Follow the Leader: Leading Well (Heb 13:17-25)
Hebrews: Jesus is Better • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 56:20
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· 607 viewsIt is to for our own good that we learn to lead well for the cause of Christ and for the sake of those who follow.
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Read Hebrews 13:17-25 and PRAY
Reading btwn the lines of instructions to followers to see some good principles for leadership on this Father’s Day -- These principles could rightly be aimed at those who lead in various capacities in the church, in our homes, and in any God-given opportunity for Christians to lead (at work, school, community, etc.) How do we learn as followers of Jesus to LEAD WELL when God sees fit to give us that responsibility?
Lead like you know, like you genuinely get these principles we can find in our text from Hebrews 13:17ff:
Lead like others are following.
Lead like others are following.
“Obey your leaders and submit to them”
- The first instruction is actually, as we said, to followers. But that has a supremely obvious implication. If you are a leader, you certainly have to be intentionally mindful that others are following your example.
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
As far as I’m concerned there are two kinds of absolutely terrible leaders (and most of us are some growing version in between, and by God’s grace we’ll remain far from either extreme): The Lump and The Tyrant
The Lump is the man-child who has never grown into being first accountable to God for his own spiritual development and second his responsibility given by God to protect and provide for, as well as to guide and shape those in his care
The vines planted in my garden.
What kind of lazy and worthless excuse is it that we should forget our responsibility to lead?
The Tyrant is the authoritarian who wants things his way and behaves like he answers to no one. - Others are “putting their confidence” in you (the meaning of the word translated as obey), and are submitting to your authority.
This person is also a terrible leader, and as we move on, we can see why.
Lead like you need help leading.
Lead like you need help leading.
“leaders… them”
- Notice it says leader(s) with an s. That’s plural. - I know that’s pretty obvious but we often don’t behave like we are living under the godly wisdom of this perspective.
There’s good reason... in so many ways... that God gave Adam a suitable helper in Eve, probably not the least of which is that her co-counsel would improve his God-given leadership.
Why do we believe it is so important to follow the biblical model for church leadership with a plurality of elders? - It’s even more than the obvious instruction from Pauline pastoral epistles to Titus and Timothy that they should appoint elders (plural) over churches. It’s also because wisdom literature in the Bible screams at us that the fool goes it alone, and the fool trusts in his own heart (which will lead to his shame). But the wise man leans on the counsel of his peers (and I dare say listens the wisdom of his followers). Here is just a taste:
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
[repeat]
Lead like you are shepherding souls.
Lead like you are shepherding souls.
“for they are keeping watch over your souls”
- Keeping watch literally means to go sleepless. (so the connotation is to be alert and watchful) We must pray for God to strengthen us to be diligent and tireless. We must be particularly alert to protecting those in our care from foolishness and falsehood, from spiritual laziness and worldliness. We protect our people from straying by making sure they stay tethered to the truth and to God’s people.
Our concern for them is not shallow and temporary (ie., their external comfort) but is profound and eternal (their souls). So we must find ways to exhort them as the author of Hebrews does:
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
(“this” - God’s doubled-down promise of a new covenant in Christ… Christ’s atoning death and resurrection life giving us intimate access to relationship with God)
Not only do we try to redirect our hearts and theirs back to a singular focus on Jesus, but we also remind and remind and remind of the need to endure in faith through trial and suffering, and to endure through earthly success with dependance upon God and intimate relationship with him as our sustenance:
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
As a Christian, every opportunity for leadership is an opportunity to shepherd souls.
Lead like you are accountable to God.
Lead like you are accountable to God.
“as those who will have to give an account”
As a Christian, every opportunity for leadership is a responsibility for which you are accountable to God.
We know from God’s word that each person is answerable to God for his or her own response to Jesus...
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
But the Bible also clearly describes how “Leaders who function as watchmen for the community are accountable to God for its members as well.” - O’Brien, P. T. (2010). The Letter to the Hebrews (p. 530). Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
We should feel the weight of that responsibility such that we put our insufficiency into the hands of the all-sufficient Lord.
It means too we must remember that we do not give an account to men but to God. This makes us strike a tough balance where we listen to wise counsel while being sure we are not swayed by fear of man but remain fixed on fearing God:
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
Lead like you get it that one day you will give an account to God for how you lived and loved as a leader.
Lead like your joy rests in God.
Lead like your joy rests in God.
“Let them do this with joy and not with groaning”
This verse puts some responsibility on followers to help their leaders lead with joy. But from the side of the leader, we must not wait around for or attach our joy to the responses or affirmation of those others.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Lead like your joy rests in God, that his affirmation is what matters, to avoid the danger and disappointment of comparing yourself to others and desiring accolades from men.
Lead like you desperately need prayer.
Lead like you desperately need prayer.
“Pray for us… I urge you the more earnestly to do this”
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter to the Hebrews B. Instructions for the Congregation, 13:7–19
Similar requests occur frequently at the end of Paul’s letters as he asks congregations to pray for himself and his colleagues, especially in relation to the ministry of the gospel.
If you don’t need prayer then you don’t need God. - Now none of us would overtly proclaim that we don’t need prayer. But we could very well practically behave like we aren’t desperately in need of prayer for pure hearts and for wisdom to lead and boldness to carry it out.
Lead like you desperately need prayer… bc you do.
Lead from a clear conscience.
Lead from a clear conscience.
“for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things”
We can only lead well when our conscience is clear before God, when we are confident in Christ that our attitudes and actions toward others are honorable!
Paul could say to the Corinthian church of himself and his team of leaders: 2 Cor 1:12
For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
Similarly, Acts records Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders: Acts 20:17-21
Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul knew he had done all he could with respect to his responsibility as a Christian leader, a father figure to church leaders and members.
People, if we don’t have Christ we don’t have anything. Christian leaders, if we don’t have Christ-like character we don’t have anything. Christian parents... - We MUST lead from a clear conscience before God for our attitudes and actions. [the only way to do that is to...]
Lead as a follower first.
Lead as a follower first.
“our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep”
The best leaders you know are not merely decisive and consistent, they are first fully devoted followers of Jesus who seek wise counsel and who lead through humble and loving service. (for the cause of Christ and the good of others)
There’s no short-cut to placing your heart in God’s hands. - We must be daily committed to devoting our hearts and our plans, our own bodies and our loved-ones, our joys and our duties, our strengths and our weakness... to the one who is loving and powerful to… v. 21!
equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
So too, good leaders are those who have learned to be good followers of other godly examples, and good followers when and where it is someone else’s turn to lead. - Timothy (v. 23)
Lead by focusing first on being a fully devoted follower of Christ.
Finally for today...
Lead with loving urgency.
Lead with loving urgency.
“I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation”
[I’m going to be bold here and say that I believe] The two most prominent characteristics of a godly leader are humility before God and a passion for His glory.
- We can have different kinds of leaders: Those of a steady pace consistency, those who are analytical organizers, those who are big-picture visionaries (and those leaders always function better when working together with others of differing strengths). But my point is that whatever our temperament or personality, whatever our experiences and gifting, we only lead well if we walk humbly before God and lead with a sense of loving urgency for people to behold the glory and grace of God. Loving leaders are humbly and passionately pointing and saying,
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
- With certain personalities, we have to learn to keep other passions in check so that our passion for Jesus doesn’t get drowned out by noise and excitement for peripheral things. And if your strength is faithfulness, you have to make sure that you actually show and communicate passion for Christ. It doesn’t have to splash and yell like me, but it does need to be seen and heard. People want to follow a person whom they can tell is modeling humility and who has a deep and enduring passion for God.
Conclusion
[one for Next week] Follow like you would want to be followed. (for their joy in v. 17)