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Dear Lord, we ask that You open our hearts and minds to the message You have for us today. Help us to understand the importance of praying for Your choice of pastors-shepherds, the role of a congregation pastoral-shepherd, and the necessity of submitting to Your pastor-shepherds. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. INTRODUCTION: In the Thessalonian church there was a problem. This local church was born when Paul visited the city, preached the Gospel, won many people to Christ and taught them. He accomplished all this, by the grace of God, in less than a month. Here was the problem in the church at Thessalonica. Since the believers at this church were saved at the same time, there could be people with an attitude: So-and-so and I were saved at the same time. I knew him before he was a believer. Where did he get the idea that he could teach and lead me? This is why Paul wrote to them asking that they respect and appreciate and regard those who diligently labor among them, and have charge over them in the Lord and give them instruction... Our church is a church that we could say was started “from scratch.” We face a similar problem as the Thessalonian believers did. Many of us are family; we are related to one another biologically. Some of us have changed the other’s diapers. Now we are pushing the plow of the Gospel together and one person is leading the other or one person is teaching the other. God has placed elders in the local assembly of believers to watch, oversee and shepherd. The writer of Hebrews speaks of this dimension of leadership. (Hebrews 13:17 NKJV) Notice here, the writer gives the purpose for obey and submitting--for they watch out for your souls. As a parent I watch out for my children. I watch out for different things during different stages in their lives. God has given the pastor or elder the responsibility to watch out for the souls of members of the body of Christ. The verb “keep watch” or “watch out” literally means to “keep oneself awake, be awake.” It is the imagery of the leaders keeping awake at night in their concern for their people. We are concerned about your concerns (families, marriages, children, finances). But we are not merely concerned with what lies on the surface. Hebrews says that pastors keep watch over your souls. This is a reference to your spiritual well-being. We are concerned for your spiritual welfare. We are concerned that you are growing in your faith, hope and love for the Lord and His people. We are concerned as to whether you are living a surrendered life and walking in the Spirit. We have an intense desire for you that you would be able to get a grip on the Word of God for yourselves and that we would no longer have to hold your hand. But even as we let go we still need to keep watch. We need to be watched ourselves--this is why the leadership should be a plurality of elders. The writer of Hebrews says, “let us keep watch with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” Back in 1 Thessalonians 5:12: (1 Thessalonians 5:12 NKJV) And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, In this verse Paul instructs his readers to respect and regard: 1.) Those who diligently labor among you. Spiritual leaders were to be examples to the flock of those who toil hard in the work of the Gospel. Many times this meant that they would have to sacrifice many of the pleasures of life. The leaders Paul wrote of were to become local examples of how love works hard (1:3) in contrast to the problem group within the church that was doing practically nothing (4:11). 2.) Those who have charge over you in the Lord. The KJV uses the phrase, “are over you” in the Lord. This phrase pointed to the fact that there was an actual form of church government in the local church which included the need for the believers to “respect” the authority of the office of elder. This aligns with what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:11-12 If there is no respect for the office of a leader, whether it be in the classroom, the government, the office or the home, there will be anarchy. Anarchy or lawless confusion is always wrong particularly among Christians. Where believers are united to Christ, respectful submission to Christian leaders is service to the Lord. Christians should respect and submit to their authority of leadership as unto Christ. (Colossians 3:23; Ephesians 5:22) Paul says to respect: 1.) Those who diligently labor among you. 2.) Those who have charge over you in the Lord and thirdly, 3.) Those who give you instruction or admonish you. Admonishing is correction administered by word or deed. It implies blame on the part of the one who is being admonished or corrected. We are living in the 90’s where everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes and there is “no wrong answer.” People make excuses for their sin by rationalizing that “the end justifies the means.” CONCLUSION: Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? What does it mean to esteem and hold our pastors in high regard? 1. Esteem- 2. Obey and submit to them. (Hebrews 13:17 NKJV) Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Most of us have no problem with parental authority, police authority or employer’s authority. When we give our children something to do we expect them to obey. When the police officer blows his whistle (do they still blow whistles?) we stop. When our boss gives us a task we usually finish it on schedule. Why is it so difficult for us to obey our spiritual leaders? Is it because each of the authorities mentioned earlier have positive and negative incentives? Positively stated, the incentives are: love from parents, protection by police and a paycheck from our employers. Negatively stated: a strap, a gun and a pink slip. When it comes to obeying our spiritual leaders there are positive and negative incentives as well. They are blessings or cursings. 3. Make “watching over your souls” a joy for them, not grief. If any one comes to you bearing a tale concerning your leadership, unless they have followed the steps of action outlined in Matthew 18, you need to rebuke them and encourage them to go to the person they have a problem with. Paul says that we shouldn’t receive an accusation against an elder unless on the basis of two or three witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19).