Leadership

Thank you for coming and if you have been making a habit to be at the meetings, then thank you very much for your support through the nights that are past. I'm going to read tonight, first of all, in Psalm 78, the 78th Psalm. And of course, the final topic will be taken up, God willing, tomorrow during the Sunday school, that will be lordship, will be more of a devotional word as we will look at the lordship of Christ and its practical application.

Tonight, the subject is a very important one and one that is not often dealt with. I'm not saying that boastfully. I'm just saying it's not something that we often hear.

And I hope that God will help me as we look at it tonight. Notice verse 67, Psalm 78 and verse 67. Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim.

Now, of course, that is likely referring to the fact, or at least it's stated here, because in First Chronicles, chapter five, Joseph was given the birthright. However, the birthright was, if I could put it this way, divided into three things. What Joseph received was a birthright that excluded the monarchy.

As you will know, of course, the monarchy went to Judah, the ministerial end of that birthright went to Levi, but the material end, the double portion went to Joseph. So what we are being told now is that the tribe of Joseph, for instance, the tabernacle of Joseph was not to be the tribe that would be chosen from which the kingship, the leadership would come. Well, where would it come from? Verse 68, he chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion, which he loved, and he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he has established forever.

He chose David, also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds, from following the ewes great with young. He brought him to feed Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance. And I think that the pronouns in verse 72, I think they must refer to David.

So he, David, fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. Now, our next readings will be in the book of Hebrews, please. Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews 13 and verse 7. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

Verse 17, obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it. This watching for your souls, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. Verse 24, salute all them that have the rule over you and all the saints.

They evidently salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen.

And a final reading, please. Back in the Old Testament, First Chronicles chapter 13. Some people have the habit of leaving their Bible open after the final reading, and that's why I have chosen First Chronicles 13 last.

Because we will refer to that momentarily. First Chronicles 13 and verse 1. And David consulted First Chronicles 13 and verse 1. David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds and with every leader. David said unto all the congregation of Israel, if it seemed good unto you and that it be of the Lord our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren everywhere that are left in all the land of Israel and with them also to the priests and Levites, which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us.

And let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul. And all the congregation said that they would do so for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. So David gathered all Israel together from Shibor of Egypt, even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirgiz-Jerum.

Now, the subject of leadership, I think, is extremely important. Some people may question, is the very concept scriptural, is leadership scriptural? And how are leaders appointed? Are they self-appointed? Are they chosen by others? Who makes a leader? How does he lead? What marks a leader? How will we know? And I think that while you may, some here may say to themselves tonight or be thinking, this will have very little bearing on me. And I'm at the meeting tonight because I'm a good meeting supporter.

Thank you very much for coming. I really appreciate that. But you may say this really has little application to me tonight, other than perhaps the amassing of some information.

But I like to suggest to you that the subject presents itself to us in at least two very practical ways. First of all, we are called upon, we are called upon to respond in a certain way to those who are over us in the Lord. So the better that I can understand the subject, the better I grasp the subject, the responsibility that those men have and the responsibility incumbent on me in response to them, the better I will be able to biblically, scripturally and in a God honoring way, treat, esteem, respect and pray for those men.

And number two, the better I understand the subject, the more competent we will be to recognize those whom God is raising up toward this responsibility in a coming day. And that has to do with the furtherance of the work, the preservation of the assembly beyond our day, the preservation of God's work in a day to come and how vital that is. So I want to list with you the concept of leadership and the preparation of a leader, first of all.

Now, the importance of good leadership, and maybe I should say in some ways the term good leadership ought to be redundant and maybe the term bad leadership ought to be oxymoronic. If a leader is not good, how can he lead and why will others follow? But I think that we will see the importance, if I can use the phrase again, of good leadership when we look at three instances in the word of God. Think about the lack of leadership in the book of Judges, the lack of leadership and the operative words in that book and of that time period was every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

There was there was no king in Israel. There was no leadership. Every man did that which was right.

In his own eyes. Now, the tragedy, of course, it's even worse if it had said every man did that which was wrong in his own eyes, then we would realize they were turning away from what was right. But it is even worse than that when it says every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

There was no concept of right and wrong. They were their own judges. They were the leaders of their own lives.

So where there was a lack of leadership, there was that tragically low spiritual condition. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Lack of leadership.

But notice, please, the lack of divinely chosen leadership in First Samuel, because you see, in First Samuel, there was a leader, Saul, but he was not divinely chosen. He was handpicked by the people. He was the people's choice based on outward appearance.

And you will see the catastrophe of his short reign because you're looking at the lack of divinely chosen leadership. When you come to the first Kings, I think you will see the example of a lack of godly leadership. They had leaders.

They were divinely chosen in the sense that this was the royal family. But when you had a man like Manasseh, who was the leader, this is what it says about that man's 50 year reign. Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.

It was the low point, the nadir, on the scale of Israel's relationship with God when that lack of godly leadership led the people away from God. So how does God prepare a man for leadership? Principle number one, when God wants to make a leader, he looks for a follower. Notice that from Psalm 78.

He's looking for a leader. He has decided it will not be Joseph. Joseph will have the material end of the blessing.

He will have the double blessing, the double portion. Levi will have the ministerial end of things. The priesthood will be his portion, his inheritance.

I will choose Judah. And in that tribe, I will choose David. And what does it say? He found them following and he brought them to lead.

He found them following. They used great with young and he took them to feed his people and to guide his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart and led them, guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

So a very, very simple biblical principle is this. When God looks for a leader, a man he's going to use for leadership, he looks for someone who has learned to follow. You see, if I have learned, if I had never learned to submit, if I had never learned to follow, I'll never be able to lead.

I've never learned how to bow to the word of God myself. I will never be able to instruct others to do that, not with any help or power from God. So, number one, when God wants to make a leader, he looks for a follower.

Number two, when God wants to make a teacher, he looks for a learner. Didn't we notice that last night from Luke chapter six? He called unto him his disciples and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles. Sending them out now, they're going to be teachers of the nations.

They're going to spread the gospel. In their hands will be placed the responsibility, as Matthew 28 says, of teaching them all things whatsoever I have commanded you. From what pool does he select these men who will be leaders, who will be teachers? From people who had learned how to be learners, from people who were following him and learning from him.

You see, it underscores for us the fact that a leader is always a learner. He is always conscious of the fact that he himself is in God's school. A leader does not dictate rules to you from his ivory tower where he is immune from all the problems you face, but he has displayed the ability to learn in God's school.

He has displayed the ability to obey. He has been a follower. He has been a learner.

And I will just suggest to you something that I have noticed. That disaster, disaster always results when someone who has never learned to submit is put in a place of leadership. When you find a person speaking about those elders, and you know that's what those people think, and when he has segregated himself from the flock and somehow views himself as separate from the Lord's people or above them, if he has never learned to follow the ewes, if he has never learned how to handle the sheep, then he will drive the flock rather than leading them.

That's why I turned you to 1 Corinthians 13. And I'm sure you've all been too busy to look at that passage and worry about answering the question that was on the outline. But do you notice the marks, the marks of a divinely chosen leader in David? Now, let me just go over them with you very, very quickly, because to me, there's something very significant about these things being evinced by David in his leadership.

Listen to what he says. If it seemed good unto you, if it seemed good unto you, to a leader, I'll just put it in the terms we have here, to David, he says, your opinion matters. Your opinion matters.

What do you think about this? I mean, that would be like, that would be like leadership 101, wouldn't it? If you were taking up a handbook on how to be a CEO of a company or an executive, it would be, wouldn't it include others in the decision making? So isn't there something nice about this touch? When the king, the king says, give me your opinion. Does it seem good to you that we do this? So notice to David, their opinion matters. Notice what he says.

And if it be of the Lord, our God, to David, God's will matters. See, a leader is not going to be guided by democracy. He's not going to sit down and say, well, give me your opinion.

And then he'll take like a straw vote and the majority wins. And if they decide, you know, it's too much trouble to be bringing the ark up, he'll forget about it. No, no, no.

He's including them in the process. But the umbrella that will stretch over all the decision making is if it be of the Lord, our God. So to a leader, the opinion of others matters.

To a leader, God's will matters. To a leader, unity matters. He says, our brethren everywhere, all Israel.

What's he doing? See, he's including the nation. He's bringing them together. He wants them to be united in this great thing.

Notice, please. He says, the priests and Levites. He doesn't say, now we'll go down there and get that ark and bring it up.

Because you see, to a leader, scriptural order matters. We'll do it the right way. We'll do it the right way.

The priests and Levites have to be involved. And let us bring again the ark of our God because God's honor matters. So just take those five things.

They are wonderful things when you see them in a leader. Your opinion matters, says David. God's will matters.

Unity matters. Scriptural order matters. God's honor matters.

We will call all those into consideration as we move together to bring up the ark of the Lord, our God. So let me use that as a springboard. And if you're starting to get afraid and you're looking at the outline and you're saying, the man is babbling.

He has five points and it's already ten of eight. I'm going to assure you, I'm going to be spending the most time on the front door because I think that's where the more important principles are found. And you will get out on time, I assure you, even though next door has asked me to try to be a little longer because they're having trouble matching our time.

But you will get out on time. I want you to notice, maybe if we looked at it in a negative sense, I want you to notice qualities that hinder leaders. And of course, by doing that, I want to show you that the opposite is true.

There are qualities that will that will abet, that will enable a leader to be more skillful as he leads the people of God. What I want to do, then, is just grab some instances in the word of God where we see things that negated the ability of a man to lead. Number one, being stern instead of scriptural.

That will hinder, that will handicap, that will that will harm a man's ability to lead, being stern instead of scriptural. Now, just think about Saul. I think we referred to him the other night.

Here's Saul, and you remember what he did. You remember that when he saw that the battle was going in his favor, he took an oath and he said, no one will eat food until I am avenged of my enemies. And the man that eats any food, he will die.

And you remember the folly of that was such that these soldiers who had been fighting all day and were famished, that by nighttime, they fell on the flock. They were so ravenous that they began to eat with the blood still in the meat. They began to eat it in an unscriptural way.

And what does Saul do? Basically, he slaps them on the wrist and he says, you really shouldn't be doing that. Now, stop it and cook it right and eat it right. Stop doing what you're doing.

What they had just done was break the word of God, the law of the Lord. But you remember that in the midst of the battle, remember what happened? You remember that Jonathan famished, feeling faint in the battle. His glycemic count wasn't all that good at that point.

He takes his staff and he dipped it in the honey and he tasted some honey. And, you know, it's like you're drinking a Gatorade. The shot of sugar gave him fresh energy for the battle.

Do you remember what Saul was going to do? He said, cast the lots. We're going to find out who ate food today. Somebody broke my vow.

And it doesn't matter who it is. Even if it's in my son, Jonathan, he'll die for it. And what happens? The lot falls on Jonathan and he says, confess what you've done.

You're going to die. Jonathan says, I ate a little honey. Am I going to die for eating a little honey? He said, you're certainly going to die.

What happened? The people had to intervene. The people had to step in because the leader was running amok. Why? Because you see, what was more important to Saul was his vow instead of the law of the Lord.

What was more important to him was his things rather than God's things. So that I learned from that, that a leader must allow, a leader must allow the word of God to have authority in his life. He may not be perfect, but a leader must be a pattern.

Just look at Acts 15 and watch the word of God influencing leaders in Acts 15. It was influencing them against all of their natural inclinations. Their whole bent, their whole understanding of God's word, God's will, God's ways, would have been that these Gentile converts should obey what they had been following.

But when the word of God is brought to bear, it's a remarkable passage, isn't it? Acts 15 is the arch to the whole book of the book of Acts. It's the bridge. It's spanning Judaism and over into what we know now today of a clearer view of Christianity.

But at that point, those men weren't saying things clearly. And the word of God is brought to bear. And as soon as they see what the word of God says, what is more important to them is God's word rather than their opinions.

So, a leader who is stern instead of scriptural will find his hands tied. Number two, being soft instead of sympathetic. Being soft instead of sympathetic.

You see, a leader who is soft, who allows himself to be led by others, that's followership rather than leadership. Look at Darius, however you like to pronounce his name, letting his followers dictate to him what the law should be. Led by pride, he passes a law that nobody can pray except to me.

Where did he get that from? The people he should have been leading were leading him. Look, for instance, at Zedekiah. When the men came to him and said they wanted to take Jeremiah and imprison him, he was powerless.

The people could do whatever they wanted. Classic example. Once the people come to Aaron and say, make us cast, make us gods to go up and lead us.

This Moses is going up. We don't know where he is. You think they ever would have suggested that to Moses? See, leaders differ.

They never would have dared to suggest that to Moses. Moses would never have been led by them. But Aaron keeps it.

And it's a tragic picture of a man, in those cases, men, leaders, allowing themselves to be led by the followers. So a leader must have convictions that the saints can follow. He's leading the way, you see.

He must have convictions himself. He can't be zigzagging a course through life and causing the flock to follow him haphazardly. He must have convictions.

He must be sympathetic to the needs of the people of God without being so soft that he cannot stick to his convictions. Number three, the handicap of being selfish instead of selfless. Selfish instead of selfless.

Watch Samson with his lack of commitment. He seemed to think that leadership was a weekend job. But you see, a leader must use whatever abilities and gifts he has for the benefit of the people of God.

He must allow the Holy Spirit of God to use him for the good of God's people. But how different was Samson? Even on the last day of his life, remember how he spoke to God? He said, I want to be avenged, not on the enemies of the Lord's people. What did he say? For my two eyes.

It's a personal thing with me. These have been my enemies all my... No, not God's enemies, not the enemies of the Lord's people. Not I must fight them so that God's people will know freedom.

But these are my enemies. They've thwarted me. They've blocked my way.

They've messed things up with my plans for my wife. They murdered my father-in-law and my wife, and I'm now going to be avenged on them for my two eyes. When Caesar would lead his troops into battle, he'd put a red cape on so that the enemy would know who the leader was.

Here's the target. General Patton was such an admirer of Caesar that he had his tank painted red so that the enemy would know where Patton was, where the leader was. See, a leader must be selfless instead of selfish.

He's leading the way. He's facing the problems. He's crying the tears.

He's spending the time in prayer so that the flock, the sheep coming behind, will know days of peace and comfort. Handicap number four, being superior instead of servant-like. That's what you have with theatrophies.

It says that he loved the preeminence. He loved the place and preeminence. Now, there is no room for egotism in the life of any believer, but it is even more reprehensible when it is in the heart of a leader.

A leader must seek the exaltation of the Lord through the blessing of his people. See, I can't have two ghouls in front of me. You chase two rabbits and you won't catch either one.

Right? Chase two rabbits and you won't catch either one. You ever wonder why a lion trainer takes a chair with him into the cave? There's a lot of things I would rather have than a chair in my hand when 250 pounds of fury is trying to tear me apart. Like a whip.

And he doesn't even seem to whip the animal. It seems to be for noise, which it is for. And a chair.

Why? And what does he do with the chair? Does he hold it over his head and smash it down on the lions? What's he doing with the chair? He's holding it up in front of them. You say, well, I always thought that was a shield. Well, I can think of a lot of things I'd rather have between me and a lion for a shield than a wooden stool or a chair.

Why? Because the lion looks at those four pointed legs pointing at him. And he's distracted. He's confused.

He doesn't know what to swipe at. The noise of the whip cracking on the floor. The four points of the chair.

And instead of having one target lunge on two legs, he sees four points and the noise. And he distracts the lion and makes him do what he wants it to do because he has diverted it from what would be its natural course. Now, especially in a leader, that leader must be servant-like.

He cannot be seeking his own prominence and God's blessing. He cannot be seeking the furtherance of his name and the honor of the name of the Lord. He cannot be on an ego trip as well as trying to serve the Lord's people.

He will end up like a diatrophist. And that, of course, is a tragedy. Last one.

You may think this is a strange one, but I think it is a powerful example. It is a handicap when a leader becomes secluded, segregated, instead of sensitive to what's going on amongst the people of God. Now, do you notice, for instance, in the case of Ahasuerus in the book of Esther, do you see him losing touch with reality? Even Esther, right? Even Esther in her palace.

The view from the palace is vastly different from the view that Mordecai had. In her hermetically sealed environment, she has no idea why Mordecai is down there with his clothes rent, funereal grief marking his head and his clothes and wearing, as if he's mourning. Why? And she sends clothes down to him like, Look, don't be sad like that.

I'm upset that you would be sad. Why would you ever be like that? What's happened? Well, he knows exactly what's going on down there. But she up in her palace, she has no idea.

She had no concept of the danger that she and her people were in. She had lost touch. Sort of like Ahasuerus.

He's picking at his chicken bones when Haman says to him, Boss, you know, there's some people in your kingdom that are a thorn in the side. They're trouble. I just thought maybe I should handle the problem.

Haman, do whatever you want. That's fine. What has happened? Why is he acting so capriciously? Why is he not stopping to think? We're talking about the death of thousands of people.

Maybe tens of thousands of people. And maybe it'll reach into the palace and involve people whom I love. Why is he not thinking of that? So easy just to sit on his throne in his comfortable palace and pass laws.

He's forgotten that there's babies who die and mothers who cry. He's forgotten about the grief down there. The pain.

The suffering. Because he's living in a very, very comfortable, segregated. A leader dare not lose touch with reality.

He must understand the conditions that God's people are passing through. Now, that is a very difficult thing. Because he needs to be aware of the rot that is in society without himself becoming contaminated.

He cannot live in the past and imagine that there's no problems with the Internet today. He cannot live in the past and imagine that there are no problems with the things that can be purchased so easily or rented so simply. He can't live as if he's back in the 20s or 30s.

He has to be aware of what the temptations and problems the Lord's people are living in so that he will be sensitive rather than secluded and segregated. So think with me about the dedication of a leader. And what I'd like to do is go.

You'll think this is a strange passage to go to, but I'd like to go in your thinking to Psalm 23. And here is why. In that Psalm, David refers to the ultimate shepherd.

The one perfect shepherd, doesn't he? So could we learn some lessons from that shepherd about what a leader or a shepherd should be like down here? Here's what I learned. I'll give you four points very quickly and, time permitting, we'll go over them. I want you to think about the subject of providing and guiding and abiding and overriding.

Providing. What does he say? The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. What's happening? He says, I have a shepherd who meets the needs of his flock.

With rest. With repast. With refreshment.

There's still waters. There's green pastures. I shall not want.

What does a shepherd do? What does a true shepherd do? A true shepherd provides for the flock. He meets the need of the flock. The young believers coming from their colleges and their universities.

Those halls of higher learning where they have been bombarded. Absolutely bombarded. Bombarded with not merely ungodly teachings, but anti-God philosophies and teachings.

Their minds have been tinkered with and toyed with. The very processes by which they begin to evaluate things and come to conclusions. All that has been manipulated.

And then they come to a meeting. Regular prayer and Bible study here. You know what a shepherd does? He's got food for them.

He's got something for them to help them. Because a shepherd provides. He meets the needs of the flock.

But a shepherd guides. He gives directions to the flock. Listen to what he says.

He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.

So here is one who guides. When I wander. When I wander, he restores my soul.

When I walk, he leads me in the paths of righteousness. When I worry. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

What's happening in all of those circumstances? He says my shepherd is guiding me. My shepherd is guiding me. It was Mr. Clay Fight, the late Mr. Clay Fight, who pointed out on one occasion.

I thought it was so memorable. How the tones change in Psalm 23. Again, as we noticed in Psalm 45, the way he speaks changes.

He's speaking about the Lord, isn't he? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He guided me. He restored my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. But he doesn't say because he is with me.

He says because thou art with me. He has just moved from third person to second person. From speaking about the shepherd to speaking to the shepherd.

As if when things get worse, when worries grow around me. See, the Lord comes even closer and he's right there by my side. So we have one who provides.

We have one who guides. There's a Chinese proverb that says, He who thinks he is leading and has no one following is only taking a walk. He who thinks he is leading and has no one following is only taking a walk.

So someone has said that a test of leadership is this, turn around and see if anyone is following you. We have a shepherd that we follow. God has given us shepherds in the assembly that we can follow.

They are to provide, to meet the needs of the flock. They are to guide, give direction to the flock. But then there is this abiding, a rod to correct and a staff to protect.

That encourages me, he says. I have a shepherd and when I need correction, he can correct me. He can bring me back into the path.

And when I need protection, he as well can protect. He has that staff. He can chase away the wild animal.

So here is one who is staying right in with the flock. This isn't leadership by proxy or from a distance. I remember reading on one occasion someone saying, there was a cattleman saying that he thought that sheep were very, very dumb.

Very dumb. Because whenever you tried to drive sheep, they scattered all over the place. And unlike cattle that could be kept together and would stay together and would move together in a somewhat orderly course, sheep were different.

He was corrected by a shepherd. He said, no, you don't understand. The difference is this.

Sheep must be led. You have to be with them. You walk ahead of them and they follow you.

You don't stay behind them and drive them. You are ahead of them and you are with them. You are right in there with the flock.

Isn't that the terminology used? Those that are among you, Peter says. But the shepherds were among the flock. So that is the picture here in Psalm 23.

Providing, guiding, abiding. And then this. Overriding.

Offsetting. The effects of the desert. All around.

The effects of the desert on that sheep. There are the efforts of the enemy. The presence of mine enemies.

Thou prepares the table before me in the presence of mine enemies. There is not only the efforts of the enemy, but the effects of the journey. The weariness.

Thou anointest my head with oil. What's happening? The desert takes its toll on the flock. Just as life takes its toll on us.

David says, just like a kind shepherd would minister to his sheep. I have a shepherd. And all that life throws at me, I have a shepherd who's there to offset those effects.

To override them. To anoint my head so that I'm refreshed. To sit me down at a table so that I'm strong and fed well.

Even though I have enemies all around me. That's the kind of shepherd we have. And that's what ought to mark a shepherd in the assembly of God as well.

Now very quickly. The recognition of a leader. We are to know them, aren't we? We beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, said Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5. And are over you in the Lord and admonish you.

That's a remarkable statement. To know them. Paul uses that same Greek word when he says, for instance, you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

You know how we exhorted you. In other words, our lives were transparent. You knew all about us when we were among you.

Now similarly, he says, know them which labor among you. Recognize them. Not only are we to know them.

He speaks about, you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord. You know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. And he speaks about those who labored, who were over you and admonish you.

Just take those three phrases very quickly. Labor. Leadership is not a position that a man arrives at and then sits back at his leadership desk with his feet up because he has arrived.

The word that is used there is to work so hard as to become exhausted, to be fatigued. A constant drain of meeting the needs of others. The phone calls.

The visitation. The hospital visits. The believer who's wandering.

The prayer to have a message from God for that young brother or sister who seems to be going astray. That married couple that are having difficulties. He's laboring to the point of fatigue.

Literally the word over you is to stand before. In rank. It's the idea of the shepherd standing before the flock.

Whatever's going to come, the shepherd's going to meet it first. He's out there in the front, in the forefront, in the vanguard. He's facing all the problems that may come.

His chief concern is the safety of the flock that is behind him. And when he uses the word admonish, it's the idea of how they caution and gently reprove to make sure that the sheep do not go astray. So what should be our submission to men like that? Here are the words that the New Testament uses.

I'll give them to you. And you can decide if this is how you respond, how you react to those who are over us in the Lord. Esteem them.

Heed them. Obey them. Submit to them.

Salute them. Esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Heed them.

Hebrews 13 says, remember them that have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Be mindful of what they have taught you, is what he's saying. Obey them.

Hebrews 13 verse 17. Obey them that have the rule over you. Submit.

Submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account. Salute. Salute all them that have the rule over you.

You know that word salute, it's an interesting word. Because it implies affection. It is the word used, for instance, in Acts chapter 20, when we read these words.

And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples and embraced them and departed for to go into Macedonia. It's been a riot. Their lives are in danger.

Now the thing has been put down. Paul has to leave them there in that hostile environment. They're saying goodbye to this beloved teacher.

And he embraced them. Is that how we view those who are over us in the Lord? With deep affection? It's the word that's used in Hebrews 13. These all died in faith.

Not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them. And embraced them. And confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

It's the idea of the warm welcome, of the affection. I would love, if nothing else happens from the 45 minutes so far we've been considering this subject. I would love to plant in the minds of my beloved young brethren and sisters who are here tonight.

This one, unchanging, biblical principle. You will never go wrong by submitting. You can go wrong sometimes by standing.

You will never go wrong by bowing. When I'm corrected, I may have the right to say, excuse me sir, you're wrong. Maybe there would be times where I'm correct in saying that.

I will always be correct. I will always be right. Paul said to Timothy.

Remember when you come into chapter 5 of 1 Timothy? He has been giving Timothy the charge of godliness and Timothy's responsibilities. Now he's telling Timothy how he must respond to the Lord's people. Is it five or six categories? The elder men, the younger men.

The elder women, the younger women. The widows, right? Elders, how he's to respond to them. Do you remember how he speaks about Timothy's reaction, dealings with the younger sisters? He adds those significant words, with all purity.

Keep your testimony clean when you must deal with a young sister. Make sure that there's purity in all that you say and all of your actions with her. What does he say about older men? Not shepherds, not even over sisters, just older believers.

What does he say? Entreat the older man as a father. If you are older than I am, such is the courtesy incumbent on me as a Christian. I have no business to speak to you in an unkind way.

I am called upon to treat you, my dear older brother or sister, with dignity. That's Christianity. Down here at the ground level, see? Shoe-leather Christianity.

Courtesy, respect. How much more when it comes to those who have the responsibility of guiding me as a shepherd. So let me close by speaking about the compensation of a leader.

When the chief shepherd shall appear, Peter writes to shepherds, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. See, he not only calls, but he crowns those who serve in this unselfish capacity. I read a quote by John Maxwell some time ago who said that leadership isn't about titles, positions, and since he often speaks in corporate settings, he added flowcharts.

It's about one life influencing another. And as someone has said, the final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men and women the conviction and will. Why? Has he done that? He has led clearly, with conviction, with sympathy, with love, selflessly, with concern.

And the result is he has influenced other lives who are following him. I hope God will help us to have a fresh appreciation for those who lead us and a fresh appreciation for the divine shepherd who has never failed to lead us right. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you for thy word.

We ask again thy blessing on the gospel being spoken next door. We pray that thou wilt help our brother, and even as the meeting continues, that he may have great joy in his soul as he presents Christ to sinners. Bless thy word in what we have considered tonight.

In the abundance of words, it is possible that the mouth can sin, and we pray, Lord, that there has been only that which will bring honor and glory to thy name. Accept our thanks. Take us to our homes in safety.

Prepare our hearts for the morrow, if the Lord has not come, that we may be found at the feet of our Lord Jesus, worshiping the one who is alone worthy. We give our thanks in his honored and precious name. Amen.

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