When Pastoring is Profitable (Hebrews 13:17)
When Pastoring is Profitable
Hebrews 13:17
Intro:
I thought about titling this message: 4 Ways to Make Your Pastor Miserable. I figured it would be attention-grabbing and I figured some of you may be interested in learning the coveted craft of annoying the pastors. I'm pretty good at it and I can definitely teach you a thing or two.
However, I didn’t feel that this approach encompassed the passage we are dealing with today. So, I decided to title this message:
When Pastoring is Profitable.
This brings up the question:
When is pastoring profitable?
For some, pastoring is profitable when you tell people what they want to hear. Pastoring is profitable when you entertain the goats by promising them financial success. Pastoring is profitable when you purchase a private jet. Pastoring is profitable when you make millions of dollars. That is how some see profitable pastoring. However, that sort of pastoring, if it may be called that, only profits the charlatan temporarily, because ultimately, he will end up in Hell, if he doesn’t repent.
No pastoring is truly profitable when you see the sheep grow in grace. Truly successful shepherding is when the pastors take an ego-centric, self-righteous, Facebook-addicted child in a grown man's body and cause him to be a decent church member.
So you know I was referring to myself… When I first walked into this church I was dressed to the T in my suit and tie not because I wanted to honor God but because I wanted everyone to think I was somebody special. I was completely convinced that after the Pastors saw my amazing homiletical skills that they would make me an ordained elder in a month. It's sad that I thought that way, especially considering when I first came to this church I had no license, no vehicle, and I didn't even have a job. The truth is: I was an arrogant, selfish, liar, who was utterly unqualified for ministry. But the pastors loved me in spite of all this and they have guided me into the person I am today. I still ain’t where I need to be but I certainly ain’t where I was.
Now, praise be to God I have a license, a car, a wife, a child, a degree from Fruitland Baptist Bible College, and a great job at the Hendersonville Rescue Mission where I get to help other boneheads like me.
I can give you hundreds of personal examples of how being a member of Grace Baptist Church has changed my life.
I want your membership at Grace to change your life as well, which is why I am preaching this text today. It is imperative that you pay attention and apply this sermon because the text we are going to view today will change your life if you let it.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Before exegeting this passage I want to make a few observations that will help you understand the sermon this morning. First, notice that the text says to obey your leaders. When I posted this verse on Facebook many people thought that this passage referred to obeying governing authorities. Now there is a text for that which is Romans 13 but this text isn’t referring to that. When this text tells us to obey our leaders it is referring to the leaders of the church or the pastors. That is made clear in verse 7 which says “7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
So, this text is telling us to obey the pastors. What is the purpose behind this command? The purpose is your spiritual benefit. Look at the second sentence in this text. It says “Let them do this (watch out for your souls) with joy and not with groaning, *WHY?* for *because* that would be of no advantage to you.”
It is no advantage to you if the pastors lead you with groaning. Instead, you let them lead you with joy because that will be beneficial to you. How do you do that? How do you let them lead you with joy? By obeying and submitting to them.
Notice how it all connects. Notice how the entire point of this verse boils down to you benefitting from pastoral leadership.
And I personally guarantee that if you will apply this sermon today you will benefit spiritually from our pastoral leadership.
How can we do this? How can Pastoring be Profitable for us?
- Pastoring is Profitable when you are a member of a Local Church.
(Obey YOUR leaders)
- Local Church Membership is Commanded by God.
The text says to “Obey YOUR leaders.” Notice the use of the possessive personal pronoun YOUR. Obey YOUR leaders.
This text clearly presupposes local church membership. Because you can't have leaders or pastors if you aren't a member of a local church.
I know that meaningful church membership isn’t popular in today's evangellyfish community. A lot of evangelicals think Christianity is just me, my Bible, a cup of Joe, and Jesus. But that isn’t the Christianity of the scriptures! As Pastor Branton loves to say “There is no such thing as lone wolf Christianity.”
One of the guys at the Hendersonville Rescue Mission loves to say “You don’t have to go to church to love Jesus”.
But what did Jesus say? Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” And here God is commanding us to obey our pastors. Well, how can you obey your pastors if you don’t have any? You can’t. Therefore, we can conclude that by refusing to come under the authority of a local church you are living in rebellion against God and you may not really love Jesus like you say you do.
Now, I understand that there are many visitors here today who might not be members of a local church and are looking for a church to join. I am not saying you are in sin because you are not a member of a local church presently, because you are looking for a church to join.
What I am saying is that if you have no intentions of finding a local church to join then you are in sin.
With that said, if you are here today and you’re looking for a local covenant community to become a part of then I would like to invite you to become a member of Grace Baptist because I believe this church is the best church in the East Coast.
Now, Pastor Branton doesn’t like it when I say that but I believe it is the truth and he didn’t tell me not to say it so I am still technically practicing what I preach.
But, back to my point: We must understand the necessity of being a part of the local church!
All the time I hear people say “I love Jesus but I can’t stand church folk”. REALLY?!
Do you not understand that the church is the bride of Christ? How can we say we love Jesus if we hate his bride?
Imagine someone says “Boy I love Jerry. But I can’t stand his wife Allison. She is so annoying” I will have Jerry over for dinner but I won’t let his wife step foot in my house.” I can promise you that if that is the way you feel then Jerry Duckworth won’t be dining with you.
And if you think that you can say “I'm going to spend time with Jesus but I refuse to spend time with His bride then I can promise you Jesus won’t be dining with you either.”
I’ll put it bluntly. If you don’t love Jesus’ bride then you probably aren’t saved. That’s Bible for ya folks because 1 John 3:14 says “We know that we have passed out of death into life, (In other words we know that we are saved) because we love the brothers.”
Can you really love your brothers and sisters in Christ if you don’t spend any time with them?
- Local Church membership is beneficial to you.
Church membership is commanded by God because it is so important for our spiritual growth. The church is a covenant community! This means that we have cut a covenant with one another to watch out for the spiritual health of each other. If you are a member of Grace Baptist church I am responsible for your sanctification and you are responsible for mine.
Don’t you see? We can’t do this alone! We need to unite and connect with one another. We are in Christ so there is a spiritual connection already there. That is why you can meet some random Christian and already feel a sort of bond with them. But here in the local church that bond should be even more intense! We should be doing life together. We should be spending time together and calling each other throughout the week. Trust me it helps your sanctification!
You have no clue how many times I have called Brad Andrews or Ben Hale when I was struggling spiritually. You have no clue how much I have tamed my temper by playing disc golf with Andrew Greene. You have no clue how much it has helped my walk with Christ by having dinner with the Priddy’s or calling Ross when my son is screaming his head off and I feel like I am going to go out and commit a felony.
I remember one day I went out and ate pizza with Trent Ledbetter. I was struggling with sins of my past that I had never told anyone about. I felt like Jonah when he was tossed overboard, I was sinking down into the depths of despair and drowning in my guilt. But I confessed it to him and later to Branton and I left that pizza place a new man.
That is the power of fellowship in the church and that is why God commands us to be a part of a local church.
Mark Dever sums it up well. In his book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, he writes,
Church membership is our opportunity to grasp hold of each other in responsibility and love. By identifying ourselves with a particular church, we let the pastors and other members of that local church know that we intend to be committed in attendance, giving, prayer, and service. We allow fellow believers to have great expectations of us in these areas, and we make it known that we are the responsibility of this local church. We assure the church of our commitment to Christ in serving with them, and we call for their commitment to serve and encourage as well.
So, First, we see that Pastoring is profitable when we are members of a local church.
2. Pastoring is profitable when we have Excellent Ecclesiology
The word Ecclesiology comes from the Greek word Ekklesia which means the assembly or gathering. So literally translated this means the study of the gathering. More precisely though Ecclesiology is the study of the church.
If we want pastoring to be profitable then our ecclesiology must be correct.
Notice that our text says Obey your leaders.
Now as previously mentioned this verse is referring to pastors also known as elders, shepherds, bishops, or overseers. All of these words refer to the same office.
1 Timothy 3 gives the qualifications for pastors. The KJV uses the word bishops, the ESV uses the term overseers, and in Titus 1:5-7 we see that the word bishop or overseer can be used interchangeably with the word elder.
But notice that the word leaders is plural. This is one of many texts that teach that a church is to be led by a plurality of elders.
Here at Grace, we believe in Elder-led congregationalism. This means that the elders lead the congregation but the congregation has a responsibility to vote on matters such as the budget, church discipline, and the institution of officers in the church.
Our church practices Elder-led congregationalism because it is biblical. We see an example of congregational church discipline in 1 Corinthians 5 when Paul calls the people to excommunicate a member of the church for sexual immorality.
We see an example of a plurality of elders in the church in Acts 14:23 which says “23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
Notice the apostles appointed multiple elders in every church. Plural. Not just one.
Having a plurality of elders is necessary for a number of reasons:
First, a plurality of elders is necessary because we need a lot of attention. In 1 Peter 5, Peter exhorts the elders to “shepherd the sheep”. This task is more difficult than it sounds.
When I was in the LEAD program I remember reading Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons by Thabiti Anyabwile. He began chapter 7 of this book by asking “Do you like the smell of sheep”? I meditated on that as I read the chapter and it helped me realize the messiness of ministry.
Think about it:
Sheep poop everywhere, they are messy, smelly, and dirty but our lives are the same way. And the job of the pastors is to deal with that. I can barely deal with my own nonsense much less 100 people's nonsense. That is why we need a plurality of elders. So that each sheep can be adequately tended to.
Second, a plurality of elders is necessary because one man can’t do it all. One man can’t prepare sermons which take around 20 hours of preparation and personally interact with 100 and something people every week. This would literally work someone to death.
This was happening to Moses in Exodus 18. Israel had been delivered from Egypt and he was their leader. So when they had disputes or questions they came to him. Moses literally served as judge for the people all day. Eventually, he was going to get burnt out or die and Moses' Father-in-Law Jethro saw this. So, he advised Moses to delegate the responsibility to others. Which he did.
Moses couldn’t judge all of Israel and one man can’t take care of everything in the church.
Third, a plurality of elders is necessary for accountability.
Our pastors, as awesome as they are, are sinners. Because of this, they need to have other elders to help hold them accountable.
Fourth, a plurality of elders is necessary because they are better together.
As proverbs puts it “There is safety in a multitude of counselors”.
In discussing the necessity of a plurality of elders with me Pastor Phillip said “As a group we support, encourage, and challenge each other. We can discuss difficult issues and benefit from differing perspectives. This is a protection for the church as well. One man can have a pet issue and inflict it on the church where a plurality can bring balance.
Fifth and finally, a plurality of elders is necessary because the church can’t be built around the personality of one man.
I have seen this happen many times. A church will be built up around a charismatic leader and it crumbles when that leader falls into sin or dies. With a plurality of elders, if one of our pastors die, then we have another pastor who is just as capable to take his place.
So far we have seen that
- Pastoring is profitable when we are members of a local church.
2. Pastoring is profitable when we have Excellent Ecclesiology
3. Pastoring is profitable when we are a compliant congregation.
Look with Me at the text. It says Obey your leaders and submit to them.
- We should be obedient bc Jesus was obedient
I understand how difficult this text is. This text strikes at the heart of our pride. In our flesh we don't want to be obedient.
But as Christians we should be an obedient people because Jesus was obedient.
Jesus submitted and obeyed His entire life. In order to carry out the plan of redemption and save our souls, the eternal Son of God stepped down off of his throne and was born as a little baby in a tiny town of Bethlehem. He submitted to the law of God His entire life and was obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. At that cross He took upon Himself the sins of all who would believe and suffered the wrath of God in our place! Then He was buried and three days later He rose from the grave so that spiritually and physically we would have new life!
Christ's humility and obedience to His Father to the point of death is an example for us. However, it isn't only an example for us, because Christ's atoning sacrificial death when applied through regeneration actually brings about a similar obedience to authority in the life of the believer. If submission to pastoral authority is an impossible task for us then we need to examine ourselves and see whether we have truly trusted in Christ.
No matter what we do in life we must submit to people in authority over us. If we refuse to submit to our authority figures on the job we will get fired. If we refuse to submit to authority in government we will be thrown in jail. If we refuse to submit to our authorities in the church our very souls may be at risk.
Notice that as you rebel against higher authorities the punishment for that rebellion increases. It is so dangerous to rebel against pastoral authority because when the pastors properly exegete the scriptures they are speaking for God. They are telling us what God has said. So, to rebel against them in matters of “Thus saith the Lord” is actually to be rebelling against God.
But what about areas of life that the Bible doesn’t talk about? What about those gray areas that Pastor Branton mentioned a couple of Sundays ago?
Should we submit to their authority in those areas? John Wesley would have said no. He would have said that the only time the pastor has any authority is when he is speaking from the word of God. Personally, I disagree with that. The pastors are called to shepherd, which involves guiding the sheep to the greenest pasture. Perhaps the sheep are veering right. The path on the right may be a safe biblical place, but perhaps the pastors know that if they can guide us down the path on the left, the pastures are greener and the congregation will more fully benefit. It is in those moments that we are to trust the pastors guidance and submit to their authority.
I know that was vague so let me give some examples in order to be more specific.
How about the chairs or pews thing we talked about? Look, I love the pews. I am a pew guy. I think chairs in a church are goofy looking and uncomfortable. You can’t sprawl out in chairs but you can in pews and I like to be comfortable in church. But if the pastors think that chairs will grow the church then I am going to submit to that. Why? Because they probably know better than I do. There is a reason I am not a pastor. And can I be real for a moment? There is a reason you are not a pastor too. God didn’t permit you to pastor for one reason or another which means you need to submit to those who he has called to pastor.
Maybe you aren’t a fan of the equipping classes and wish they would have chosen different topics. Oh well, you’re not the pastor for a reason. Don’t gripe and grumble, submit to the decision they have made. Maybe you don’t like the style of worship. If that is the case, try to remember that worship isn’t about you anyways. As long as the way we are worshiping is biblical, and I promise it is, then you need to submit to the style of worship that the pastors have chosen. Again as long as what the pastors are doing doesn’t violate the word of God we should submit to their authority.
I know that this can be difficult. It requires humbling ourselves and setting aside our preferences. But if we don’t do this then we are going to have disunity, turmoil, and heartache.
- Purpose:
Once again, it is for our benefit that we submit to our pastors. Because the text says “Obey your leaders, and submit to them for they are watching out for your soul.”
Whether we see it or not, we have blind spots and weak points. We all have areas that we struggle spiritually or places that we lack knowledge biblically. The pastors recognize this and help us overcome our spiritual struggles and help us gain an accurate understanding of the scriptures. If we aren’t submitting to the pastor's authority then we are endangering our souls because those blind spots can be exploited by the enemy.
Let me give an example. Last month I was invited to fill in and preach at two different churches on two different Sundays. Well being the gungho kind of guy I am, I was raring to go. However, because of the passage we are discussing today, I felt it was only proper for me to message Pastor Branton and to ask permission to preach at these two churches which would cause me to miss two services. He texted back and said it would be best if I chose one church because he wants me to only do pulpit supply once a month. So, I submitted to this. And I am glad that I did. Pastor Branton realized that my ambition is my blind spot. He saw that I needed to be here at my home church fellowshipping and getting fed myself. And he is absolutely right. Let’s say I did miss church those two days. Perhaps it would have led to a bout with spiritual depression. Perhaps it would have caused me to feel burnt out because I am juggling so many other things. My point is, he knew what was best for me, when I didn’t.
Now, please understand I am not bringing up all of these examples so that you think highly of me. I am bringing these personal illustrations up in order to make a point. That point being that if a hard headed goofball like me can apply this text and benefit from it then I know all of you wonderful people can apply this text and benefit from it as well.
So far we have seen that
1.Pastoring is profitable when we are members of a local church.
2. Pastoring is profitable when we have Excellent Ecclesiology
3. Pastoring is profitable when we are a compliant congregation. (Obey your leaders and submit to them)
4. Pastoring is profitable when we understand that the pastors have a Dangerous Duty
(for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.)
Imagine standing before God and having to give an account for over 100 people. Men, as head of our households we have to give an account for our wife and our children. They are our responsibility but imagine if you had 100 children living under your roof and you had to give an account for each of them. The idea of 100 children living under my roof is enough to make me have a stroke. The idea of giving an account for each of them is even scarier. This is what the pastors have to deal with. They have a dangerous duty. Every word that they say behind this sacred desk they will have to give an account for. Every word of 1 on 1 biblical counseling they will have to give an account for. And they will have to give an account for each person on the membership role. Did they lead those people properly? Or did they let them down? Did they cause them to grow in their faith or did they stunt their growth? All of these things they will give an account for.
So, pastors I have preached to the congregation. Now let me preach to you. I don’t know how all of this works. But you will have to give an account before God for all of the members here. Please understand the magnitude of this. God is so Holy that the angels cover their eyes as they fly in circles around his throne. His eyes are like the flame of fire and his voice shakes the earth. Pastors, one day, you will stand before this Holy and Terrifying God and have to give an account to Him for each member of this congregation. This isn’t a duty which can be undertaken lightheartedly. The eternal souls of the congregation are your responsibility.
This text reminds me of Ezekiel 3:16-21
16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”
You have been made overseers or watchmen over this congregation. Do not take this lightly.
Congregation, in order for their pastoring to be profitable we need to understand how serious their calling is. We need to recognize that they have to give an account for us, which should cause us to desire to submit to them. We need to realize that they want what is best for us, because in some capacity what is best for us is best for them. They don’t want to give an account to God and have to say that they led you wrongly. So, they are going to do their best to guide us. So, in recognition of this dangerous duty we need to submit to them, and by doing so their pastoring will be profitable to us.
So far we have seen that
1.Pastoring is profitable when we are members of a local church.
2. Pastoring is profitable when we have Excellent Ecclesiology
3. Pastoring is profitable when we are a compliant congregation. (Obey your leaders and submit to them)
4. Pastoring is profitable when we understand that the pastors have a Dangerous Duty
5. Pastoring is profitable when we Permit the Pastors to Pastor with joy
(Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.)
If we want to benefit from our pastoral leadership then we must let them lead us with joy.
I want to give you 5 ways that we can permit our pastors to pastor us with joy.
First, we shouldn’t talk bad about them behind their backs. There is nothing more difficult than a sheep that is constantly trying to bite the shepherd.
Second, we should volunteer more often. If there is work that needs to be done in the church then we as the congregation need to step up and volunteer so that the pastors don’t have to spend precious time out of their week trying to get things done.
Third, we need to make sure that our full time and part time elders can provide for their families without need for worry.
1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
I know money is a sensitive subject so please understand I'm not trying to be rude, divisive, or contentious by bringing it up.
I bring it up because I spend a lot of time with SBC Pastors. I have the scouting report on numerous pastors from all over the East Coast. Some of the guys I know are allstar preachers like Steven Blanton from Ebenezer church or Jesse Carr from Sharon Heights Baptist Church. Certain others make me wonder if Grandma called them to preach and not God. I bring up these scouting reports to show you that I have the information and I can tell you that our pastors are first round draft picks. I don't say this to get any cool points. I say this because we need to understand that when you have a Peyton Manning or a Lebron James in the pulpit you make sure that he is adequately taken care of.
Fourth, we need to pray for them. Only the grace of God can sustain a man in ministry. We need to pray that God will continue to give them the strength to fulfill this difficult task.
Fifth and finally, we need to submit to their authority. Doing this will help us benefit from their teaching and will make it easier for them to watch out for our souls with joy.
Conclusion:
Final Applications:
- If you are not a member of a local church join one
- If you are a member of a local church then fellowship with the brethren ( maybe invite someone out for a meal after church today).
- Train your mind to submit to the pastors. I know we are a close knit family but occasionally, calling the pastors by their title “Pastor such and such” may help train your mind to submit to their authority.
- Pray for the pastors. We currently have four, so if you pray for one a day then you will end up praying for each of them nearly twice a week.
- Show your appreciation to the pastors. You can do this by buying or making them and their family dinner. You can show your appreciation by writing them via letter, email, or text message. Let them know that you appreciate their hard work.
