Confessions of a Church: Joy to your Leaders

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.  

Deuteronomy 1:1-18 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.  In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the Lord had commanded him to give to them,  after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.  Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,  “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.  Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.  See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.’

 “I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to bear the burden of you alone. The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you!  How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife?  Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’  You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes. “Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him. You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’  I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

This is the word of the Lord.

This second giving of God's Law begins with Moses' recount of how God brought Israel out of Egypt by His mighty hand and outstretched arm.

We see the advice given to Moses by his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 18), regarding the appointing of wise and experienced men to be heads, leaders, over the people of Israel.

Their charge was to judge between the brethren impartially, without the fear of man.

Why did Moses need assistance?

It is the same reason a Pastor needs Elders in the work of the Church: because God's people are at times a burden, a load, prone to strife, and too much for one man to bear alone.

That's harsh.

That doesn't sound like this church.

This passage is talking about the people of Israel in OT times, not our church.

Yet we see this admonition in Hebrews 13:17-

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Ever wonder what it means there, where it says "Let them do this with joy and not with grief"?

Brothers and sisters, there is a reason why God's people are frequently referred to as sheep, and it is at this point where sheep oftentimes become a burden to the Pastors and Elders charged with their care.

It isn't because sheep are dumb, though they are.

It's not due to the fact that sheep are helpless.

It is not because sheep are dependent upon a shepherd to lead, guide, and protect them.

No, where the burden comes in for Pastors is in the fact that frequently the sheep will deny their ignorance, try to do things all by themselves, and attempt to navigate life dependent upon their own feelings, other shepherds, all the while behaving as lions who need no protection, forgetting that they are but sheep.

When was the last time you came to your Pastor or one of your Elders and asked them to pray for you or your family when they were sick, or in the midst of some family strife?

When was the last time you confessed some besetting sin to your Pastor?

Are you Pastor and Elders always the last people to find out about some major event in your life which demands faith, prayer, supplication, and fasting?

When you last had a question regarding some application of Scripture, or some theological principle, did you run first to YouTube for the answer? Did you jump on sermon audio, find your favorite preacher, and see what he said about it? Or did you go to your Pastor, or one of your Elders, you know, the ones you picked and God ordained to guard this flock?

Your Pastor and Elders love you Sovereign King Church. We are imperfect men attempting to lead imperfect sheep. As in our passage from Deuteronomy today, and in the New Testament, we see real authority given to those charged with leading the Church. Judging between offender and offended parties and discerning the long term plans of the church in how we fulfill the Great Commission are weighty undertakings. Couple those things with the task of comforting, teaching, exhorting, and rebuking sheep that oftentimes behave as if they don't need comforting, teaching, exhorting, or rebuking, and you can see how the Pastor and Elders may find the task before us daunting.

Let us do these things with joy.

As I said earlier, sheep are dumb, and don't think for a second this does not apply to us.

Sometimes you struggle with things and assume because the Pastor is gifted and knowledgeable that he should just know. Brothers and sisters, your Pastor is one of the most well read and studious men I have ever met, but he isn't a mind reader.

Perhaps you believe your Elders to "have it all together". You believe in order for you to come with your burdens and troubles you must clean yourself up first.

You believe wrongly on both of those points. Like you, your Elders deal with temptations, fears, family strife, weakness, and indwelt sin. Please do not hesitate or wait to seek counsel from us.

One other aspect of the relationship between Pastor, Elders, and sheep which inserts difficulty and strife into the equation, is the tendency for sheep to grumble.

Grumbling had grave consequences for the people of Israel and Moses himself. 1 Corinthians 10:10 tells us "Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer."

We are commanded by God to "Do all things without grumbling or disputing;"— Philippians 2:14

To "Be hospitable to one another without complaint."— 1 Peter 4:9

As I end this morning, I'd like to leave you with some specific application pertaining to obeying your leaders, hospitality, and grumbling.

As you may have noticed we are growing as a Church. Our Reformation Feast numbers this year compared to last nearly tripled. In the life of the Church there will be many opportunities to serve and be hospitable with the preparation of food and all that goes along with having feasts like our Reformation Feast.

Many of these types of gatherings have been meticulously planned by committees made up of volunteers, and approved by the Pastor and Elders. The occasional fellowship meal, outreach, or simply cleaning up after Church on a Sunday are necessary activities which promote fellowship, teach us stewardship, allow us to exercise hospitality, fulfill the Great Commission, is regards to outreaches, and affords you an opportunity to interact with your Pastor and Elders, getting to know them, and providing you with yet another opportunity to share your burdens, struggles, and sins with them.

All that said, when we have events where sign up sheets are going around, volunteers are needed, time slots need to be filled, and resources are required: don't make us beg. Please don't make us have to fret and wring our hands all the way up to the final hour. Don't wait until the last second to sign up for things because you want to see if anyone else signs up first. Don't be bitter because " you always sign up and why should it always have to be you?" These delays, feet dragging, and complaining make it difficult for the Pastor and Elders to plan, and beyond that, we are called to serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100:2), being cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7), are we not? At the end of the day, when the Pastor and Elders plan something, whether it be a fellowship meal, a bible study, an outreach, or whatever, we set upon a course of action as a Church. This plan which men developed, the steps of which God will direct, isn't optional. So this is the admonition: when planning is made and your Pastor and Elders ask for volunteers, do not delay, do not feet drag, step up and volunteer with a cheerful heart, looking at this as an opportunity to serve Christ and love one another, and in the process, allowing your Pastor and Elders to lead you with joy.

At this time if you are able please kneel as we confess our sins to God, who is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Heavenly Father,

We thank you that You have not left us alone to wander aimlessly without a guide.

As Your Son promised, You have given us the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to guide us into all truth.

You have blessed us to be able to hear Your voice through the preaching of Your Word by faithful men appointed by You as leaders in Your Church.

Father, please be with the Pastor and Elders of Sovereign King Church. Help us to remember that it is Christ Who is the head, not us. Help us to lead with compassion, joy, and not under compulsion.

Be with this flock, help them to be humble to recognize their need for the means of grace you have provided, one aspect of which is the teaching, reproof, and correction which comes from the preaching of Your Word by Pastors and Elders. Help them to be content where You have placed them.

Please forgive us where we have made it difficult for those who are appointed as leaders to lead, and forgive those appointed to lead for not leading well.

In Jesus's name we pray, amen.

Please stand and listen to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to his church: 

Hebrews 9:24-28  For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;  nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.