I wasn't turning me to Hebrews
chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13, we're looking at verses 7 through verse
17. And I do this not for speed,
but because of the connection between verses 7 and verse 17. They're roughly the same. in
exhortation. If you look at verse 7, it says,
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. If you look at verse 17, it says,
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 with joy and not with grief, for that
is unprofitable for you." The title of the message this morning
is, Remember Your Pastor. Remember Your Pastor. Now, there's no one in the church
that can fully understand what it means to be a pastor unless
you are one. Unless you are a pastor, unless
you have been called, this is a lonely experience. It's an experience one not like
anyone else. Now, people may know the mechanics
of being a pastor. You can learn that. You can learn
the qualifications of being a pastor. You can know that. You can know
the gifts needed to be a pastor. But none could ever know the
burden, the joy, the labor, the sorrow of the office of a pastor
unless God calls you to it. Where you are sitting, I sat
for years under a faithful pastor. I sat where you are sitting and
heard a man of God. I heard the stories of God's
men. I heard the history. of the great
things God has done through my pastor and through other men
of the gospel. I heard how God used their faithfulness
and their dedication to preach the gospel and how sinners were
converted. When I was called to the labor
of preaching the gospel, I thought I knew what it took. I thought I had it all right
at my fingertips. I was ready and able, I thought,
to take the burden. Surely I could take the burden
of being a pastor. And as the years go by, I see
how gently and tenderly the Lord Jesus Christ bore with my pride
and self-reliance. I was much like Peter. Peter,
before he denied the Lord, said, Lord, if they all leave you,
I won't. If they're all offended by you,
I'll stand up for you. He even cut off the ear of a
man to stand up for the Lord Jesus
Christ. Bold was Peter. And just like
Peter, I have failed. Many, many times have I failed. I have failed, my Lord, over
and over again, and I have sinned against God and to God alone.
I have failed in my study, in my prayer, in my love for you,
in my love for Christ, in my faith for Christ. I have failed
miserably. But in my failures, Jesus has
always been faithful to come to me. as he did Peter. And he doesn't come the way I
thought he would come when I failed. When I failed, I surely thought
lightning would come and kill me. I sure thought that it would
be a thunderous voice of rebuke that he should rebuke me with
for being such a failure as a pastor. But he comes to me with the same
voice. He came to Peter. He said, Lovest
thou me more than these? Feed my sheep. Lovest thou me? Feed my lambs. Lovest thou me? Feed my sheep. And those words
have pierced my heart time and time again, more than any lightning
bolt from heaven could ever do. His gentle rebuke again and again. patient, long-suffering with
me. And I answer the same, Lord,
you know I love you. You know how much I love you.
I don't. I know this. You gave me my faith. You gave
me my hope and you gave me my love. Lord, thou knowest I love
thee. But even in our failures as pastors,
God is faithful to encourage us in the labor. He is faithful to encourage His
pastors in the labor. This office is not what I thought. And when I say that, I always
think of Naaman. I thought it should have been
this way. Joanne refers to me as Spurgeon
Wood, a Sanwen. I have big goals and dreams,
and yet they crumble like ashes in my hands. I thought. But I tell you, before I became
a pastor, I thought too low of this office. I thought too little
of this office because when I became a pastor,
it was more than I could imagine it to be. As being a preacher of the gospel,
I have lost so much when I was called to preach, but I also
know this, that I have gained more than I've lost. I have gained infinitely more
than I ever gave for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I lost my family of blood, but
I gained such a rich family of God. You are my family. What a large family. What a faithful
family. What a glorious family God has
given me. I lost my mind. Praise God. I lost my dreams, my ambitions,
all fell to ashes in my hand. But now I have greater riches
than this world ever could afford to give me. I have riches of
righteousness. I have riches of salvation. I
have riches of grace. And I am called to declare such
great riches to the most impoverished of people, sinners. I'm called
to preach to sinners that Jesus Christ, though He was rich, yet
for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you
might be made rich. What a message I've been given
to give to you. What a glorious calling it is. Though I am constantly burdened
with the things of Christ, constantly concerned of the people of Christ,
my desire is that sinners be converted. I have what I didn't
have before, an overwhelming desire that sinners come to Christ. It is a desire that every pastor
must have. Must. We must desire that men
come. Not use of trickery. We don't
use deceit. We use the plain and simple message
of the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And the Spirit
of God takes that gospel and plants it into the heart of the
ready sinner and he's converted. What office, what a mission God
has given me. And my aims are for the glory
of God, the glory And so it is with all pastors. You will never know how much
I weep for you. You will never know how much
I labor to feed you. And I labor because I am a servant
of Jesus Christ. I labor because He has thrust
me into the harvest. And I do count all things lost
for the excellency of the glory of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I count all things lost for the
righteousness of Christ, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but having the righteousness of Christ.
I count all things but dung that I may win Christ. All things. And here in our text, the Apostle
says, Remember them which have the rule over you who have spoken
unto you the word of God." I once was so consumed with my
work, with my family, with the activities that I took my pastor
for granted, and I neglected this truth. Remember those who
preach the gospel to you. I just took it for granted that
my pastor would always be there. I did. I would show up Wednesday,
and he would be there. And I would show up Sunday, and
he would be there. And I just expected this. I expected it. And praise God, I had a faithful
pastor who was always there, even though I took it for granted.
And he did it with such ease. I saw him preach the gospel and
it seemed with such ease he could declare the things of God and
make them plain and simple. He did it with such faithfulness
that I thought very little of his labor. I thought very little
of his love and his sacrifice, his faithfulness, until I was
called to make the same sacrifices. And now I see and appreciate
him all the more. I do. I appreciate and I remember
my pastor all the more because I understand the burdens that
he bears. And the Word of God exhorts you
to remember those who have the rule over you. Now, what does
this mean, rule over you? There is only one King, and His
name is the Lord Jesus Christ, who rules His church. Those who have the rule over
you is talking about those who are put as under-shepherds. Those
who are put as guides. Those who are put as protectors
of the faith. Defenders of the faith. These
are the men that have a desire to care for the Lord's heritage. The Lord Jesus Christ rules His
people. Pastors are not to lord over
the flock, but rather care for the flock. Not to lord. Not to decree. But simply to care. To care for
the flock. We are called to protect the
flock. Remember, this is my office to
protect you. How is this done? Go over to
Acts chapter 20. Paul fixing to leave this world
and won't see these men of Ephesus again. He charges them. He gives them his Last apostolic
order to these preachers of the gospel. In Acts chapter 20. I don't know if I said 20, did
I say 20? That's all right. Now I said
20. Acts chapter 20 and let's look
at verse 28. The apostle says to these pastors,
take heed, therefore, unto yourselves. and to all the flock over which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. Now what are we to
do? To feed the church of God which
he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that
after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not
sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall
men arise speaking perverse things, and draw away disciples after
them. Therefore, watch and remember
that by the space of three years I cease not to warn you, warn
every one night and day with tears." He said, remember what
I did for you. So do you to the flock of God. Take care. to protect them by
preaching the gospel. This is how we oversee the church
of God. We preach to you the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ. We
are told that we should take heed to ourselves. He gives us
a warning. He gives pastors a warning. You
better take care to yourselves. You better take this warning
and take it to heart. Because God has made you overseers
of His people. Pastors must take heed to ourselves
and consider the greatness of our office. And not only considering the
greatness of our office, but considering the weakness of ourselves. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3,
5, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything
of ourselves. But our sufficiency is of God. Who hath made us? Able ministers. The office of a pastor is one
that is ordained of God. Remember that. Remember that
this office is not man-made. This office is ordained of God. And God not only makes us ministers,
He makes us able. There is no possible way that
I could do what I do unless God give it to me. And believe me, most of the time
I don't see it. Praise God, otherwise pride would
excel and it'd be worthless. But I know this, God has made
us able ministers. Able ministers of the law, not
the law, but grace. So first of all, believer, remember
our office. Remember it is of God. When you
remember me, remember the office that God has placed me as an
overseer for your souls. Now, no man sends himself to
this office. This office is not obtained by
education or determination. This office is a calling of God. God has made me an overseer of
this local body, and as such, I know I am not sufficient for
it. Except God give me the grace. And so then, all the success
of this ministry All the success of the preaching of the gospel
to you. All of these things. I want you to remember. This
office is of God. The Word is of God. And the success
is of God. Paul said, I planted. Paulus watered. But God gave
the increase. Have you grown spiritually? I've been here for six years
almost. In that time, have you grown
in the grace and knowledge of God? We give glory to God. We give glory to God. Have people
come to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ since I've been here?
Yes! All the glory belongs to God.
All the glory belongs to Him. Second, believers, remember that
our office is only to preach the gospel. Our office is not
a counselor. We're not here to counsel people. I remember when I went to college,
I must have had 20 counselors, each one counseling me in different
things. My office is to declare to you
the Word of God and your position Your duty is to obey the gospel
that I preach. It's not complicated. It's not
complicated. The gospel is of God. The gospel
I preach is of Christ. Obey the gospel. Obey the gospel
that I preach to you. Believers are to remember that
this is the Word of God. Paul said, I have not shunned
or declared unto you the whole counsel of God. And neither should
I shun to declare unto you the whole counsel of God as I preach. I've not hesitated. I've not
balked. I'm not here to please men. I'm
not here to entertain the flesh. That's not my job. That's not
what I'm called to do. I am called to simply and plainly
declare Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I am to set Him up
before you. I am to show you that He is the
only hope for your souls, that He is the only salvation for
sinners. I am to set Him up every time,
every service, every worship service. Jesus Christ is the
center and the sum of my message. Every time. This is all I do. Sin, righteousness, and judgment.
Is that not what the Holy Spirit convicts men of? And yet, when
we preach the gospel, what do we preach? Man is sinful. Man needs salvation, righteousness. And the only one that can give
it is God, who judges all men. And it's the Spirit of God that
convinces men of this. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. see
the office and what it entails, what we are charged to do. 2
Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1, Paul says, I charge you, therefore,
before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick
and the dead in his appearing in kingdom, preach the word. Be instant, in season, and out
of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort. How? With all longsuffering. All longsuffering and doctrine. I must preach the gospel of God's
sovereign grace. I must. Paul says, woe is me
if I preach not the gospel. He didn't say, woe is me if I
preach not. Would to God that those who do
not preach the sovereignty of God, the sovereign grace of God,
would to God they would not preach at all. But woe is me if I preach not
the gospel of Jesus Christ. I preach not the gospel. Remember,
my office is to preach the gospel to you. And by preaching the
gospel, it reproves you. It rebukes you. It exhorts you. And how do I do this? With all
longsuffering and patience and doctrine. Just keep preaching
the gospel. Keep preaching the gospel over
and over and over and over again. Does the Spirit of God take care
of you? Has He not? Do you not think that I sit around
I hope that you don't think I do this. I hope you don't think
about it and sit around and say, well, man, that Gil, I'll tell
you what, I've got to preach a message about you, Gil. You're
just really off the track. Believe me, I don't sit around
and think about individual preaching. I take the gospel God gives me
and I throw it at a venture. And with all long suffering,
I throw it at a venture. And it plants where it plants.
It rolls off where it rolls off. That's not my concern. My concern
is to preach the gospel to you. And in doing so, the Spirit of
God pierces your soul. The Spirit of God heals your
soul. Whatever it is comforts you,
rebukes you, exhorts you. Whatever it is, it's the Spirit
of God that does this. My job is just to preach the
gospel. Thirdly, remember that our office
and our message are immutable. When I thought on this and to
use that word, I'm not saying that I personally am immutable. That's not true. I'm talking
about the office. This office of pastor and preacher
of the gospel, is irreplaceable. You cannot replace this office. It is the only means God has
chosen to save sinners. Now, this office has always been
around. The office of someone receiving
the Word of God and declaring the Word of God to man. This
is how it's been from the beginning. Sometimes there are more of us,
and sometimes there are less of us, but there will always
be pastors for God's sheep. Because of this is the means
at which God saves sinners by the preaching of the gospel.
There will always be preachers sent. They will always preach
Jesus Christ and sinners will always believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. If I die, does that change this
office? No. No. The office of a pastor
continues, whether here I hope so. I hope so. But we know this, that God saves
sinners through the preaching of the gospel. I want to show
you this. Go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 17. The Apostle Paul said,
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. In
other words, baptism is not his main focus. He does baptize. Preachers do baptize, and that's
wonderful because that's the only confession of faith that
we are given. Not coming down to the front.
That's not a confession of faith. The only confession of faith
is believer's baptism. But what he's saying is, my preeminent
job, my preeminent focus is to preach Jesus Christ. Not with
wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none
effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. Look at verse 21. For after that,
in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. Here
it is. This is the reason we have preachers. This is it. It
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to save them. Go over to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10, verse 13. For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel, for Isaiah said, Who hath believed, I'll report.
So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. You see the necessity of this
office? The necessity of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. How faith comes is immutable.
It's unchangeable. It comes by hearing. Is there any other means? Scripture gives no other means.
But how shall you hear? Unless someone preached to you. And how shall someone preach
to you unless they are sent to preach to you? How do we know
if we are sent? Our message. The message we preach
is of Jesus Christ alone. Jesus Christ, the only Savior
for sinners. I'm going to give you a few illustrations
in scripture concerning false preachers. Do you know that no
one is saved under a false preacher? No one. That is a huge pill to swallow,
but it is the truth. Balaam spoke to God and God answered
Balaam. Balaam was a false prophet. And
no one was saved under his ministry. Saul. Saul prophesied twice in
his life. And this was not to the glory
of God, because they said, is Saul among the prophets now?
You see, all the glory went to Saul. No one was saved under
Saul's ministry of prophesying. How do I know and how can I make
such a bold statement as to say that God will not save sinners
under a false preacher, under a false prophet? Go to Jeremiah
chapter 23, see it for yourself. Jeremiah chapter 23. You read this, you can read all about
what God says concerning liars. He calls them liars. I've not
sent them. Look at verse 30, Jeremiah chapter 23. Verse 30, Therefore, behold,
I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words
every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,
saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, he saith. Behold, I am against them that
prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them and
cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. Yet
I sent them not, nor commanded them, therefore, They shall not
profit this people at all, saith the Lord." How much are they profitable?
They are not profitable to God's people at all. I didn't send them. I didn't
give them the message. They're liars. And I will not
allow their word to profit my people at all. God did not send them, and no
man is blessed by them. Jesus tells us, or the Lord tells us
in our text, brethren, remember them that preach the gospel to
you. If you would be faithful to remember
that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,
and His Word does not change. He says that in verse 8. Jesus
Christ. This is the gospel we preach.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His means
of grace has not changed. The Father has chose us. The
Son has redeemed us. The Spirit has called us. And
the Spirit shall call His people by the same immutable means,
because Jesus Christ does not change. He does not change. All of grace. All of grace. All of grace. That's how sinners
are saved. Remember us who minister the
gospel to you. that our message doesn't change. The means doesn't change because
Christ doesn't change, and our message doesn't change because
Christ doesn't change. False doctrine changes. Is that
correct? How many church creeds are there?
They tell me I can't count that high. Why? Because men change! Their doctrine changes with the
tide. Have you ever heard of a conservative
worship service and a modern worship service? If they've got
something like that, run as fast as you can and plug your ears
on the way. They've changed their message.
Our message does not change because Christ does not change. He said,
you believe not because you are not of my sheep. The world changes
that around. They say, you are not of my sheep
because you don't believe. No, Christ said, you do not believe
because you are not of my sheep. We don't change that. We don't
change that message. Oh, the joy of free and sovereign
grace. To God's people, it's a great
joy. There's nothing greater. And remember that this office
is always to remind you of this. Paul said, it is not grievous
for me to speak to you the same thing. It's not grievous to me to preach
Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. When I preach Christ, Do you
not say in your heart, yes, I know Him? When I preach of election,
you say, praise God, for He has chosen such an unworthy vessel
to save. When I preach of Jesus Christ
ruling and reigning and His work was successful, your heart cries,
it is finished, and you are rested. Jesus Christ rules over all things
in our trials. That gives us great comfort. Remember us who preach the gospel for your own sakes. Don't remember me for just my
sake. Remember me for your own sakes. Look at 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 with joy
and not with grief. Why? For that is unprofitable
for you. You who are faithful to the gospel
are a joy to me. When you are faithful, I am able
to give an account to God and praise Him for His grace to make
you faithful. You're not faithful because of
me. If you are, I pity you. I pity
you that have to grit your teeth and make yourself be here. I
pity you. But you that are faithful and
love the gospel, you are a joy to me. You cause my soul to be
encouraged, to be strengthened in the gospel. And I give an
account to God and I weep and praise His name for the faithful
men and women who come and hear the gospel faithfully. Faithfully. But to those who are unfaithful,
you cause us great grief. Usually I don't preach about
people being unfaithful because they're usually not here. They're
usually not here. So I'm not going to spend a lot
of time. But this is, it causes me grief, but it's their loss. If a person is unfaithful, it's
their loss. It's not profitable for them. It grieves me. It grieves you
who are faithful, does it not? When people are unfaithful, does
that not grieve you? You look around. I know with
such a small group that we have, it's easier to look around and
see people that are not with us. And this causes us pain. But it causes them more pain
than it causes us. It causes them great loss. Because they are responsible
for the message that they did not hear. Pray for me that I continue to be faithful.
And if I'm faithful, follow me. If I suffer for the gospel of
Jesus Christ, suffer with me. And God will bless you. God will
bless you. I didn't say I would. God will. That's better, isn't it? That's
better than me putting my hand on and saying, bless you. Don't
that rile you when people say, oh, God bless you? No. God blesses His people. May God
add the blessing to this, His word. We dismiss.