Let's turn back to 1 Timothy
chapter 5. I've entitled this message, Elders
That Rule Well. Elders That Rule Well. Now, in
the New Testament, the pastor of a church is called an angel. to the angel at the church at
Ephesus Rite. Remember all seven of the local
churches were addressed to the angel. They're called pastors. The Lord gave to some pastors
and teachers. Pastor is the same Greek word
for shepherd. They're shepherds. A shepherd
leads. A shepherd feeds. A shepherd
protects from wolves. A shepherd goes after the lost
and straying sheep. pastors. They're called a bishop,
an overseer, one who takes the oversight. They're called them
that rule or them that guide, and they're called elders, those
who have some spiritual maturity. That's what that means, elders.
Now, a few months ago, we looked at the qualifications of the
elder in 1 Timothy 3, it's back in the summer, but we're going
to look at this passage tonight where he says, verse 17, "...let
the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor."
Look up in verse 3, same word here, "...honor widows that are
widows indeed." Now that means honor them, let them be counted
worthy literally of double pay. That's kind of embarrassing to
say, but I'm not lobbying for raves. You all take great care
of me and I'm appreciative for your generosity. But let the
elders who rule well be esteemed, counted worthy of double pay. Now what does it mean to rule
well? The word rule means to stand before, let the elders
that stand before you. It's not a dictator or an autocrat
that tells you what to do. This is what you need to do.
Go here, don't go there. That's not what it means to rule
in any way. It means the elders who stand
before you. A shepherd stands before and
leads the flock. He leads by example. He stands
before them. He's not back behind them driving.
He stands before them. Now, ruling well, look what he
says in verse 17. Let the elders that rule well
be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in
the word and doctrine. 4. The Scripture saith, verse 18,
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. and
the laborer is worthy of his reward." Now, the illustration
he uses is a beautiful illustration of what preaching actually is.
It's the ox, he'd have something behind him that he would drag
and it would thresh the corn. It would separate the chaff and
the wheat and that which is good. It would do this separation and
that's what happens in preaching. The preacher preaches the word
and he brings the wheat out of it. He preaches the gospel from
it. He brings out the true meaning.
That's what he's doing. Separating the chaff from the
wheat. That's what it is to labor in
the Word and doctrine. He labors, he prays, He toils
to know the meaning of scripture and preach the gospel from it
in a way that's easy to be understood. That's what a preacher does.
He preaches the gospel from the word where you get the gospel
from it. It's separating and giving what's
nourishing and good. And that is an intense labor. And you don't muzzle the mouth
of the ox that does this. You let him eat. The elder or
pastor or bishop is to be supported by the church so he can give
himself to this. The study, praying, preaching
the word. And he says the laborer is worthy
of his reward. Now what does it mean to rule
well? I want to know. I want you to
know what a pastor is who rules well. Turn with me to 1 Peter
chapter 5. I want to look at several scriptures. 1 Peter chapter 5. Verse 1, Peter is speaking to
the elders. The elders which are among you,
I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings
of Christ. Now this is what a true preacher
is, a true pastor, a true elder. More than anything else, he's
a witness. He's a witness. He's seen something. And what is it he's a witness
of? He's a witness of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what he testifies of. That's what the Lord has taught
him. That's what he bears witness to. Not something he just read
in a book. It's something that he has seen for himself. That's
what a witness is. You don't train people to be
witnesses, do you? If you train somebody to be a witness, it's
corrupt, isn't it? I mean, you're trying to teach them to act in
a certain way. No. You're a witness if you've seen
something. And a preacher is a witness of
the sufferings of Christ. Who it is that suffered? It's
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the God-man. It's the God
of glory. We testify why He suffered. He suffered because He was guilty.
The sins of God's elect became His and He was guilty of it.
We testify who He suffered for, those who believe. God's elect,
those that were given to Him as the Father. We testify what
He accomplished in His sufferings. He accomplished the complete
salvation of every single person He died for. Isn't that a wonderful
thing to testify of? That is what a pastor or an elder
testifies of. The sufferings of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the glory that shall be revealed. You see, we're going
to enter into His glory, being united to Him." Now that's what
we testify of. Now what does he say to the other
elders? Peter says, feed the flock of
God, and that is literally, be a shepherd to the flock of God
which is among you, taking the oversight thereof. Act as a shepherd
to the flock. Now what does a shepherd do?
A shepherd leads. Now, sheep follow. The shepherd
leads. Now goats don't follow. You got
to drive goats. But a shepherd leads. He leads by example. He feeds with the gospel. You
know, doesn't it do you good just to hear, just for a few
minutes, about the Sufferings of Christ. It rejoices. It's
good food. It rejoices your heart. That's
food. He protects the flock from wolves. And he goes after a straying
sheep. Feed the flock of God. Now he
says to the... Feed the flock of God which is
among you, taking the oversight thereof. And that's where we
get the word bishop from or overseer. You watch out. Taking the oversight
thereof. What is this thing of taking
the oversight? But let me turn to Hebrews chapter
13 for a moment. Keep your finger there in 1 Peter
chapter 5. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. You
know, I was trying to think about this.
If I'm going in a way that's contrary to the Lord Jesus Christ,
I want somebody to bring me back in, don't you? I want that. Now look in Hebrews chapter 13,
verse 17. Obey them that have the rule
over you. And that word obey is literally
be persuaded. Be persuaded. And I like that
word better, don't you? Be persuaded. You know, when
I'm preaching, I'm persuading you to believe. I'm persuading
you to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Persuade them that are
your guides, is literally what my marginal reasoning says. Be
persuaded by them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves. Yield yourselves to them, if
they're preaching the gospel, for they watch for your souls
as they that must give an account, that they may do it with joy
and not with grief. So that's unprofitable for you.
I think of in preaching the gospel to so many of you, there's such
joy. So there's a joy rejoicing in the gospel. And with some
there's grief. And he said that's not profitable
for you. So in taking the oversight, that's what you're doing, you're
watching for their souls. Now turn back to 1 Peter chapter
5. Taking the oversight there, verse
2, not by constraint. Not because you have to, because
it's your job, because it's your duty, but willingly. Not for
filthy lucre, not for a paycheck. Somebody said to me recently,
they knew I was a preacher, and they were a preacher, and they
said, well, people of our profession, I just, I just grit my teeth. It's not
a profession. It's not a profession. This is
a calling. I'm not doing this for a paycheck. If I'm doing
this for a paycheck, get rid of me. It's a calling. Not for filthy lucre. but of
a ready mind, a willing, eager mind. Verse 3, neither as being
lords over God's heritage. That means not being a dictator,
not trying to force obedience, not trying to manipulate people.
You better do this. I'm the pastor. I'm going to
put you under church discipline. You better obey." That kind of
stuff is foolishness. That's not what a preacher is.
If a preacher preaches that way, God never called him to preach.
He's not a dictator, not a lord over God's heritage, trying to
push people and prod people and get things out of people. That's
not what a preacher is. That's not what a pastor is.
Not being a lord over God's heritage, but being an example to the flock. Be one that they can follow your
lead. Now turn to 2nd Timothy chapter
3. Verse 10. Paul says to Timothy,
but thou hast fully known, and my marginal reading says you've
been a follower. You've been a follower. You've
been a diligent follower. of my doctrine, my manner of
life, my purpose, my faith, my long-suffering, my charity, my
patience, my persecutions and afflictions which came unto me."
Now, think of those things, each one of those things. He says,
you've been a follower of me in those things. First, you've
been a follower of me in the doctrine. The doctrine of Christ,
the doctrine of grace, the doctrine of the gospel, the doctrine that
gives God all the glory and none to man, the doctrine that says
Christ is all in salvation, salvation is all of grace, and you're complete
in Christ. That's the doctrine of Christ.
You followed me in that. You've been a diligent follower
of me in that. And then the next thing he says, and this is just
as important, in my manner of life. Hold your finger there
and turn to Acts 20. Verse 17, And from Miletus he
sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when
they were come to him, he said unto them, You know from the
first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I've been with
you. Remember the manner of life? After what manner I've been with
you at all seasons, serving the Lord. And there's only one way
you can serve Him, with all humility of mind. Not cocky and arrogant
and cocksure, but with all humility of mind, knowing that you're
a sinner needing the Savior. And with many tears and temptations
which befell me by the lying weight of the Jews, and how I
kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you,
and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying
both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God, a change of mind regarding what you think about God, and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in
the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall
befall me there, say that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every
city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things
move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might
finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received
of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God,
and to the manner of his life." Now back to 2 Timothy chapter
3, You've known my purpose. You can be a follower of my purpose.
Now, if I'm a God-called preacher, my purpose is His glory. My purpose
is to preach the gospel to you, to tell you the truth. My purpose
is to see God's elect brought in. My purpose is to see God's
people rejoice in the gospel. and continue in the gospel. That's,
you've known my purpose. What's a preacher's purpose?
What's he say next? You've known my faith. You've
known what I believe, and you can believe me. You can follow
me in my faith. Paul said, follow me as I follow
Christ. You've known my faith. You've
known, next he says, you've known my long-suffering. Now, what
is long-suffering? Patience, putting up with people
in the face of provocation. It's forbearing people in love
no matter what. And what is... if you love somebody,
you'll be long-suffering with them, won't you? If you love
somebody, you will be long-suffering with them. You'll put up with
so much. And then you said, you've known
my charity, my love to God, to His Word, to His people, to all
men. You've known that. You've seen that. You've known
my charity. You've known my patience. Patience
has to do with your attitude toward God. He's on the throne.
I'll wait and see what he does. He's on the throne. He's in control.
Whatever he does is right. You've known my patience. And
then he says, you've known my persecutions and afflictions.
In other words, when you preach the gospel, it made unbelievers
mad. They didn't like it. They persecuted you for it. Now,
Paul says, follow me. Follow me. Now, let's go back
to our text in 2 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 5. neither as being lords over God's
heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief
shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that
fades not away. Likewise, you younger, submit
yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you, be subject one
to another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the
proud and gives grace to the humble. Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5. This is the first time I've ever
examined this passage of Scripture very much. I've read it many
times, but I've... This is in verse 12. And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the
Lord. and admonish you, and to esteem
them very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at
peace among yourself. Know them which labor among you.
The ministry is a labor, and if it's not a labor, the Lord's
not in it. Know them that labor among you, and are over you in
the Lord, that are your guides that stand before you. That's
the same word that's translated rule, that are your guides. And
look at this next word, and admonish you. They admonish you. And this is part of what preaching
is, it's admonishing. Now what does that word mean,
admonishing? The word means put them in mind,
warn them, tell them the things that are wrong. Now, preaching
is positive, It's positive. I mean, it's a positive message,
but there's also a lot of negatives in preaching. And if you read
the Scripture, read the Scripture. I've been reading through Jeremiah
the last couple of weeks. Man, he didn't have anything
good to say to those people. I mean, he was always just...
he was admonishing them, showing them what's wrong, showing them
the error, showing them the error of their ways. That's what admonishing
is. It's like this. Remember what Paul said, all
scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for
doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. You know what correction is? An airplane has an arc that it's going to
fly up, land here. And the whole time that that
plane is flying, it starts getting off. It gets pushed by the wind,
it starts going in the wrong direction, and it continually
has to be corrected. And you and I continually have
to be corrected. That's what admonishing is. And
that's what the preaching of the gospel is for. We need corrected. We're continually going to veer
off, off Christ, off the... going the wrong direction. We're
flash, we're sheep, we're dumb sheep. Sheep stray. And we need the Lord to admonish
us and bring us back on the ark. Be persuaded by those that are
your guides. Now this is what those who rule
well do. They stand before you. They labor
in the Word, in doctrine. They preach the Gospel. They
tread out the corn. They shepherd God's flock. They
take the oversight. They do this willingly, not for
a paycheck, not for filthy lucre, They are not dictators, they
admonish and they persuade. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 9, Now that he ascended,
what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of
the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended
up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And
he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers, or a pastor-teacher, for the
perfecting, the maturing of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying, the building up of the body of Christ, till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ, that we be henceforth no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
wind of doctrine by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness
whereby they lay on weight to deceive. But speaking the truth
in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head,
even Christ, from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and
compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the
effects for working in the measure of every part, maketh increase
of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Now that
is what the preacher is to do. And that's the gift of God to
the church. Now, what should my attitude be toward those who
rule well? Now, it's got to be ruling well.
It's got to be ruling well. But what should my attitude be
toward those who rule well? We'll turn back to 1 Thessalonians
5. First he says, we beseech you
brethren to know them. Know them. I want to know them. I want to
love them. I want to know them. I want them
to know me. We beseech you to know them. which labor among
you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you." And
next he says, "...and to esteem them very highly in love for
their work's sake." Esteem them very highly in love for their
work's sake. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13, verse
7. Verse 7, Remember them. Don't forgive me. Pray for me. Remember me. Remember them which
have the rule over you. And that, once again, are your
guides, as my marginal reading says. Remember them that are
your guides, who have spoken unto you, The Word of God, not
their own word, not the word of men, but the Word of God,
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace. The gospel puts
the power of God into salvation. They've spoken unto you the Word
of God. And what's he say next? Whose
faith follow. Now let me tell you what my faith
is. I am relying on Christ alone
right now. That's my faith. I am relying
upon Jesus Christ to stand before me in judgment and say, I'm here. I'm relying on His righteousness,
His life as my only righteousness before God. This is my faith.
I'm relying on His precious blood as having put away my sins without
any works or contribution from me. He did it all. I'm relying
on Him right now as standing before the Father, representing
me before God. That's my faith. Follow that
faith. That's safe. What I told you right now, that's
a safe place to be. That's a secure place to be.
Whose faith? Follow. Consider it. considering, giving thought to
the end, the goal of their conversation. You know what the goal of every
true preacher's conversation and the goal of every believer's
conversation is? Jesus Christ the same. Yesterday,
today, and forever. Look in verse 17 of the same
chapter. Obey them. Be persuaded by them
that have the rule over you. And submit yourself, yield yourself. If they're ruling well, submit
yourself to them. If they're not ruling well, don't
do it. Go somewhere else. But if they're ruling well, submit
yourself to them. 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 unto you." Turn back to our text in 1 Timothy
chapter 5. 18, the Scripture says, Thou shalt
not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the laborer
is worthy of his reward. Now, against an elder, receive
not an accusation. Here's what you can do for your
elder. Against an elder, receive not an accusation. Man, I've seen this so much. When men start going wrong in
their lives, they always start becoming real critical of the
preacher. I've seen it. It happens to me. It's happened
to any true God-called preacher. Now, if you want to find a reason
to criticize me, there's plenty of them. I have no doubt about
that. If anyone wants to criticize me, man, I'm sorry. You have plenty of reasons to
do it. But that's not what love does,
is it? That's not what love does. Against
an elder, receive not an accusation." Somebody accuses the preacher
of something, don't receive it. Don't receive it. And notice
how he says, and this has something to do with something that takes
place publicly. Against an elder, receive not
an accusation. And this is talking about actually
almost like going to court, but before two or three witnesses.
Now, if two or three witnesses can testify, he's preaching false
doctrine. I've heard him do it. Or he has
some kind of scandalous way of living that is just totally contrary
to the gospel and bringing reproach on the gospel. If two or three
witnesses can vouch to that, well, What does he say in verse
20? Them that sin, them that are
guilty, rebuke before all, rebuke publicly. You know, I used to
look at that passage of Scripture, it used to scare me to death.
Them that sin, rebuke before all that others may fear. Because
it almost seems like, well, you mean, you just want to make somebody
too embarrassed in their life and that way they'll not sin
because of the public humiliation that will take place? Anything that takes. But that's not really what that
means. What that's talking about is if a preacher publicly sins
in his office, he's to be publicly rebuked, that others may fear
and not go in that wrong direction. But against an elder, receive
not an accusation. Don't do it. Defend him. Protect
him. Don't listen. Unless there's
two or three witnesses. Now how do I close this message?
Pray for me. Pray for me. I do have a difficult
responsibility and I will be a failure unless the Lord holds
me up and gives me grace. Now, I've heard preachers almost
present it like their life is more difficult than other people's.
I don't believe that for a second. My life's no more difficult than
yours. I have different responsibilities than you have, no doubt, but
my life's no more difficult. But the responsibility of being
a leader is just sermon preparation, trying to ask the Lord for a
message, staying fresh, staying preaching the word in the power
of the Holy Spirit, preaching to the same faces thousands of
times, you know, to me that's one of the most intimidating
things there is. I just think, man, he's got to be getting tired
of me. But the responsibility of that, pray that I'll be faithful
to the Lord, pray that I will be an elder that rules well,
Pray that I might be enabled to be a man after God's own heart
and a pastor after God's own heart. How many times did Paul
say, pray for me? Pray for us. And I covet your
prayers. I hope you call my name more
than once a day, every day, that the Lord would preserve me, and
keep me, and enable me to preach the gospel. And I know that that
will only be done through the prayers of God's people. Mark, you're getting ready to
move to, whenever you're able to, I don't know when it's going
to be, whenever you move up there, you're going to be a failure
unless the Lord preserves you, and keeps you, and enables you,
and you're going to have to have the prayers of the people there.
I mean, pray for us. Now, turn with me to Acts chapter
4. It's what we'll close with. Acts chapter 4. Verse 23, "...and being let go, they went
to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and
elders had said unto them," this is talking about Peter and John,
"...and when they had heard that," now I love to think of this,
you know, this was just a couple weeks after the resurrection
of Christ, "...and when they heard that, they lifted up their
voices to God, and said, well, not the resurrection, but the
ascension of Christ. He was alive for 40 days, and then this is
a couple of weeks after his ascension. And when they heard that, they
lifted up their voice to God with one accord. This is what
the church did. And they said, Lord, Thou art God, which has
made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.
who by the mouth of thy servant David had said, Why did the heathen
rage? And the people imagined vain
things. The kings of the earth stood up. The rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against His Christ. For the truth
against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, and the people
of Israel were gathered together for to do." whatsoever thy hand
and thy counsel determined before to be done." Churches always
believe that, haven't they? I mean, these were young believers
saying this. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings
and get them out of this mess. No. Grant unto thy servants that
with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth
thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done
by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed,
the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the
Word of God with boldness." The prayer was answered, wasn't it?
They spake the Word of God with boldness. I ask you to pray for
me, that I might be an elder that rules well, and that I might
speak the Word of God with boldness. And the Lord will answer that
prayer. Let's pray together.