

0:05:46.970,0:05:53.163
so I'm talking about even beyond them.

0:05:53.163,0:05:54.837
I'm hoping that this passage

0:05:54.837,0:05:56.799
that I'm going to share with you

0:05:56.799,0:06:00.470
becomes a catalyst;

0:06:00.470,0:06:03.350
becomes a spur;

0:06:03.350,0:06:05.658
becomes an encouragement

0:06:05.658,0:06:07.986
that sets a culture

0:06:07.986,0:06:11.809
where the pastors of Lake Road Chapel

0:06:11.809,0:06:15.038
are full of joy,

0:06:15.038,0:06:18.002
and where the people of Lake Road Chapel

0:06:18.002,0:06:20.178
are benefiting from them

0:06:20.178,0:06:22.058
and profiting from them

0:06:22.058,0:06:26.406
for a very, very long time.

0:06:26.406,0:06:29.376
And then I'm aware that whenever I [br]speak at Lake Road Chapel,

0:06:29.376,0:06:31.478
that James Jennings is going to make sure

0:06:31.478,0:06:32.965
it goes all over the planet.

0:06:32.965,0:06:37.113
So let me just say it's my hope

0:06:37.113,0:06:38.917
that this message, this verse,

0:06:38.917,0:06:41.291
would be used by God

0:06:41.291,0:06:45.655
to fill more and more [br]pastor's lives with joy,

0:06:45.655,0:06:47.571
and to see more and more people

0:06:47.571,0:06:50.034
profiting, taking advantage of,

0:06:50.034,0:06:55.321
reaping a harvest from their pastors.

0:06:55.321,0:07:00.052
Would you open your [br]Bibles to Hebrews 13:17?

0:07:00.052,0:07:04.647
Hebrews 13:17

0:07:04.647,0:07:05.758
Like most of you,

0:07:05.758,0:07:10.346
I knew nothing about what [br]was going to unfold yesterday.

0:07:10.346,0:07:13.950
I just got the emails that promised me

0:07:13.950,0:07:19.691
I wouldn't get any more emails.

0:07:19.691,0:07:21.956
And so I had no idea this was going to be

0:07:21.956,0:07:25.562
a theme verse yesterday.

0:07:25.562,0:07:28.001
But I think it's a good verse

0:07:28.001,0:07:30.797
for an occasion like this.

0:07:30.797,0:07:32.363
It comes in the book of Hebrews.

0:07:32.363,0:07:33.819
It comes in the last chapter,

0:07:33.819,0:07:35.487
which is the chapter that covers

0:07:35.487,0:07:37.647
all kinds of exhortations

0:07:37.647,0:07:39.620
from not being covetous,

0:07:39.620,0:07:42.777
to not letting your [br]marriage bed by defiled,

0:07:42.777,0:07:45.546
to remembering past leaders,

0:07:45.546,0:07:47.307
and in the midst of all these

0:07:47.307,0:07:50.585
various exhortations in [br]the book of Hebrews,

0:07:50.585,0:07:52.474
the author to the book of Hebrews

0:07:52.474,0:07:53.974
says these words,

0:07:53.974,0:07:56.900
"Obey your leaders and submit to them,

0:07:56.900,0:07:59.925
for they are keeping watch over your souls

0:07:59.925,0:08:02.320
as those who will have to give an account.

0:08:02.320,0:08:04.078
Let them do this with joy

0:08:04.078,0:08:10.206
and not with groaning,

0:08:10.206,0:08:16.913
for that would be of no advantage to you."

0:08:16.913,0:08:18.895
Let's pray.

0:08:18.895,0:08:21.428
Father, we want to ask [br]You that this one verse

0:08:21.428,0:08:23.955
would be impressed;

0:08:23.955,0:08:25.132
would be branded;

0:08:25.132,0:08:26.235
would be tattooed;

0:08:26.235,0:08:28.827
would be glued to the very fabric

0:08:28.827,0:08:30.406
of our souls, Lord God.

0:08:30.406,0:08:33.651
That You'd shed light on this Word

0:08:33.651,0:08:35.784
so that it sticks with us through life

0:08:35.784,0:08:38.838
and Lord, that even [br]pastors who are not here

0:08:38.838,0:08:40.796
this morning, but who may pastor

0:08:40.796,0:08:42.413
Lake Road in the future,

0:08:42.413,0:08:44.165
or maybe children in this very room

0:08:44.165,0:08:46.867
who may grow up to be some [br]of the future shepherds,

0:08:46.867,0:08:48.502
that they would inherit a culture

0:08:48.502,0:08:51.462
of joyful pastoring.

0:08:51.462,0:08:53.932
And Lord God, we pray for Charles and Dick

0:08:53.932,0:08:57.655
that the gift that they receive[br]from this congregation would not be

0:08:57.655,0:09:02.111
a special day once every few decades,

0:09:02.111,0:09:06.960
but a joyful congregation to pastor.

0:09:06.960,0:09:09.243
We pray, Lord God, that You would create

0:09:09.243,0:09:12.818
in Charles and in Dick

0:09:12.818,0:09:15.847
and in Garrett and in Mason

0:09:15.847,0:09:18.344
the kind of ministry that would be

0:09:18.344,0:09:21.715
tremendously profitable -

0:09:21.715,0:09:24.807
eternally profitable

0:09:24.807,0:09:29.075
to Your people knowing Jesus.

0:09:29.075,0:09:31.624
I pray this in Christ's name,

0:09:31.624,0:09:33.410
Amen.

0:09:33.410,0:09:35.578
If you were going to give [br]this sermon a name,

0:09:35.578,0:09:36.455
you could call it:

0:09:36.455,0:09:38.632
"How To Get the Most Out of Your Pastors."

0:09:38.632,0:09:41.673
If you were going to give it [br]a cynical name, you could call it:

0:09:41.673,0:09:44.060
"How to Take Advantage of Them."

0:09:44.060,0:09:46.395
And I say that because the word advantage

0:09:46.395,0:09:47.993
is right there in the text.

0:09:47.993,0:09:50.695
The whole idea is that the writer

0:09:50.695,0:09:53.534
of the book of Hebrews wants you -

0:09:53.534,0:09:56.059
each one of you individually -

0:09:56.059,0:09:57.986
to get some advantage;

0:09:57.986,0:10:00.320
to get some - the NASB translates it

0:10:00.320,0:10:03.423
some profit, from the men

0:10:03.423,0:10:06.379
who God places over His church.

0:10:06.379,0:10:08.034
So it says, "obey your leaders

0:10:08.034,0:10:09.169
and submit to them,

0:10:09.169,0:10:11.347
for they are keeping watch over your souls

0:10:11.347,0:10:13.232
as those who will have [br]to give an account.

0:10:13.232,0:10:15.799
Let them do this with joy[br]and not with groaning,

0:10:15.799,0:10:18.820
for that would be of no advantage to you."

0:10:18.820,0:10:21.357
And so the very simple idea

0:10:21.357,0:10:24.048
pulsing at the core of this passage

0:10:24.048,0:10:27.319
is that when pastors are finding joy

0:10:27.319,0:10:29.362
in their congregations;

0:10:29.362,0:10:31.605
when their joy is maintained

0:10:31.605,0:10:33.039
and they are strengthened

0:10:33.039,0:10:34.493
by the joy of the Lord,

0:10:34.493,0:10:38.300
then the congregation is benefited.

0:10:38.300,0:10:39.833
They are given a tremendous

0:10:39.833,0:10:43.122
and eternal advantage.

0:10:43.122,0:10:45.878
Sometimes we come at this [br]from the pastor's end.

0:10:45.878,0:10:47.774
We remember the verse that says,

0:10:47.774,0:10:51.370
"watch your life and [br]your doctrine carefully,

0:10:51.370,0:10:53.728
by so doing, you will save

0:10:53.728,0:10:56.206
both yourselves and your hearers."

0:10:56.206,0:10:57.984
That passage says, hey, pastor,

0:10:57.984,0:11:00.049
you watch yourself,

0:11:00.049,0:11:02.536
and then you'll be of eternal advantage

0:11:02.536,0:11:03.637
to your people.

0:11:03.637,0:11:06.209
This passage comes at [br]it from another angle

0:11:06.209,0:11:08.120
and says, hey, congregation;

0:11:08.120,0:11:09.085
hey, sheep;

0:11:09.085,0:11:10.731
hey, people of God,

0:11:10.731,0:11:13.268
watch your pastors.

0:11:13.268,0:11:15.300
Watch your attitude towards them

0:11:15.300,0:11:16.959
and your actions towards them,

0:11:16.959,0:11:18.900
so that they may be filled with joy.

0:11:18.900,0:11:21.655
If you do that, it will benefit you.

0:11:21.655,0:11:23.600
It will help you

0:11:23.600,0:11:28.153
if they are full of joy.

0:11:28.153,0:11:31.212
And this passage is not like some passages

0:11:31.212,0:11:32.880
in the Bible.

0:11:32.880,0:11:35.014
Some passages in the Bible are

0:11:35.014,0:11:39.092
very hard to understand.

0:11:39.092,0:11:41.217
You know, like when the Gospel was

0:11:41.217,0:11:44.368
preached to those [br]who were dead in 1 Peter.

0:11:44.368,0:11:46.566
You kind of scratch your head.

0:11:46.566,0:11:48.991
Or when it speaks of baptism for the dead

0:11:48.991,0:11:50.160
in 1 Corinthians 15.

0:11:50.160,0:11:51.700
I think I read recently there's

0:11:51.700,0:11:55.428
something like 52 possible interpretations

0:11:55.428,0:11:56.820
of that passage.

0:11:56.820,0:11:58.343
I understand that passage,

0:11:58.343,0:12:00.599
but there are 51 other people who don't.

0:12:00.599,0:12:06.831
And so it's a difficult [br]situation sometimes.

0:12:06.831,0:12:08.646
This passage isn't like that though.

0:12:08.646,0:12:12.053
It's easy to understand.

0:12:12.053,0:12:15.222
It's just hard to hear.

0:12:15.222,0:12:17.655
It's got that four-letter word in it

0:12:17.655,0:12:20.430
that our culture loves so much:

0:12:20.430,0:12:23.805
obey.

0:12:23.805,0:12:28.455
"Obey your leaders

0:12:28.455,0:12:31.344
and submit to them,

0:12:31.344,0:12:33.504
for they are keeping watch over

0:12:33.504,0:12:35.892
your souls as those..."

0:12:35.892,0:12:38.053
That's easy to understand.

0:12:38.053,0:12:40.236
It means submit yourself to;

0:12:40.236,0:12:44.463
obey your leaders.

0:12:44.463,0:12:46.849
And come up under them.

0:12:46.849,0:12:48.704
So that's not hard to figure out.

0:12:48.704,0:12:50.528
We don't really need a massive

0:12:50.528,0:12:52.897
Bible commentary lesson this morning

0:12:52.897,0:12:54.609
on exactly what this means.

0:12:54.609,0:12:57.075
It's abundantly plain what this means.

0:12:57.075,0:13:01.317
What's difficult though is doing it.

0:13:01.317,0:13:02.980
And not just doing it,

0:13:02.980,0:13:07.332
but loving it.

0:13:07.332,0:13:09.412
And it's hard for many in our day

0:13:09.412,0:13:10.858
to value a call to obedience,

0:13:10.858,0:13:12.057
but if we're honest,

0:13:12.057,0:13:16.673
it's even often hard [br]for a mature Christian

0:13:16.673,0:13:19.313
to value obeying their pastors.

0:13:19.313,0:13:21.223
One of my co-pastors says

0:13:21.223,0:13:24.026
everybody loves being elder-led

0:13:24.026,0:13:29.276
until they don't.

0:13:29.276,0:13:31.745
There's a sense in which everybody loves

0:13:31.745,0:13:34.459
this idea of good, strong leadership

0:13:34.459,0:13:35.412
in the church.

0:13:35.412,0:13:37.872
We need strong leadership in the church,

0:13:37.872,0:13:41.771
until the leadership gets [br]all up in your business.

0:13:41.771,0:13:44.144
And then somebody else [br]needs strong leadership.

0:13:44.144,0:13:48.915
That leadership needs leadership.

0:13:48.915,0:13:51.817
And yet the passage tells us

0:13:51.817,0:13:54.288
that we are to obey our leaders -

0:13:54.288,0:13:57.603
the leaders of our local congregation,

0:13:57.603,0:13:59.880
and submit to them.

0:13:59.880,0:14:01.984
And I want to begin by just giving you

0:14:01.984,0:14:05.429
six reasons why this is hard.

0:14:05.429,0:14:07.689
Not six explanations of [br]what the passage means.

0:14:07.689,0:14:09.663
That's easy.

0:14:09.663,0:14:12.512
But six explanations for why we can

0:14:12.512,0:14:15.063
find this hard to hear.

0:14:15.063,0:14:16.816
And the first is there simply are

0:14:16.816,0:14:19.634
many churches that abuse.

0:14:19.634,0:14:22.076
There simply are many churches

0:14:22.076,0:14:23.772
that have abusive leaders.

0:14:23.772,0:14:26.391
And one of the things we heard last night

0:14:26.391,0:14:28.718
was how many people found in Lake Road

0:14:28.718,0:14:31.441
a kind of leadership they [br]hadn't experienced before.

0:14:31.441,0:14:33.658
They had experienced overbearing

0:14:33.658,0:14:37.243
or distant or lording-[br]it-over-you leadership,

0:14:37.243,0:14:40.065
and when they experienced[br]a different kind of leadership,

0:14:40.065,0:14:42.577
it was like a breath of fresh air to them.

0:14:42.577,0:14:44.056
But the simple fact is

0:14:44.056,0:14:46.753
that many people have a hard time[br]being told to obey their leaders,

0:14:46.753,0:14:48.969
because they've experienced [br]abusive leaders.

0:14:48.969,0:14:50.355
In the congregation I pastor,

0:14:50.355,0:14:52.048
there are women who have

0:14:52.048,0:14:53.798
literally been physically abused

0:14:53.798,0:14:56.935
by pastors.

0:14:56.935,0:14:58.932
And so to come without any explanation

0:14:58.932,0:15:02.020
and say, now obey us,

0:15:02.020,0:15:04.668
can be hard to hear.

0:15:04.668,0:15:06.467
The second reason it's hard to hear

0:15:06.467,0:15:08.246
obey your leaders and submit to them

0:15:08.246,0:15:09.464
is because we are -

0:15:09.464,0:15:11.289
if you've spent any time [br]in North America;

0:15:11.289,0:15:13.737
many of you have spent all [br]your lives in North America;

0:15:13.737,0:15:15.906
all of us have spent some of your time

0:15:15.906,0:15:17.168
in North America -

0:15:17.168,0:15:20.017
if you weren't aware, you're in [br]North America this morning.

0:15:20.017,0:15:23.052
And so if you spent any [br]time in North America,

0:15:23.052,0:15:25.156
you have been infected by

0:15:25.156,0:15:29.878
some degree of the radical individualism

0:15:29.878,0:15:33.118
that is dominant in our entire culture.

0:15:33.118,0:15:35.485
So our culture is just full

0:15:35.485,0:15:38.286
of reinforcing radical individualism.

0:15:38.286,0:15:40.443
Burger King says "have it your way."

0:15:40.443,0:15:42.082
Anne of Green Gables says,

0:15:42.082,0:15:43.656
"just follow your heart."

0:15:43.656,0:15:45.794
Yoda says, "trust your feelings."

0:15:45.794,0:15:48.405
Frank Sinatra says, "I did it my way."

0:15:48.405,0:15:49.924
You didn't know that Yoda

0:15:49.924,0:15:51.163
and Anne of Green Gables

0:15:51.163,0:15:55.662
had the same worldview, but they do.

0:15:55.662,0:16:01.059
It's this basic: you follow you.

0:16:01.059,0:16:03.618
If you're going to be properly led,

0:16:03.618,0:16:09.507
you need to be true to your own heart.

0:16:09.507,0:16:15.014
Enter: people who are [br]impossible to pastor.

0:16:15.014,0:16:17.267
Because if your highest authority

0:16:17.267,0:16:19.825
is whatever you're feeling right now,

0:16:19.825,0:16:22.339
you cannot be led.

0:16:22.339,0:16:24.936
And it will never sound [br]like good news to you

0:16:24.936,0:16:26.898
to obey someone else

0:16:26.898,0:16:28.822
and even worse, it will never

0:16:28.822,0:16:30.652
sound like good news to you

0:16:30.652,0:16:35.013
to obey God.

0:16:35.013,0:16:37.666
Robert Bella, the sociologist,

0:16:37.666,0:16:39.399
tells of a story where he was

0:16:39.399,0:16:41.498
interviewing people about their religion.

0:16:41.498,0:16:43.628
He interviewed a woman named Sheila.

0:16:43.628,0:16:45.805
And he said, "Sheila, [br]what's your religion?"

0:16:45.805,0:16:48.194
And she said, "It's Sheila-ism."

0:16:48.194,0:16:50.689
It's just basically [br]whatever Sheila believes

0:16:50.689,0:16:52.184
becomes her religion.

0:16:52.184,0:16:54.188
So one of the reasons [br]we have a hard time

0:16:54.188,0:16:55.626
hearing, "obey your leaders,"

0:16:55.626,0:16:57.488
is first, we know churches that abuse;

0:16:57.488,0:16:59.480
second, because of radical individualism.

0:16:59.480,0:17:03.102
Third is superstar religion.

0:17:03.102,0:17:04.610
We live in a day and age

0:17:04.610,0:17:07.984
of mega superstar religion.

0:17:07.984,0:17:09.172
It's not entirely new.

0:17:09.172,0:17:10.572
There were famous preachers

0:17:10.572,0:17:12.130
in the New Testament.[br]

0:17:12.130,0:17:13.799
We even heard about one brother

0:17:13.799,0:17:15.746
who was famous among all the churches.

0:17:15.746,0:17:17.990
There have always been godly preachers

0:17:17.990,0:17:19.684
that rose to the top.

0:17:19.684,0:17:21.281
It's not always a bad thing.

0:17:21.281,0:17:23.968
One person when D.L. Moody was chosen

0:17:23.968,0:17:27.235
to preach a particular set of [br]meetings or crusades said,

0:17:27.235,0:17:29.351
"Why does D.L. Moody

0:17:29.351,0:17:31.717
always have the corner on God's work?"

0:17:31.717,0:17:32.997
And one person responded,

0:17:32.997,0:17:34.598
"No, no. It's not that D.L. Moody

0:17:34.598,0:17:36.071
has the corner on God's work.

0:17:36.071,0:17:39.870
It's that God has the [br]corner on D.L. Moody."

0:17:39.870,0:17:41.865
So it's ok that there have always been

0:17:41.865,0:17:45.853
men who have been raised up by God

0:17:45.853,0:17:48.803
to be tremendous bright lights

0:17:48.803,0:17:51.136
for the Kingdom.

0:17:51.136,0:17:53.081
But the problem can be that you fill

0:17:53.081,0:17:54.350
your iPod with them

0:17:54.350,0:17:56.050
and you fill your radio with them

0:17:56.050,0:17:57.949
and you fill your DVD player with them,

0:17:57.949,0:18:00.550
and all of a sudden, you can't hear

0:18:00.550,0:18:05.307
the man who's been [br]entrusted with your soul.

0:18:05.307,0:18:07.244
And the critical difference between

0:18:07.244,0:18:09.417
the best iPod preacher -

0:18:09.417,0:18:10.836
and I like iPod preachers;

0:18:10.836,0:18:12.261
I listen to iPod preachers.

0:18:12.261,0:18:14.223
Later, just to prove how balanced I am,

0:18:14.223,0:18:16.133
I'll quote one of them.

0:18:16.133,0:18:20.106
But, the problem is we can start to listen

0:18:20.106,0:18:22.677
to these men so much

0:18:22.677,0:18:24.763
that we begin to believe that the ministry

0:18:24.763,0:18:29.241
is only about getting [br]the Word to our ears.

0:18:29.241,0:18:30.493
But beloved, the ministry

0:18:30.493,0:18:34.024
is having someone's eyes on your life.

0:18:34.024,0:18:36.581
There's something that [br]your pastors can do -

0:18:36.581,0:18:39.699
There's something that Garrett and Mason

0:18:39.699,0:18:41.912
and Charles and Dick,

0:18:41.912,0:18:43.478
or whoever your home pastor is

0:18:43.478,0:18:45.138
if you're visiting this weekend;

0:18:45.138,0:18:47.711
there's something they can do

0:18:47.711,0:18:51.019
that no Internet preacher can do.

0:18:51.019,0:18:54.691
And that is they can know you.

0:18:54.691,0:18:57.212
They can watch you.

0:18:57.212,0:19:00.562
They can know where you're disobeying.

0:19:00.562,0:19:03.654
They can know where you [br]haven't yet submitted.

0:19:03.654,0:19:05.995
And they're able to speak into that

0:19:05.995,0:19:08.996
with a clarity and a precision

0:19:08.996,0:19:14.135
that the Internet does not afford.

0:19:14.135,0:19:17.422
The fourth thing that can keep us -

0:19:17.422,0:19:20.193
or the fourth thing that can

0:19:20.193,0:19:21.845
really make it hard for us to hear

0:19:21.845,0:19:23.770
the call to obey your pastors

0:19:23.770,0:19:26.584
is the Bible.

0:19:26.584,0:19:28.010
The Bible makes us nervous

0:19:28.010,0:19:30.480
about just listening to men, doesn't it?

0:19:30.480,0:19:32.338
I mean, it's not just like it's this

0:19:32.338,0:19:35.608
superstar culture that we live in,[br]or the radical individualism we live in.

0:19:35.608,0:19:36.824
Paul the apostle said,

0:19:36.824,0:19:39.079
"even if I or an angel

0:19:39.079,0:19:42.078
come preaching to you another gospel,

0:19:42.078,0:19:43.418
let him be accursed."

0:19:43.418,0:19:45.891
And so the Bible itself says,

0:19:45.891,0:19:49.593
do not make the authority of men ultimate.

0:19:49.593,0:19:51.944
Just because a guy gets called an overseer

0:19:51.944,0:19:54.133
or a bishop or a pastor

0:19:54.133,0:19:55.591
or whatever you call him;

0:19:55.591,0:19:57.450
just because a man has an office

0:19:57.450,0:20:00.872
does not mean he has [br]an ultimate authority.

0:20:00.872,0:20:03.623
He always has an authority [br]that must be tested

0:20:03.623,0:20:05.113
according to the Scriptures.

0:20:05.113,0:20:06.568
And so there's a right sense

0:20:06.568,0:20:08.330
in which the Bible makes us nervous

0:20:08.330,0:20:09.767
of human authority.

0:20:09.767,0:20:11.504
And the Bible's authority

0:20:11.504,0:20:13.964
gives us human authority.

0:20:13.964,0:20:15.988
It doesn't make it ultimate,

0:20:15.988,0:20:18.001
but it makes it real.

0:20:18.001,0:20:19.891
There is a real authority

0:20:19.891,0:20:24.023
which the Bible gives to your pastor

0:20:24.023,0:20:29.823
to call you and me to obey.

0:20:29.823,0:20:31.881
I'm just going to do five of these.

0:20:31.881,0:20:33.881
And then the fifth is -

0:20:33.881,0:20:35.504
the fifth thing that would keep us

0:20:35.504,0:20:36.943
from obeying our pastors

0:20:36.943,0:20:39.602
and finding that easy to hear

0:20:39.602,0:20:41.795
is our flesh.

0:20:41.795,0:20:44.686
Even if we've had a [br]great church experience;

0:20:44.686,0:20:47.738
even if we limit how [br]many all-star preachers

0:20:47.738,0:20:49.982
we listen to so we [br]can always give attention

0:20:49.982,0:20:53.532
to our local church preachers;

0:20:53.532,0:20:56.532
nonetheless, whatever [br]the Spirit desires to do,

0:20:56.532,0:20:59.414
the flesh desires the opposite.

0:20:59.414,0:21:01.735
And the flesh is present [br]in every believer,

0:21:01.735,0:21:04.190
always giving a backwards pull

0:21:04.190,0:21:05.999
against everything good and godly

0:21:05.999,0:21:07.337
you ever want to do.

0:21:07.337,0:21:09.329
So even though there [br]may be part of you -

0:21:09.329,0:21:10.662
and it's called the Spirit -

0:21:10.662,0:21:12.166
that rises up and says yes,

0:21:12.166,0:21:13.597
I want to obey these leaders;

0:21:13.597,0:21:15.345
I want to submit to these leaders.

0:21:15.345,0:21:18.075
The flesh is like a backwards pull;

0:21:18.075,0:21:19.175
like a weight,

0:21:19.175,0:21:21.317
though it drag you [br]in the other direction.

0:21:21.317,0:21:22.636
So we need the Word of God

0:21:22.636,0:21:25.476
to beat down the work of the flesh

0:21:25.476,0:21:27.483
and to allow us to walk in the power

0:21:27.483,0:21:29.572
of the Spirit, and to cherish

0:21:29.572,0:21:31.384
the Word of God's call on our life

0:21:31.384,0:21:37.071
to obey your leaders and submit to them.

0:21:37.071,0:21:41.505
So, that is what we're called to

0:21:41.505,0:21:43.419
when we're called to obey our leaders.

0:21:43.419,0:21:45.601
We're called to obey [br]them and submit to them,

0:21:45.601,0:21:47.864
but there's a difficulty [br]because of our flesh,

0:21:47.864,0:21:49.401
because of all-star preachers,

0:21:49.401,0:21:51.431
because of the world in which we live

0:21:51.431,0:21:52.996
and how individualistic it is

0:21:52.996,0:21:55.292
because of the abuses that [br]have been out of there,

0:21:55.292,0:21:56.617
and because of the Bible -

0:21:56.617,0:22:00.595
all of these things [br]make this hard to hear.

0:22:00.595,0:22:02.610
But now, we've identified what makes it

0:22:02.610,0:22:05.244
hard to hear. Let's try to hear it.

0:22:05.244,0:22:08.732
Let's try to hear what's being said here.

0:22:08.732,0:22:10.541
And what's being said here

0:22:10.541,0:22:14.761
is obey and submit.

0:22:14.761,0:22:18.868
And here's what John Piper says

0:22:18.868,0:22:20.640
about this passage.

0:22:20.640,0:22:22.383
And it's so good, that no one could

0:22:22.383,0:22:24.712
ever say it as well as this.

0:22:24.712,0:22:29.149
This is just perfect.

0:22:29.149,0:22:31.734
(That's a joke.)

0:22:31.734,0:22:35.276
So, it is really good though.

0:22:35.276,0:22:37.452
He goes, "what then does obey your leaders

0:22:37.452,0:22:40.288
and submit to them mean?

0:22:40.288,0:22:42.821
The word for "obey," - peithesthe,

0:22:42.821,0:22:43.855
is a very broad word.

0:22:43.855,0:22:46.297
It means to be persuaded by.

0:22:46.297,0:22:48.415
Hebrews 6:9

0:22:48.415,0:22:51.765
It means trust. Hebrews 2:13

0:22:51.765,0:22:55.035
It means rely on. Luke 11:22

0:22:55.035,0:22:56.751
It comes to mean obey because

0:22:56.751,0:23:00.700
that is what you do when [br]you trust somebody.

0:23:00.700,0:23:03.295
So you might say it's [br]a soft word for obey.

0:23:03.295,0:23:05.914
It encourages a good [br]relationship of trust,

0:23:05.914,0:23:08.508
but still calls for people to be swayed

0:23:08.508,0:23:11.034
by leaders.

0:23:11.034,0:23:13.598
The word for "submit," hupeikó,

0:23:13.598,0:23:15.507
occurs only here in the New Testament.

0:23:15.507,0:23:17.322
It is a more narrow words that means

0:23:17.322,0:23:19.362
make room for by retiring from a seat

0:23:19.362,0:23:22.219
or yield to or submit to.

0:23:22.219,0:23:23.741
So with all this background,

0:23:23.741,0:23:25.951
what I would try to [br]distill as the meaning

0:23:25.951,0:23:27.628
would be something like this.

0:23:27.628,0:23:29.858
Hebrews 13:17 means that a church

0:23:29.858,0:23:32.440
should have a bent towards [br]trusting its leaders.

0:23:32.440,0:23:34.882
You should have a [br]disposition to be supportive

0:23:34.882,0:23:36.593
in your attitudes and actions

0:23:36.593,0:23:38.916
towards their goals and directions.

0:23:38.916,0:23:40.795
You should want to imitate their faith.

0:23:40.795,0:23:43.961
You should have a happy [br]inclination to comply

0:23:43.961,0:23:47.356
with their instructions.

0:23:47.356,0:23:50.162
When my daughter was younger,

0:23:50.162,0:23:51.806
and I knew I was going to have to

0:23:51.806,0:23:53.863
ask her to do something that I knew

0:23:53.863,0:23:55.773
was going to be harder -

0:23:55.773,0:23:57.252
like, I don't know, I told her

0:23:57.252,0:23:59.152
we'd be at Dairy Queen later today

0:23:59.152,0:24:00.955
and now we were going [br]to have to go tomorrow,

0:24:00.955,0:24:03.102
and I was going to [br]break the news to her.

0:24:03.102,0:24:05.290
Or I wanted her to [br]wear something different

0:24:05.290,0:24:06.329
or whatever it is.

0:24:06.329,0:24:08.161
Something that I knew was going to

0:24:08.161,0:24:12.032
provoke her and be [br]difficult for her to do.

0:24:12.032,0:24:14.288
I would get down with [br]her and sit with her,

0:24:14.288,0:24:17.235
and before I would ask her to obey me,

0:24:17.235,0:24:18.284
I would say to her:

0:24:18.284,0:24:20.503
"Jordana, may I have your heart?"

0:24:20.503,0:24:22.774
And so she was a little [br]girl - it was so cute.

0:24:22.774,0:24:24.656
She'd take her heart and she'd put it

0:24:24.656,0:24:26.188
in my hand.

0:24:26.188,0:24:27.355
And then I'd say, "Here.

0:24:27.355,0:24:28.467
You can have my heart."

0:24:28.467,0:24:29.991
And then I would [br]give her my heart

0:24:29.991,0:24:31.127
and put it in her hand.

0:24:31.127,0:24:32.269
And then I would say,

0:24:32.269,0:24:34.689
"Now I have something [br]hard to ask you to do,

0:24:34.689,0:24:36.010
but I need you to trust me.

0:24:36.010,0:24:38.962
Do I have your heart?"

0:24:38.962,0:24:40.956
And what she did when everything worked

0:24:40.956,0:24:45.763
and with my parenting, it always did work,

0:24:45.763,0:24:49.801
she would respond that she was ready

0:24:49.801,0:24:51.759
to obey.

0:24:51.759,0:24:54.605
And what a sweet, sweet moment that is.

0:24:54.605,0:24:56.315
And what a sweet thing it is when

0:24:56.315,0:24:58.539
that's happening in a church;

0:24:58.539,0:25:00.066
when there's a sense in which

0:25:00.066,0:25:01.961
the people know they're loved,

0:25:01.961,0:25:04.207
and so sometimes the [br]leaders can come to them

0:25:04.207,0:25:06.919
with very middle-of-the-[br]road kinds of things

0:25:06.919,0:25:08.992
and people have an inclination to obey.

0:25:08.992,0:25:10.597
Other times, the people come

0:25:10.597,0:25:12.756
with really risky things

0:25:12.756,0:25:14.762
that God wants them to do,

0:25:14.762,0:25:16.970
and the people have a general inclination

0:25:16.970,0:25:18.826
that these leaders will show it to me

0:25:18.826,0:25:20.755
in the Word, and when they show it to me

0:25:20.755,0:25:23.694
in the Word, I will obey it.

0:25:23.694,0:25:26.220
I remember when I was at Immanuel

0:25:26.220,0:25:27.242
in the early days -

0:25:27.242,0:25:29.390
I remember lots of unbiblical things

0:25:29.390,0:25:30.597
going on.

0:25:30.597,0:25:32.600
One of the things that kept Immanuel

0:25:32.600,0:25:34.549
changing and growing was that

0:25:34.549,0:25:37.351
Oakley Beldon, one of the [br]deacons at that time,

0:25:37.351,0:25:39.752
if you could show it to him in the Bible,

0:25:39.752,0:25:41.713
he would do it.

0:25:41.713,0:25:43.421
It could be hard. It could be easy.

0:25:43.421,0:25:45.312
But if you could show it to him there,

0:25:45.312,0:25:46.608
he would do it.

0:25:46.608,0:25:49.016
And when there's that kind of a sense

0:25:49.016,0:25:51.388
from a congregation to their pastors,

0:25:51.388,0:25:52.883
it's the sweetest season

0:25:52.883,0:25:54.560
in a church's life.

0:25:54.560,0:25:56.262
When there's a readiness to do

0:25:56.262,0:26:01.114
whatever the Word of God calls them to do.

0:26:01.114,0:26:02.424
Well, what I want to do now

0:26:02.424,0:26:04.220
is I want to give you three reasons

0:26:04.220,0:26:06.975
to stoke and inflame your desires

0:26:06.975,0:26:10.999
to obey and to submit to your pastors.

0:26:10.999,0:26:13.109
I want to give you three reasons why

0:26:13.109,0:26:16.034
you should not just do this begrudgingly,

0:26:16.034,0:26:17.307
but do this joyfully,

0:26:17.307,0:26:18.592
do this zealously;

0:26:18.592,0:26:20.312
pursue this.

0:26:20.312,0:26:22.124
And again, I want you to see this

0:26:22.124,0:26:24.960
be the reality for the rest of

0:26:24.960,0:26:27.101
Duck and Chick's ministry

0:26:27.101,0:26:29.403
and also for the entirety of

0:26:29.403,0:26:31.848
Marret and Gason's ministry,

0:26:31.848,0:26:35.818
and really for whoever God will give

0:26:35.818,0:26:37.055
to Lake Road.

0:26:37.055,0:26:40.869
We want to see them inherit

0:26:40.869,0:26:44.791
a spirit of obedience and [br]joyful submission

0:26:44.791,0:26:47.259
from the congregation.

0:26:47.259,0:26:49.129
There are three areas

0:26:49.129,0:26:50.604
that I want to show you.

0:26:50.604,0:26:52.138
And here's where we dive into

0:26:52.138,0:26:53.977
the theology of the matter.

0:26:53.977,0:26:55.810
The reason you should obey and submit

0:26:55.810,0:26:57.373
to your leaders is that they are

0:26:57.373,0:27:01.293
watching out for the good of your souls.

0:27:01.293,0:27:04.548
They are watching out for the good

0:27:04.548,0:27:07.109
of your souls.

0:27:07.109,0:27:09.216
Notice the text gives us a reason:

0:27:09.216,0:27:11.098
"Obey your leaders and submit to them,

0:27:11.098,0:27:14.525
for they are keeping watch

0:27:14.525,0:27:16.309
over your souls."

0:27:16.309,0:27:18.398
Now, my experience is that most Americans

0:27:18.398,0:27:19.997
have a pretty independent streak.

0:27:19.997,0:27:22.616
I'm from Canada, so I get to [br]say this every now and then.

0:27:22.616,0:27:24.505
They have a pretty libertarian streak.

0:27:24.505,0:27:26.166
They don't like the idea of anyone

0:27:26.166,0:27:28.777
watching over their souls,

0:27:28.777,0:27:31.019
of telling them what to do.

0:27:31.019,0:27:33.532
And so the question becomes,

0:27:33.532,0:27:36.330
how can this be good news?

0:27:36.330,0:27:38.416
That you should actually want someone

0:27:38.416,0:27:40.851
watching you?

0:27:40.851,0:27:43.875
Why is this not like Big Brother?

0:27:43.875,0:27:46.170
Why is this not something invasive?

0:27:46.170,0:27:48.334
Why is this not like a police state?

0:27:48.334,0:27:52.102
Why is it good to be having someone

0:27:52.102,0:27:56.589
watch over your soul?

0:27:56.589,0:28:00.478
And it's because of [br]three biblical realities

0:28:00.478,0:28:03.540
that we should want someone

0:28:03.540,0:28:05.461
watching our souls.

0:28:05.461,0:28:07.465
And the first biblical reality is

0:28:07.465,0:28:12.967
our souls can drift from God.

0:28:12.967,0:28:16.928
Our souls are not like a mighty mountain

0:28:16.928,0:28:21.361
that's never moved.

0:28:21.361,0:28:22.808
As one person has put it,

0:28:22.808,0:28:25.574
our souls are not like a boat on a lake.

0:28:25.574,0:28:27.696
They're like a boat on a river

0:28:27.696,0:28:30.453
that need to go upstream.

0:28:30.453,0:28:32.781
Our souls are not set in orbit.

0:28:32.781,0:28:35.142
They are prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

0:28:35.142,0:28:38.562
Prone to leave the God I love.

0:28:38.562,0:28:41.153
And this is a theme throughout [br]the book of Hebrews that we're in.

0:28:41.153,0:28:42.723
You can look at it if you will.

0:28:42.723,0:28:48.625
Hebrews 2:1

0:28:48.625,0:28:55.649
"Therefore we must pay [br]much closer attention

0:28:55.649,0:28:58.045
to the things we have heard

0:28:58.045,0:29:00.958
lest we drift away from it."

0:29:00.958,0:29:03.478
So there's a tendency [br]in the Christian life

0:29:03.478,0:29:05.317
to drift if you don't keep

0:29:05.317,0:29:07.742
listening to the preaching [br]that you've been given.

0:29:07.742,0:29:10.352
And it's interesting. [br]This tendency to drift

0:29:10.352,0:29:11.693
isn't just for the riff raff

0:29:11.693,0:29:13.021
on the edges of the church.

0:29:13.021,0:29:15.725
It's for the mightiest and the [br]strongest in the church.

0:29:15.725,0:29:18.049
Notice the writer to the Hebrews says

0:29:18.049,0:29:22.153
"We." I could drift.

0:29:22.153,0:29:23.574
I'm not above drifting

0:29:23.574,0:29:25.098
says the writer to the Hebrews.

0:29:25.098,0:29:27.434
We must give all the more attention

0:29:27.434,0:29:29.200
to the things we have heard,

0:29:29.200,0:29:32.122
lest we drift away.

0:29:32.122,0:29:37.355
Hebrews 3:12-14

0:29:37.355,0:29:40.386
"Take care brothers,

0:29:40.386,0:29:41.939
lest there be in any of you

0:29:41.939,0:29:44.426
an evil, unbelieving heart,

0:29:44.426,0:29:46.381
leading you to fall away

0:29:46.381,0:29:48.847
from the living God,

0:29:48.847,0:29:53.055
but exhort one another every day

0:29:53.055,0:29:55.318
as long as it is called today,

0:29:55.318,0:29:57.333
that none of you may be hardened

0:29:57.333,0:30:00.050
by the deceitfulness of sin.

0:30:00.050,0:30:02.638
For we share in Christ

0:30:02.638,0:30:05.630
(and I'm going to come back to this -

0:30:05.630,0:30:09.672
the most neglected two [br]letters in the New Testament)

0:30:09.672,0:30:14.889
...if indeed we continue

0:30:14.889,0:30:18.715
our original confidence firm to the end."

0:30:18.715,0:30:23.194
You've got a tendency to drift.

0:30:23.194,0:30:25.872
We see it again in Hebrew 10:23.

0:30:25.872,0:30:27.568
It's a theme throughout this book.

0:30:27.568,0:30:32.185
It's really the reason [br]the book was written.

0:30:32.185,0:30:34.248
Hebrews 10:23

0:30:34.248,0:30:37.756
"Let us hold fast the [br]confession of our hope

0:30:37.756,0:30:40.265
without wavering, for He [br]who promised is faithful."

0:30:40.265,0:30:42.572
It doesn't just say it will be ok

0:30:42.572,0:30:44.354
as long as you stay near the hope;

0:30:44.354,0:30:45.681
as long as you sort of stay

0:30:45.681,0:30:47.344
in the vicinity of the hope;

0:30:47.344,0:30:50.206
just stick around the hope...

0:30:50.206,0:30:53.932
Hold on to the hope.

0:30:53.932,0:30:56.280
Don't drift.

0:30:56.280,0:31:00.234
Don't play in the waves.

0:31:00.234,0:31:05.225
Don't play in the current.

0:31:05.225,0:31:08.620
Because it will take you away from God.

0:31:08.620,0:31:11.289
Not only can our souls drift from God -

0:31:11.289,0:31:12.464
that's the first point.

0:31:12.464,0:31:16.470
But the world encourages such drifting.

0:31:16.470,0:31:19.491
The world encourages such drifting.

0:31:19.491,0:31:24.494
Hebrews 10:32-34 shows us

0:31:24.494,0:31:26.863
the drifting that is encouraged

0:31:26.863,0:31:29.478
by persecution.

0:31:29.478,0:31:32.503
Hebrews 10:32 "Recall the former days

0:31:32.503,0:31:34.253
when after you were enlightened,

0:31:34.253,0:31:35.734
(after you became Christians),

0:31:35.734,0:31:37.903
you endured a hard [br]struggle with sufferings;

0:31:37.903,0:31:40.132
sometimes being publicly exposed

0:31:40.132,0:31:42.535
to reproach and affliction,

0:31:42.535,0:31:44.562
and sometimes being partners with

0:31:44.562,0:31:46.195
those so treated,

0:31:46.195,0:31:48.803
for you had compassion on those in prison,

0:31:48.803,0:31:50.674
and you joyfully accepted

0:31:50.674,0:31:52.260
the plundering of your property

0:31:52.260,0:31:54.152
since you knew that you yourselves

0:31:54.152,0:31:55.840
had a better possession

0:31:55.840,0:31:58.493
and an abiding one."

0:31:58.493,0:32:02.240
Getting your stuff stolen [br]because you're a Christian.

0:32:02.240,0:32:06.918
We don't even like getting [br]our stuff stolen just because.

0:32:06.918,0:32:08.965
But who wants to have their stuff stolen

0:32:08.965,0:32:11.156
because they're a Christian?

0:32:11.156,0:32:14.897
Be exposed to public reproach?

0:32:14.897,0:32:16.791
I knew a young man in Louisville.

0:32:16.791,0:32:18.203
He went to the orientation

0:32:18.203,0:32:20.586
of the University of Louisville campus

0:32:20.586,0:32:22.481
in his first year in college,

0:32:22.481,0:32:24.219
and they said, ok, we're going to do

0:32:24.219,0:32:26.751
some orientation games [br]to get to know everyone.

0:32:26.751,0:32:31.622
Everyone for gay marriage [br]line up on this wall.

0:32:31.622,0:32:34.029
Everyone against it line up on this wall.

0:32:34.029,0:32:39.079
And he stood there alone.

0:32:39.079,0:32:44.967
Public reproach that makes it hard

0:32:44.967,0:32:46.142
not to drift away.

0:32:46.142,0:32:50.296
You just think I'd like to [br]drift over to that wall.

0:32:50.296,0:32:54.066
I don't want to be outside [br]the camp anymore.

0:32:54.066,0:32:58.886
I just want to drift over to that wall.

0:32:58.886,0:33:06.558
And some of you are [br]drifting here this morning.

0:33:06.558,0:33:11.892
The world has temptations to drift.

0:33:11.892,0:33:14.977
The world offers persecution [br]to help you drift.

0:33:14.977,0:33:18.022
The world has false teachings [br]that will help you drift.

0:33:18.022,0:33:20.121
There are wolves we heard about yesterday

0:33:20.121,0:33:21.852
that break in to the flock

0:33:21.852,0:33:23.373
and want to rip her to shreds

0:33:23.373,0:33:25.638
and draw her away to false teachings

0:33:25.638,0:33:27.736
to get her to drift away from God.

0:33:27.736,0:33:30.473
The cross always makes you feel

0:33:30.473,0:33:33.330
like a loser and God is the winner.

0:33:33.330,0:33:34.918
But there are false teachings

0:33:34.918,0:33:37.551
that will make you both winners.

0:33:37.551,0:33:39.945
You don't have to feel as bad.

0:33:39.945,0:33:42.982
God doesn't look as good.

0:33:42.982,0:33:48.664
But it's a lot easier to believe.

0:33:48.664,0:33:50.690
And then of course,

0:33:50.690,0:33:52.855
one of the number one things that destroys

0:33:52.855,0:33:54.240
the seed of the Gospel -

0:33:54.240,0:33:55.591
one of the number one things

0:33:55.591,0:33:57.305
that makes us drift from the Gospel

0:33:57.305,0:33:58.786
is just the cares of this world

0:33:58.786,0:34:00.819
and the deceitfulness of riches.

0:34:00.819,0:34:03.295
I'm just so busy paying the paycheck

0:34:03.295,0:34:05.126
and taking the kids to soccer

0:34:05.126,0:34:10.228
that I haven't been in [br]the Word in a month.

0:34:10.228,0:34:18.242
Not everything that can [br]kill you looks deadly.

0:34:18.242,0:34:24.082
Our souls can drift from God. Amen?

0:34:24.082,0:34:28.969
The world wants you to drift from God.

0:34:28.969,0:34:31.294
And if you do, you will not be saved.

0:34:31.294,0:34:33.464
That's the third truth.

0:34:33.464,0:34:34.577
If you drift away,

0:34:34.577,0:34:39.615
you will not go to heaven.

0:34:39.615,0:34:42.236
The Bible is clear

0:34:42.236,0:34:45.941
that salvation comes to us in a moment

0:34:45.941,0:34:48.970
when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

0:34:48.970,0:34:51.336
but those who believe [br]in the Lord Jesus Christ

0:34:51.336,0:34:57.325
truly keep on believing until they die.

0:34:57.325,0:35:03.645
The elect endure until the end.

0:35:03.645,0:35:10.229
Let's go back to that word [br]"if" in Hebrews 3:12-14.

0:35:10.229,0:35:15.804
Hebrews 3:14

0:35:15.804,0:35:17.855
There the writer of the Hebrews says,

0:35:17.855,0:35:20.149
"For we have come to share in Christ."

0:35:20.149,0:35:21.997
That's what it is to be a Christian.

0:35:21.997,0:35:23.264
To share in Christ.

0:35:23.264,0:35:24.605
To share in His destiny.

0:35:24.605,0:35:25.606
I'm going to heaven.

0:35:25.606,0:35:26.748
He's going to heaven.

0:35:26.748,0:35:28.408
He's got the power of God on Him.

0:35:28.408,0:35:30.438
I've got the power of God on me.

0:35:30.438,0:35:33.289
I am sharing in Christ...

0:35:33.289,0:35:35.722
"...if indeed I work really hard."

0:35:35.722,0:35:38.580
No. The Bible's abundantly clear,

0:35:38.580,0:35:41.399
you're not going to heaven [br]by working really hard.

0:35:41.399,0:35:44.627
"...but we must hold [br]our original confidence

0:35:44.627,0:35:47.226
firm until the end."

0:35:47.226,0:35:49.720
Salvation is not to those who

0:35:49.720,0:35:53.141
had a "religious spasm," [br]Spurgeon called them;

0:35:53.141,0:35:56.838
where for a moment they held on to Christ.

0:35:56.838,0:35:59.253
But it's for those who say with Peter,

0:35:59.253,0:36:00.803
"Where shall we go?

0:36:00.803,0:36:03.320
You alone have the words of eternal life."

0:36:03.320,0:36:05.580
It goes to people who hold fast,

0:36:05.580,0:36:07.145
who won't let go,

0:36:07.145,0:36:09.049
who are faithful until the end,

0:36:09.049,0:36:11.258
who cannot let go of Christ

0:36:11.258,0:36:12.745
because they keep sensing

0:36:12.745,0:36:14.744
their need of grace.

0:36:14.744,0:36:15.788
Now, back up.

0:36:15.788,0:36:18.486
Is that you?

0:36:18.486,0:36:21.900
Is that how you see yourself?

0:36:21.900,0:36:25.989
Do you see yourself as [br]someone prone to drift?

0:36:25.989,0:36:29.339
You.

0:36:29.339,0:36:31.673
Do you see the world

0:36:31.673,0:36:35.181
as a place that tempts you to drift?

0:36:35.181,0:36:37.339
Do you see your own flesh pulling you

0:36:37.339,0:36:40.161
towards drifting?

0:36:40.161,0:36:42.162
Do you know that if you drift away,

0:36:42.162,0:36:44.138
you will not be saved?

0:36:44.138,0:36:46.321
If that's the way you see the world,

0:36:46.321,0:36:50.667
an overseer is a very precious gift.

0:36:50.667,0:36:53.399
Someone outside of your soul

0:36:53.399,0:36:56.102
watching your soul.

0:36:56.102,0:36:59.834
Someone outside of you watching you.

0:36:59.834,0:37:02.742
Someone while you, who are being

0:37:02.742,0:37:05.663
lured away by all the siren songs

0:37:05.663,0:37:08.245
of the world, who is tied to the mast,

0:37:08.245,0:37:10.463
and declaring the Word of God to you,

0:37:10.463,0:37:13.289
and calling you to stay in the ship

0:37:13.289,0:37:15.649
that is on its way to heaven.

0:37:15.649,0:37:17.593
When you look at yourself like that,

0:37:17.593,0:37:20.916
then an overseer is a [br]sweet and precious gift.

0:37:20.916,0:37:22.642
It's not invasive.

0:37:22.642,0:37:24.136
It's like get to know me.

0:37:24.136,0:37:26.024
Ask me questions.

0:37:26.024,0:37:27.667
Let me show you what I've got.

0:37:27.667,0:37:29.841
One of the things my co-pastor Jeff King

0:37:29.841,0:37:30.921
always prays is,

0:37:30.921,0:37:33.557
"Lord, would You just [br]help Ryan believe..."

0:37:33.557,0:37:34.844
Or help whoever believe,

0:37:34.844,0:37:37.577
"that there is grace for the real Ryan."

0:37:37.577,0:37:39.667
Not the Ryan that he thinks he should be;

0:37:39.667,0:37:41.438
or the Ryan that he wants to be,

0:37:41.438,0:37:43.678
but for who he is now.

0:37:43.678,0:37:44.808
You need to know -

0:37:44.808,0:37:46.434
and pastors will help you know -

0:37:46.434,0:37:52.301
that there is grace for you as you are.

0:37:52.301,0:37:54.743
That's so glorious.

0:37:54.743,0:37:56.676
And when you look at life like that,

0:37:56.676,0:37:59.478
an overseer is not an invader.

0:37:59.478,0:38:02.320
An overseer is a shepherd and a friend

0:38:02.320,0:38:05.749
to your soul.

0:38:05.749,0:38:08.999
Obey your leaders,

0:38:08.999,0:38:17.667
for they are watching over your soul.

0:38:17.667,0:38:19.303
And if I could just say one word

0:38:19.303,0:38:23.631
to Garrett and to Mason as brothers,

0:38:23.631,0:38:28.939
and to Charles and Dick [br]as fathers in the faith,

0:38:28.939,0:38:31.825
watch your life

0:38:31.825,0:38:35.906
and your doctrine carefully.

0:38:35.906,0:38:38.873
Watch your purity.

0:38:38.873,0:38:40.852
Watch that you hold on to truths

0:38:40.852,0:38:43.769
of heaven and hell and sin

0:38:43.769,0:38:46.367
and salvation earnestly.

0:38:46.367,0:38:47.965
Because if you lose those things,

0:38:47.965,0:38:52.878
you cannot watch over anyone else's soul.

0:38:52.878,0:38:54.990
Because your eye's not clear

0:38:54.990,0:38:58.712
to see what every soul needs.

0:38:58.712,0:39:01.919
The miracle of 40 years of ministry

0:39:01.919,0:39:05.643
is the miracle of men [br]who are prone to wander

0:39:05.643,0:39:09.341
not wandering.

0:39:09.341,0:39:10.727
And not only not wandering,

0:39:10.727,0:39:14.814
but watching out that others don't wander.

0:39:14.814,0:39:17.362
That's incredible.

0:39:17.362,0:39:19.598
The second reason I would give you

0:39:19.598,0:39:24.572
to inflame and encourage your desire

0:39:24.572,0:39:28.190
to obey and submit to your leaders

0:39:28.190,0:39:31.558
is they will have to give an account.

0:39:31.558,0:39:34.471
It's always hard to obey leadership

0:39:34.471,0:39:38.673
when we think they're [br]getting away with something.

0:39:38.673,0:39:40.620
It's always hard to obey the government

0:39:40.620,0:39:42.629
when it feels like it's gone rogue.

0:39:42.629,0:39:44.577
When it feels like it's not accountable -

0:39:44.577,0:39:46.340
all the courts aren't [br]accountable to anything,

0:39:46.340,0:39:48.232
and the president's not [br]accountable to anything,

0:39:48.232,0:39:50.117
and Congress isn't [br]accountable to anything,

0:39:50.117,0:39:52.514
and it just gets bitter in your soul.

0:39:52.514,0:39:55.240
You don't want to do what they say.

0:39:55.240,0:39:58.062
They're not going to be held to account.

0:39:58.062,0:40:00.400
When you feel like the [br]principal of your school

0:40:00.400,0:40:02.944
or the boss at work has no accountability,

0:40:02.944,0:40:04.596
and they have just gone -

0:40:04.596,0:40:05.960
they are just doing things

0:40:05.960,0:40:07.517
according to their own dictates,

0:40:07.517,0:40:12.905
it tempts us towards a bitterness of soul.

0:40:12.905,0:40:14.585
But we're here reminded,

0:40:14.585,0:40:16.989
your pastors aren't going to get away

0:40:16.989,0:40:19.367
with anything.

0:40:19.367,0:40:22.207
They're going to face a stricter account,

0:40:22.207,0:40:25.125
James says.

0:40:25.125,0:40:27.548
I heard a pastor tell a story

0:40:27.548,0:40:29.117
of one time at their church,

0:40:29.117,0:40:30.980
they were starting [br]some new initiatives;

0:40:30.980,0:40:32.675
they were doing [br]some new things,

0:40:32.675,0:40:35.056
and they went to the congregation [br]to talk to them about it,

0:40:35.056,0:40:37.661
and I imagine a lot of people[br]really liked these things,

0:40:37.661,0:40:40.195
but one person was kind of nervous.

0:40:40.195,0:40:41.898
And he walked up to the pastor

0:40:41.898,0:40:46.786
and he said, "you know, [br]I don't like what you're doing,

0:40:46.786,0:40:50.341
but the Bible tells me to trust you,

0:40:50.341,0:40:53.015
and you're going to be held to account

0:40:53.015,0:40:56.749
so I'm going to completely [br]submit to you and follow you."

0:40:56.749,0:40:57.926
I don't know about you,

0:40:57.926,0:40:59.946
but I've been a pastor - I am a pastor.

0:40:59.946,0:41:02.993
When I hear that, I'm like, [br]oh Lord, I want to do it right, now.

0:41:02.993,0:41:05.434
I want to do it right.

0:41:05.434,0:41:11.644
Because you're being given trust.

0:41:11.644,0:41:15.190
You want to freak out [br]your husband later today?

0:41:15.190,0:41:17.337
Just tell him I am willing to follow you

0:41:17.337,0:41:20.912
and submit to you in anything.

0:41:20.912,0:41:23.767
You will watch him get more careful,

0:41:23.767,0:41:31.461
if he's got any ounce [br]of the Spirit of God in him.

0:41:31.461,0:41:35.815
Same thing is true with leaders.

0:41:35.815,0:41:37.648
The other thing about this idea

0:41:37.648,0:41:39.664
of they're going to be held to account,

0:41:39.664,0:41:43.605
is it sort of helps you [br]understand pastors.

0:41:43.605,0:41:47.382
Sometimes people don't [br]really understand pastors.

0:41:47.382,0:41:49.365
I was driving in my truck the other day

0:41:49.365,0:41:51.333
with a friend of ours from our church,

0:41:51.333,0:41:53.619
and he was talking about one [br]of the leaders of the church

0:41:53.619,0:41:55.363
kept confronting him about something.

0:41:55.363,0:41:56.496
Why does he keep doing that?

0:41:56.496,0:41:58.921
He just keeps confronting [br]me with this thing.

0:41:58.921,0:42:01.235
You know, I've told him [br]I'm going to deal with it,

0:42:01.235,0:42:02.473
and I haven't dealt with it,

0:42:02.473,0:42:03.943
but he keeps confronting me about it.

0:42:03.943,0:42:06.357
Why does he keep doing this to me?

0:42:06.357,0:42:09.459
He was quite distressed about this.

0:42:09.459,0:42:10.968
And I said,

0:42:10.968,0:42:14.372
"have you ever considered

0:42:14.372,0:42:16.394
that he would probably like to stop

0:42:16.394,0:42:18.696
confronting you about it?

0:42:18.696,0:42:20.963
That it would certainly [br]make his life easier

0:42:20.963,0:42:23.931
to stop confronting you about it.

0:42:23.931,0:42:25.832
But that he feels that he cannot

0:42:25.832,0:42:27.868
stand before the Lord

0:42:27.868,0:42:32.867
unless he keeps confronting you about it.

0:42:32.867,0:42:35.027
And pretty soon my friend was on the phone

0:42:35.027,0:42:37.566
apologizing to the leader in our church.

0:42:37.566,0:42:43.351
And they were in the [br]midst of reconciliation.

0:42:43.351,0:42:45.200
But I tell you all this because

0:42:45.200,0:42:46.521
sometimes people wonder,

0:42:46.521,0:42:49.624
why do pastors have to [br]get all up in my business?

0:42:49.624,0:42:52.573
Why can't they just keep their distance?

0:42:52.573,0:42:54.745
Why do they have to push into the details?

0:42:54.745,0:42:56.406
Let's talk about modesty,

0:42:56.406,0:42:58.686
and if we're going to be [br]like Timothy and Peter

0:42:58.686,0:43:01.581
we'll talk about it in detail.

0:43:01.581,0:43:03.112
Let's talk about your finances.

0:43:03.112,0:43:05.373
And since we're going to talk about[br]them in a New Testament way,

0:43:05.373,0:43:10.198
and that means we're going [br]to talk about them a lot.

0:43:10.198,0:43:12.080
Let's talk about secret sins

0:43:12.080,0:43:15.141
and the motives of the heart.

0:43:15.141,0:43:18.754
And let's press in on these things.

0:43:18.754,0:43:20.519
Pastors are not doing this -

0:43:20.519,0:43:23.271
godly pastors are not doing this

0:43:23.271,0:43:25.693
because they are arrogant,

0:43:25.693,0:43:29.162
egotistical, pushy, power hungry men.

0:43:29.162,0:43:31.388
Accountable pastors are not arrogant,

0:43:31.388,0:43:33.979
but humble.

0:43:33.979,0:43:36.396
Not egotistical, but loving.

0:43:36.396,0:43:39.084
Not pushy, but obedient.

0:43:39.084,0:43:41.374
They may look like what our culture says

0:43:41.374,0:43:42.785
is arrogant and egotistical.

0:43:42.785,0:43:44.151
Anyone who's got an opinion

0:43:44.151,0:43:45.516
and want you to live by it,

0:43:45.516,0:43:47.276
you know, in our culture, is called:

0:43:47.276,0:43:48.710
arrogant.

0:43:48.710,0:43:50.687
But what if you're a man who's going to

0:43:50.687,0:43:52.412
be held accountable for enforcing

0:43:52.412,0:43:54.690
God's opinions?

0:43:54.690,0:43:58.326
And by the way, God doesn't have opinions.

0:43:58.326,0:44:03.001
He's just got truth.

0:44:03.001,0:44:04.589
Your pastors are those who are

0:44:04.589,0:44:13.205
going to be held to an account.

0:44:13.205,0:44:15.455
Last point.

0:44:15.455,0:44:17.349
But before you get your hopes up,

0:44:17.349,0:44:18.806
there's a lot of applications

0:44:18.806,0:44:20.080
which I don't call points,

0:44:20.080,0:44:22.397
because then I have to say [br]there's a lot more points.

0:44:22.397,0:44:23.679
But there's a last point,

0:44:23.679,0:44:30.297
and then there's applications.

0:44:30.297,0:44:32.283
Pastors are worth more to you

0:44:32.283,0:44:36.210
when their joy is contagious.

0:44:36.210,0:44:38.907
They're just worth more.

0:44:38.907,0:44:41.931
They just get more done.

0:44:41.931,0:44:43.566
They will help you more

0:44:43.566,0:44:44.881
in your spiritual walk

0:44:44.881,0:44:47.496
if they're happy in Jesus.

0:44:47.496,0:44:48.382
End of story.

0:44:48.382,0:44:51.154
It's just an absolute rule

0:44:51.154,0:44:53.011
of life and ministry

0:44:53.011,0:44:54.751
that if the pastor always

0:44:54.751,0:44:57.648
and continually feels [br]like he'd rather die -

0:44:57.648,0:44:59.740
and there have been godly men in the Bible

0:44:59.740,0:45:01.729
who asked God to kill them,

0:45:01.729,0:45:04.880
because they would have [br]rather died than go on -

0:45:04.880,0:45:06.133
the simple fact is

0:45:06.133,0:45:08.069
when your pastors are full of joy,

0:45:08.069,0:45:11.646
they just help you a lot more.

0:45:11.646,0:45:12.940
They help you a lot more.

0:45:12.940,0:45:14.144
Let them do this...

0:45:14.144,0:45:16.484
Let them do this leading,

0:45:16.484,0:45:18.133
this watching over your souls,

0:45:18.133,0:45:19.543
this commanding you.

0:45:19.543,0:45:21.224
"Let them do this with joy

0:45:21.224,0:45:22.534
and not with groaning,

0:45:22.534,0:45:29.312
for that would be of no advantage to you."

0:45:29.312,0:45:31.955
I was walking with one of my co-pastors

0:45:31.955,0:45:34.562
through Home Depot

0:45:34.562,0:45:37.310
maybe 12 years ago.

0:45:37.310,0:45:39.613
He and his wife were struggling

0:45:39.613,0:45:41.561
with infertility.

0:45:41.561,0:45:43.440
It was not making them, at this point,

0:45:43.440,0:45:45.134
soft towards the Lord.

0:45:45.134,0:45:47.184
It was making them hard towards the Lord.

0:45:47.184,0:45:48.719
It was making them angry at God.

0:45:48.719,0:45:51.755
They couldn't understand why they [br]wanted this good thing - children.

0:45:51.755,0:45:54.229
The Bible says, "be [br]fruitful and multiply."

0:45:54.229,0:45:56.393
They wanted to be fruitful and multiply.

0:45:56.393,0:45:59.142
They couldn't multiply [br]to save their lives.

0:45:59.142,0:46:01.982
And we're walking through Home Depot[br]and he's basically telling me

0:46:01.982,0:46:05.142
I want to leave the faith;

0:46:05.142,0:46:06.208
I want to just go,

0:46:06.208,0:46:08.535
buy a house on the beach in Florida,

0:46:08.535,0:46:10.176
and just try to live a normal life

0:46:10.176,0:46:12.106
because this whole idea of following God

0:46:12.106,0:46:13.837
through difficult seasons like this

0:46:13.837,0:46:18.588
is doing me in.

0:46:18.588,0:46:20.455
Now what happens if at that moment,

0:46:20.455,0:46:25.991
I go, "me too?"

0:46:25.991,0:46:32.294
We may both be on the [br]beach in Florida right now.

0:46:32.294,0:46:33.997
The simple fact is

0:46:33.997,0:46:36.191
we are all going to come [br]to difficult moments

0:46:36.191,0:46:37.631
in our faith.

0:46:37.631,0:46:38.842
All of us.

0:46:38.842,0:46:40.649
And one of the most precious gifts

0:46:40.649,0:46:42.624
God can ever give to us in that moment

0:46:42.624,0:46:45.908
is a pastor who is full of joy,

0:46:45.908,0:46:48.029
who says, no, no, no, no...

0:46:48.029,0:46:52.254
At His right hand are [br]pleasures forevermore.

0:46:52.254,0:46:53.876
Yes, this is hard,

0:46:53.876,0:46:56.125
and weeping is going to last for a night,

0:46:56.125,0:46:58.812
but there is joy in the morning.

0:46:58.812,0:47:00.537
And there's just something about

0:47:00.537,0:47:04.926
somebody else believing it

0:47:04.926,0:47:07.253
that's like the four friends who

0:47:07.253,0:47:08.942
lowered their paralyzed friend

0:47:08.942,0:47:11.050
down into Jesus.

0:47:11.050,0:47:12.313
A joyful pastor -

0:47:12.313,0:47:13.981
you might not have faith right now,

0:47:13.981,0:47:16.111
but I'm taking you down through the roof

0:47:16.111,0:47:20.174
to Jesus to see Him.

0:47:20.174,0:47:21.636
But if you've done everything

0:47:21.636,0:47:23.519
to undermine your pastor's ministry -

0:47:23.519,0:47:25.486
everything to make sure there's a nice,

0:47:25.486,0:47:28.363
humbling email each Monday morning...

0:47:28.363,0:47:30.011
You know, the board of deacons

0:47:30.011,0:47:31.274
at the small town church.

0:47:31.274,0:47:32.967
Their motto was:

0:47:32.967,0:47:36.305
"Lord, You keep them humble,

0:47:36.305,0:47:39.934
and we'll keep them poor."

0:47:39.934,0:47:42.855
If you've done everything to undermine him

0:47:42.855,0:47:44.547
and hurt him,

0:47:44.547,0:47:47.466
and then all of a sudden [br]you're hospitalized,

0:47:47.466,0:47:49.601
and the man who walks in to comfort you

0:47:49.601,0:47:54.496
has not got any comfort to bring,

0:47:54.496,0:47:57.583
you've hurt your own soul.

0:47:57.583,0:47:59.049
And many people have done that

0:47:59.049,0:48:01.855
to pastors in the name [br]of biblical faithfulness.

0:48:01.855,0:48:04.130
They were just trying to help the pastor

0:48:04.130,0:48:05.685
be biblically faithful

0:48:05.685,0:48:11.324
by criticizing his every move

0:48:11.324,0:48:18.450
and making him of no advantage to them.

0:48:18.450,0:48:19.797
On the other hand,

0:48:19.797,0:48:21.839
you stoke the fires in your pastor;

0:48:21.839,0:48:23.077
you encourage your pastor;

0:48:23.077,0:48:25.258
you generally obey your pastor;

0:48:25.258,0:48:27.756
and follow along in his lead,

0:48:27.756,0:48:29.629
and you seek to obey the Word of God

0:48:29.629,0:48:31.499
that he preaches and you delight in it,

0:48:31.499,0:48:32.750
and you rejoice with him

0:48:32.750,0:48:34.122
on how God is using him,

0:48:34.122,0:48:36.110
and how the Spirit is helping the church.

0:48:36.110,0:48:38.319
You do that, and then [br]you come into crisis,

0:48:38.319,0:48:39.957
and he will be right there

0:48:39.957,0:48:42.873
full of joy,

0:48:42.873,0:48:45.041
ready to help you out;

0:48:45.041,0:48:49.838
ready to encourage you.

0:48:49.838,0:48:53.176
Now, here's a few applications.

0:48:53.176,0:48:54.842
Here's a few applications,

0:48:54.842,0:48:58.715
and then I really am done.

0:48:58.715,0:49:01.843
And these range from [br]the incredibly practical

0:49:01.843,0:49:06.507
to the deeply theological.

0:49:06.507,0:49:10.361
Write notes

0:49:10.361,0:49:14.768
and give real substantive encouragements

0:49:14.768,0:49:16.947
to your pastor,

0:49:16.947,0:49:22.098
and "good message" doesn't count.

0:49:22.098,0:49:23.515
Ok?

0:49:23.515,0:49:24.831
"Good message" means

0:49:24.831,0:49:27.865
I cannot think a coherent sentence

0:49:27.865,0:49:30.074
that amounts to more than two words

0:49:30.074,0:49:33.809
about what you just said.

0:49:33.809,0:49:35.247
Not encouraging.

0:49:35.247,0:49:36.354
I always tell people,

0:49:36.354,0:49:38.372
"what was it that helped you?"

0:49:38.372,0:49:43.736
(unintelligible)

0:49:43.736,0:49:47.373
I'm glad that was helpful for you.

0:49:47.373,0:49:51.576
You've just had someone pour out

0:49:51.576,0:49:55.877
the studied Word of God onto your soul.

0:49:55.877,0:49:59.734
You can sit down for five seconds

0:49:59.734,0:50:02.386
and write an email that relates

0:50:02.386,0:50:07.087
something that was helpful.

0:50:07.087,0:50:08.984
Now, I tell you what, any pastor -

0:50:08.984,0:50:11.152
and don't ask twenty questions,

0:50:11.152,0:50:13.595
because if all of you [br]ask twenty questions:

0:50:13.595,0:50:15.984
"here's something helpful [br]and here's 20 questions,"

0:50:15.984,0:50:17.890
Charles and Dick will die this Monday.

0:50:17.890,0:50:19.396
It will happen just like that.

0:50:19.396,0:50:22.978
Boom. Oh, no, I preached, [br]so I'll die on Monday.

0:50:22.978,0:50:25.425
But a general attitude of I'm going to say

0:50:25.425,0:50:28.102
something substantive to let them know

0:50:28.102,0:50:30.389
that I was gleaning from the Word.

0:50:30.389,0:50:31.386
Some of you say,

0:50:31.386,0:50:32.928
well, that will make them proud.

0:50:32.928,0:50:34.398
It does not make you proud.

0:50:34.398,0:50:36.045
Listen, if you're a good pastor,

0:50:36.045,0:50:38.159
you're not preaching your own ideas.

0:50:38.159,0:50:39.639
So when someone comes to you

0:50:39.639,0:50:41.968
and says, hey, that [br]idea that wasn't yours,

0:50:41.968,0:50:43.385
it was really helpful to you.

0:50:43.385,0:50:44.828
That's not making you proud.

0:50:44.828,0:50:47.292
It's making you rejoice that they love

0:50:47.292,0:50:52.393
God's Word.

0:50:52.393,0:50:54.490
Second, and I have not talked to any

0:50:54.490,0:50:56.067
single pastor about this.

0:50:56.067,0:50:59.211
No one has paid me to do this.

0:50:59.211,0:51:01.854
Pay your pastors.

0:51:01.854,0:51:02.797
Pay them.

0:51:02.797,0:51:04.473
Double honor in 1 Timothy 5

0:51:04.473,0:51:06.941
is a financial term

0:51:06.941,0:51:08.207
to care for your pastors.

0:51:08.207,0:51:09.754
They won't all be paid evenly.

0:51:09.754,0:51:11.743
There's all kinds of different factors.

0:51:11.743,0:51:14.680
But make sure they are cared for.

0:51:14.680,0:51:16.223
I know that you all find it easy

0:51:16.223,0:51:17.974
to keep your joy when you're broke,

0:51:17.974,0:51:21.918
but pastors are different.

0:51:21.918,0:51:23.577
No, there is a sense in which

0:51:23.577,0:51:26.295
the people of God should be not

0:51:26.295,0:51:29.339
reviewing a pastor's salary every 25 years

0:51:29.339,0:51:32.709
whether he needs it or not.

0:51:32.709,0:51:35.254
But there should be a [br]regular, constant care

0:51:35.254,0:51:41.610
to provide for God's man.

0:51:41.610,0:51:44.101
Now, I think I'm going to [br]spend a little more time

0:51:44.101,0:51:46.345
on this next point.

0:51:46.345,0:51:47.875
And I had it in my notes,

0:51:47.875,0:51:50.301
but honestly, my wife wrote this point

0:51:50.301,0:51:52.530
during the songs this morning.

0:51:52.530,0:51:54.567
I believe that men only should preach,

0:51:54.567,0:51:56.694
but I believe the things my wife whispers

0:51:56.694,0:51:59.033
into my ear during some services

0:51:59.033,0:52:02.410
are some of the most spiritual [br]things I've ever heard.

0:52:02.410,0:52:07.733
And so I'll preach them to you right now.

0:52:07.733,0:52:12.918
They are men.

0:52:12.918,0:52:14.801
One of the most significant things

0:52:14.801,0:52:17.237
you can do - and I'm talking to

0:52:17.237,0:52:18.403
children here,

0:52:18.403,0:52:20.809
I'm talking to those who [br]have been here 40 years,

0:52:20.809,0:52:22.537
those who have been here 10 years -

0:52:22.537,0:52:25.288
one of the most significant [br]things you can do with your pastor

0:52:25.288,0:52:32.433
is to realize that they are just a person;

0:52:32.433,0:52:35.140
that they are not cut from another cloth

0:52:35.140,0:52:37.269
of humanity,

0:52:37.269,0:52:42.556
but they are a finite, limited person.

0:52:42.556,0:52:46.363
And that has so many implications,

0:52:46.363,0:52:48.398
it's ridiculous.

0:52:48.398,0:52:51.868
It means that even if [br]they could be with you

0:52:51.868,0:52:55.670
all the time every time you needed them,

0:52:55.670,0:52:58.116
they couldn't satisfy your soul.

0:52:58.116,0:53:00.744
It would not work.

0:53:00.744,0:53:02.036
Even if they could be there

0:53:02.036,0:53:03.769
as much as you wanted

0:53:03.769,0:53:05.452
as often as you wanted,

0:53:05.452,0:53:07.642
once they showed up that often,

0:53:07.642,0:53:12.061
they would turn out to be disappointing,

0:53:12.061,0:53:16.882
because they are only people.

0:53:16.882,0:53:20.065
And, it also means they can't

0:53:20.065,0:53:22.643
show up all the time every time

0:53:22.643,0:53:25.279
to be with everyone,

0:53:25.279,0:53:26.886
because they are people.

0:53:26.886,0:53:29.244
And this doesn't make [br]them different than Jesus,

0:53:29.244,0:53:32.574
this makes them like Jesus,

0:53:32.574,0:53:34.550
who would get ministry opportunities

0:53:34.550,0:53:37.064
and would leave,

0:53:37.064,0:53:40.070
because He simply could not meet

0:53:40.070,0:53:43.299
all the needs - that's a [br]stunning thing to say, isn't it?

0:53:43.299,0:53:45.363
Could not meet all the needs?

0:53:45.363,0:53:46.766
At one level, that's true.

0:53:46.766,0:53:49.029
He was a finite man.

0:53:49.029,0:53:51.416
He needed sleep.

0:53:51.416,0:53:53.491
He needed a break.

0:53:53.491,0:53:56.017
He needed to eat.

0:53:56.017,0:53:57.887
(incomplete thought)

0:53:57.887,0:54:01.583
Jesus ministered in one very limited

0:54:01.583,0:54:04.043
geographic area, and He moved

0:54:04.043,0:54:05.388
from town to town

0:54:05.388,0:54:07.277
and did not spend infinite time,

0:54:07.277,0:54:09.024
though there would have been many

0:54:09.024,0:54:10.700
who would have wished He'd stayed

0:54:10.700,0:54:14.028
one more day.

0:54:14.028,0:54:18.184
He was limited in that way.

0:54:18.184,0:54:20.960
Your pastors are limited in gifts.

0:54:20.960,0:54:23.571
I basically find that the [br]longer I'm in ministry,

0:54:23.571,0:54:27.034
my tenure in ministry [br]is the joyful discovery

0:54:27.034,0:54:30.391
of how many things I'm bad at.

0:54:30.391,0:54:32.339
Preaching - some gifts.

0:54:32.339,0:54:34.388
Administration - no gifts.

0:54:34.388,0:54:36.824
Counseling - moderate gifts.

0:54:36.824,0:54:39.650
Gifts of service - I hope [br]I have a servant's heart.

0:54:39.650,0:54:41.674
Not particularly good at it.

0:54:41.674,0:54:43.604
There's just all kinds of things

0:54:43.604,0:54:46.498
that I am bad at.

0:54:46.498,0:54:48.095
You should expect your pastors

0:54:48.095,0:54:51.269
to not only be not [br]excellent at everything,

0:54:51.269,0:54:54.299
but actually bad at some things.

0:54:54.299,0:54:55.960
And it will be good for you

0:54:55.960,0:55:01.245
to recognize their sanctified badness

0:55:01.245,0:55:02.655
at many, many things,

0:55:02.655,0:55:04.231
because you were not meant

0:55:04.231,0:55:05.981
to be built up by a pastor.

0:55:05.981,0:55:09.650
You were meant to be built up by a body.

0:55:09.650,0:55:12.013
A body that ministers the presence

0:55:12.013,0:55:14.957
and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

0:55:14.957,0:55:17.542
Well, if only my pastor was as hospitable

0:55:17.542,0:55:18.684
as so-and-so.

0:55:18.684,0:55:20.815
And if only my pastor made as emotional

0:55:20.815,0:55:22.394
connections like so-and-so.

0:55:22.394,0:55:23.871
And if only my pastor could be

0:55:23.871,0:55:25.248
a mentor like so-and-so.

0:55:25.248,0:55:27.134
And if only my pastor could be there

0:55:27.134,0:55:28.103
like so-and-so.

0:55:28.103,0:55:29.871
And if only my pastor could duck down

0:55:29.871,0:55:31.267
in a phone booth and come up

0:55:31.267,0:55:32.702
with an "S" on his chest

0:55:32.702,0:55:34.380
and fly off into the sunset

0:55:34.380,0:55:39.261
with kryptonite in his hand.

0:55:39.261,0:55:43.088
It's not happening.

0:55:43.088,0:55:46.069
And the expectation actually diminishes

0:55:46.069,0:55:50.957
the effectiveness of your pastor.

0:55:50.957,0:55:53.719
You try living with the expectation

0:55:53.719,0:55:58.759
of super humanness for five minutes,

0:55:58.759,0:56:01.486
ten minutes,

0:56:01.486,0:56:04.173
ten years,

0:56:04.173,0:56:06.267
twenty years,

0:56:06.267,0:56:10.358
thirty years,

0:56:10.358,0:56:14.211
forty years.

0:56:14.211,0:56:16.131
I preached at a women's ministry event

0:56:16.131,0:56:17.645
Friday night before I came,

0:56:17.645,0:56:19.493
and I said one of the traps I feel -

0:56:19.493,0:56:21.410
there's always two pushes to me:

0:56:21.410,0:56:22.978
We've got to grow. We've got to grow.

0:56:22.978,0:56:24.824
And it's not just like a [br]church growth grow,

0:56:24.824,0:56:26.550
it's we want to see the lost saved;

0:56:26.550,0:56:27.802
we want to grow.

0:56:27.802,0:56:28.830
And then you've got,

0:56:28.830,0:56:30.820
we're getting big, [br]and if you get real big

0:56:30.820,0:56:32.295
you can't disciple people.

0:56:32.295,0:56:34.317
And then the pastor's kind [br]of in the middle like,

0:56:34.317,0:56:40.164
so what you're saying is [br]it's failure either way.

0:56:40.164,0:56:43.547
If we grow, we get big.

0:56:43.547,0:56:46.951
That's what happens when you grow.

0:56:46.951,0:56:49.573
And when you get big, you have less time.

0:56:49.573,0:56:52.033
That's what happens when you grow.

0:56:52.033,0:56:54.553
And there's no way to [br]keep it perfectly balanced.

0:56:54.553,0:56:56.660
They couldn't keep it perfectly balanced

0:56:56.660,0:56:59.435
when the Holy Spirit decided[br]they would boost their church

0:56:59.435,0:57:02.484
from 120 to 3,000 on the first day.

0:57:02.484,0:57:04.020
You can see the people going,

0:57:04.020,0:57:10.388
I remember when we [br]got more time with Peter.

0:57:10.388,0:57:14.229
He'd be there for the all [br]night prayer meetings.

0:57:14.229,0:57:15.331
Now where is he?

0:57:15.331,0:57:22.175
Preaching all over.

0:57:22.175,0:57:23.947
At the end of the day,

0:57:23.947,0:57:29.608
your pastors will 100%, I guarantee it,

0:57:29.608,0:57:31.395
you can take it to the bank,

0:57:31.395,0:57:34.751
disappoint you.

0:57:34.751,0:57:36.110
And I'm not talking vague,

0:57:36.110,0:57:37.330
abstract disappoint you;

0:57:37.330,0:57:42.731
I'm talking like it-will-[br]hurt disappoint you.

0:57:42.731,0:57:46.720
And that's because all pastors can do

0:57:46.720,0:57:48.279
if they're doing their job well

0:57:48.279,0:57:49.761
is to point you to the One

0:57:49.761,0:57:54.009
who will never disappoint you.

0:57:54.009,0:57:55.797
Paul helped the churches he pastored

0:57:55.797,0:57:57.936
rely on God

0:57:57.936,0:57:59.902
by preaching in the power of the Spirit

0:57:59.902,0:58:02.266
so their trust would not be in man,

0:58:02.266,0:58:04.066
but in the power of God,

0:58:04.066,0:58:05.528
because at the end of the day,

0:58:05.528,0:58:08.209
there's only One Man who can sustain

0:58:08.209,0:58:12.037
all the expectations [br]of all of His children,

0:58:12.037,0:58:14.009
and that's the man Christ Jesus

0:58:14.009,0:58:16.708
who died on the cross [br]to satisfy His children

0:58:16.708,0:58:19.175
with living water and living bread,

0:58:19.175,0:58:21.453
and who can feed their souls for eternity.

0:58:21.453,0:58:23.157
He can be there every moment

0:58:23.157,0:58:24.240
of every day,

0:58:24.240,0:58:26.333
and He can be infinitely interesting

0:58:26.333,0:58:29.059
and glorious every minute of every day

0:58:29.059,0:58:31.135
and now enthroned in Heaven,

0:58:31.135,0:58:32.604
He needs no sleep,

0:58:32.604,0:58:34.359
and He needs no rest,

0:58:34.359,0:58:36.551
and He lives to make intercession

0:58:36.551,0:58:38.012
for His people.

0:58:38.012,0:58:43.484
He is the Shepherd of the sheep.

0:58:43.484,0:58:45.421
But if you destroy your pastor's joy,

0:58:45.421,0:58:47.061
he won't even be able to point you

0:58:47.061,0:58:51.190
to that great Shepherd.

0:58:51.190,0:58:54.993
And so, it's a great thing to honor

0:58:54.993,0:58:59.692
Charles and Dick

0:58:59.692,0:59:01.633
and Garrett and Mason,

0:59:01.633,0:59:04.773
and whoever else God would make you.

0:59:04.773,0:59:06.842
It's also probably a really good thing

0:59:06.842,0:59:10.290
right now to acknowledge [br]legitimate disappointments

0:59:10.290,0:59:18.607
that have accumulated over 40 years.

0:59:18.607,0:59:20.591
And to apply those beautiful words

0:59:20.591,0:59:23.246
in Ephesians that say that we are to be

0:59:23.246,0:59:25.860
forgiving one another

0:59:25.860,0:59:30.674
even as God in Christ forgave us.

0:59:30.674,0:59:32.287
To apply those beautiful words of

0:59:32.287,0:59:34.920
Ephesians 4:1 that says

0:59:34.920,0:59:37.338
that we are to bear [br]with one another in love.

0:59:37.338,0:59:39.652
What does that mean?[br]That means that other Christians

0:59:39.652,0:59:45.331
are the kind of people [br]you have to bear with.

0:59:45.331,0:59:47.303
Some people get into their devotions;

0:59:47.303,0:59:49.645
they pray themselves up;[br]they come up full of the Spirit,

0:59:49.645,0:59:52.128
and they actually rub you the wrong way.

0:59:52.128,0:59:53.706
Like when they're at their best,

0:59:53.706,0:59:56.609
they rub you the wrong way.

0:59:56.609,0:59:58.925
Then you need to be filled with the Spirit

0:59:58.925,1:00:02.403
and bear with them in love.

1:00:02.403,1:00:04.319
So now is probably a good time

1:00:04.319,1:00:06.263
at a forty year mark to say, ok,

1:00:06.263,1:00:08.129
what kind of baggage is there

1:00:08.129,1:00:10.136
that might really undermine the future

1:00:10.136,1:00:12.362
of Lake Road?

1:00:12.362,1:00:13.991
What's there?

1:00:13.991,1:00:15.936
How can I just lay that before the Lord

1:00:15.936,1:00:20.978
and ask for His forgiveness for me;

1:00:20.978,1:00:24.572
remember how He bears with me;

1:00:24.572,1:00:28.405
remember His kindness towards me,

1:00:28.405,1:00:31.045
and then to pray for yourself

1:00:31.045,1:00:32.549
that you'd be able to make

1:00:32.549,1:00:35.984
these men's ministry a joy;

1:00:35.984,1:00:37.042
to care for them,

1:00:37.042,1:00:39.163
to spur them on for the next five,

1:00:39.163,1:00:41.628
ten, fifteen years.

1:00:41.628,1:00:44.497
And then to pray to God

1:00:44.497,1:00:46.012
that they would be

1:00:46.012,1:00:48.096
all that God would have them to be.

1:00:48.096,1:00:50.015
There may be legitimate disappointments,

1:00:50.015,1:00:53.125
and you can pray for the growth in grace

1:00:53.125,1:00:57.860
of all of those who [br]are ministering to you.

1:00:57.860,1:00:59.434
And my goal in all of this

1:00:59.434,1:01:00.538
is that you would say,

1:01:00.538,1:01:03.033
yes, I have a positive heart to obey

1:01:03.033,1:01:05.900
these men and I want to make their job

1:01:05.900,1:01:08.836
a joy so that they will be

1:01:08.836,1:01:15.082
of great and eternal advantage to me.

1:01:15.082,1:01:40.793
Let's pray.

1:01:40.793,1:01:47.447
Father, You alone can sustain the church.

1:01:47.447,1:01:48.999
You alone by Your Word are able

1:01:48.999,1:01:53.757
to build the church up.

1:01:53.757,1:01:55.520
Lord God, You alone are able

1:01:55.520,1:01:58.419
to keep the rifts and the difficulties

1:01:58.419,1:02:00.360
and the troubles and the insufficiencies

1:02:00.360,1:02:03.166
and inadequacies

1:02:03.166,1:02:05.275
and the sins that we [br]bring into the church -

1:02:05.275,1:02:08.170
You alone are able to keep them at bay,

1:02:08.170,1:02:10.011
cover them by Your blood,

1:02:10.011,1:02:14.400
and build up the body of Christ.

1:02:14.400,1:02:19.086
So we ask You to come today, Lord.

1:02:19.086,1:02:23.270
We ask You, Lord, to fill Charles and Dick

1:02:23.270,1:02:25.333
and Garrett and Mason afresh

1:02:25.333,1:02:28.012
with the power of the Holy Spirit

1:02:28.012,1:02:31.174
for another season of ministry.

1:02:31.174,1:02:33.344
We ask You, Lord, to fill the congregation

1:02:33.344,1:02:37.013
with a spirit of love, joy, forgiveness,

1:02:37.013,1:02:41.367
patience, bearing with [br]one another in love,

1:02:41.367,1:02:43.916
and the Spirit's power for their ministry

1:02:43.916,1:02:48.188
one to another and to their pastors.

1:02:48.188,1:02:50.407
We ask You, Lord, that hordes of people

1:02:50.407,1:02:53.698
in Kirksville would be [br]saved this coming year.

1:02:53.698,1:02:55.983
That those who don't know [br]You would be saved.

1:02:55.983,1:02:57.578
That more missionaries would be

1:02:57.578,1:03:00.626
sent out from here.

1:03:00.626,1:03:02.524
And we want to ask You, Lord,

1:03:02.524,1:03:06.798
that You would get all the glory,

1:03:06.798,1:03:11.279
first for being the great [br]Shepherd of the sheep,

1:03:11.279,1:03:14.116
and then for equipping Charles and Dick

1:03:14.116,1:03:18.374
for 40 years along with [br]their precious wives

1:03:18.374,1:03:21.945
to shepherd the sheep.

1:03:21.945,1:03:23.191
I want to pray finally

1:03:23.191,1:03:24.994
for Garrett and Mason, Lord God,

1:03:24.994,1:03:28.248
that You would give them grace

1:03:28.248,1:03:30.751
to be good shepherds;

1:03:30.751,1:03:34.581
to be like Timothy's [br]who learn from Paul's.

1:03:34.581,1:03:36.620
And that Father, You would just secure

1:03:36.620,1:03:41.697
Lake Road in the arms of good, godly men

1:03:41.697,1:03:43.960
for yet another generation

1:03:43.960,1:03:46.366
to hear Your praise,

1:03:46.366,1:03:48.767
and to see Your glory.

1:03:48.767,1:03:50.319
We pray this in Jesus' name,

1:03:50.319,1:03:51.737
Amen.