Hebrews 13:7

HOW TO TREAT GOD’S GIFT TO THE CHURCH

Intro:  Place a finger at Hebrews 13 and turn your Bibles to Ephesians 4:7-15.  According to verse 11, your Pastor is God’s gift to this church!  There may be times when you will think you have received the “booby prize,” but you haven’t.  He has been given to you to strengthen your spiritual life and to help you grow into maturity as a believer.  He has been sent here to encourage you, to feed you, to lead you and instruct you in the business of God.  If he walks with the Lord as he should, he will be equipped by the Holy Spirit to effectively carry out his duties, and he will be a blessing to this church and in your personal walk with the Lord.

      My assignment this evening, however, is not to preach about what God requires from Brother Jason.  My assignment is to preach about what God expects from you as individuals and from this church body in your relationship to your Pastor.

      Just as Brother Jason has certain responsibilities to you as the Pastor of this church, you also have some responsibilities toward him that you need to discharge.  I have read just one verse of Scripture this afternoon, but from that verse, I would like to share some thoughts about God’s expectations in your relationship to God’s gift.  If I may, while we have this time together, I would like to speak to you on this thought: How To Treat God’s Gift To The Church. There are three thoughts in this verse that I would like to point out this evening.

 

  I.                 THERE IS A WORD ABOUT REMEMBERING

(Ill. The church is commanded to “remember.”  The word “remember” has the following meanings, “To be mindful of; To keep in mind; To think of and feel for a person; To make mention of.”  Let’s take a moment to consider what it means for the church to “remember” the Pastor.)

A.  Speaks Of Consideration – “to be mindful of, to keep in mind” – This has the idea of “being thoughtful.”  This is a call for God’s people to be considerate of their Pastor.  God did not send this man here to be at your beck and call.  He sent him here to feed your souls and to lead you deeper in the things of God.

            I would challenge you to be considerate of his time.  Give him time for his family.  Give him time for prayer and for the study of the Word of God.  Be sure to take the time to speak a word of encouragement to him.  Far too many churches forget the load that their Pastor carries; far too few realize just how heavy that load really is!  There will be nights when Brother Jason will wet his pillow with tears because of his burden for you.  There will be times when he will be away from his family because he loves you.  There will be times when he will shoulder your burdens and carry them to the throne of grace and do spiritual battle on your behalf. All I am saying is be thoughtful to your Pastor!

            When he makes a mistake, forgive him.  When he falls, help him get back up again.  Remember that he is God’s man, but that he is still a man.  If you will learn to carry your Pastor in your heart, God will bless his ministry here.

B.  Speaks Of Compassion – “to think of and to feel for a person” – This has the idea of simple human “kindness.”  Learn to treat your Pastor like you would want to be treated.  Take care of him.  Supply his needs, after all that is God’s command to the church, 1 Tim. 5:17; Gal. 6:6.  Come by him with a word of encouragement every now and then.  Let him know you love him and are standing with him in the battle.  Be a friend to the man of God!  Have a heart for what your Pastor faces and remember that very often, his load will be heavier than your load.  Why? Because he carries his burdens and he carries yours as well.  So, when you think of Brother Jason and his family and when you are around him, always show him kindness.  God will honor your efforts to be a friend to the man of God.

C.  Speaks Of Conversation – “to make mention of” – This is a call to the church to lift of the man of God in prayer.  One of the greatest gifts you can give to your pastor is the gift of your consistent, constant, heart-felt prayers.  Brother Jason is embarking on the greatest undertaking of his life.  Being the Pastor of a Baptist church is a responsibility greater than any man can bear alone.  He needs you to stand with him and to hold up his hands in prayer.  Just as Aaron and Hur stood with Moses, held up his hands and thus enabled him to minister to all the people, those who sacrifice their time in prayer for their Pastor enable him to be a better servant of the Lord and the Lord’s people.

            If you pray for him, you will reap the benefit through his ministry of the Word of God.  He will be empowered and God will use him to lead, feed and bless your church, your family and your life.  You should certainly take care of the financial and material needs of your Pastor, but you must take the time to pray for him!  Get in that closet and lift up his name in prayer.  God will honor that kind of sacrifice.

      (Note: Every duty in this church should not rest upon the Pastor’s shoulders.  Get under the load of this work with him and the Lord will accomplish great things.  Leave it all on the Pastor and nothing much will be accomplished!  Your Pastor’s primary duty centers around prayer and the proclamation of the Word of God, Acts 6:1-7.  you would do well here to allow him the liberty to be who God called him to be, instead of burdening him down with duties that others could do just as well.  There must be a sharing of the load if the work is to be done right and effectively.)

 

 II.                     THERE IS A WORD ABOUT RULING

(Ill. The word “rule” had to do with “leadership.”  It speaks of the authority God has placed in the office of Pastor.  A lot of people have trouble with pastoral authority, because of preachers who have abused the office, 1 Pet. 5:1-4.  The author of Hebrews is not referring to the pastor as a dictator, but as one who has been placed in a position of leadership and authority. 

      By the way, the phrase “have the rule over you” is in the passive voice.  This means that these rulers are not in their positions by personal choice, but by the call and will of God.  And, the phrase “who have spoken unto you the word of God,” qualifies who the writer is talking about.  He is referring to the men of God who preach the Word to God’s people in the office of Pastor! Allow me to take that and share a couple of thoughts that come to mind.)

A.  Speaks Of A Rank – Nature teaches us that living organisms only have one head.  When an animal is born with two heads, it is called a “freak” and is an anomaly.  The church of Jesus Christ is a living organism.  As such, it can only have one head, and the head of the church is the Lord Jesus, Eph. 5:23.  Jesus rules His church through His Word and through His Spirit.  However, in the church, there is to be order and part of that order requires that there be a leader in the local church.  That leader is the Pastor.

            Friends, God did not place the authority for leading this church in the hands of the “Board of Deacons.”  He placed it is the Pastor.  He did not place it in the hands of the leader of the Women’s Auxiliary; He placed it in the office of the Pastor.  There can only be one leader in this church and that leader is to be the man of God, the Pastor!  Your duty is to fall in line behind him and follow him as he follows the Lord.  It is his commission to lead; it is your command to follow.

            Again, I am not advocating a dictatorship with the Pastor as the head.  I am saying the God will lead this church through the man of God.  As your Pastor, he deserves respectful obedience and he opens the Word of God and seeks to lead you into the green pastures of God’s perfect will.  Fall in line with God’s man and God’s plan and God will bless it!

B.  Speaks Of A Relationship – I know that Brother Jason has been in this church for some time.  However, your relationship to him has forever been altered.  He has been placed in a position of authority over you.  He has been placed in an office that should be honored and respected by others in the church, 1 Thes. 5:12-13. The phrase, “to esteem them very highly,” means they are “to be held in the highest regard.”

            Respect is something that cannot be demanded.  It is something that is earned over time.  However, there is a certain amount of respect attached to the office of Pastor.  As time goes forward, Brother Jason will earn your respect through the sermons he will preach and the ministry he will render.  In fact, I think he has already earned the respect of many here, or he would have never been called to be the Pastor of Rustic Hills Baptist Church.

            Be that as it may, he is to be respected for the office he holds.  Your relationship to this man has forever changed!  He is no longer just “Jason.”  He is the man of God!  He is the Pastor and he is to be respected as such.  Teach your children to address him properly.  Discipline yourself to treat him as the Pastor.  Never be guilty of acting like he is still just “one of the guys,” because he isn’t!  Again, we are not talking about honoring and exalting a man, we are talking about honoring an office.  Your relationship to your Pastor should be one of respect.

C.  Speaks Of A Reality – Since God has placed him in this position, he has a duty to tell you the truth, 2 Tim. 4:2.  There will be times when your Pastor will have to address hard issues and he will probably plow your life hard and deep.  When the Word of God comes your way, remember that your Pastor loves you, that he has a burden for you and that his goal is to help you grow in the Lord.  Your duty as a church is to gather around the preaching of the Word of God and to respond in humble obedience to that word when it is preached to you.

            Sometimes the word will be sweet like honey, at other times it will cut like a knife.  However, it comes, remember that it comes from the mouth and heart of a man who loves you and has been sent by God to feed you and to lead you.  Get behind the man of God; follow him and the Word he preaches.  God will honor that kind of attitude!

 

 

III.                THERE IS A WORD ABOUT RESPONDING

(Ill. The author is probably writing about leaders in the early church, such as the Apostles and others, who have already passed away or were martyred for their faith.  The readers are challenged to consider the way they lived, the convictions they held and the example they left behind; and they are called to get in line behind them and live like they lived, do what they did and go after them faithfully to death.

      You are blessed this evening in that your Pastor is still here.  The writer of Hebrews tells us how we are to respond to the man God has given us to be the Pastor of the church.)

 

A.  Speaks Of An Examination – “whose faith follow” – Before you can follow a man, you must look at his walk.  This is not a call to criticism or to a judgmental attitude regarding your Pastor.  If you look too closely at any man’s life you will find many areas of fault and failure. 

      This is a call for the church to look at their Pastor.  The church should watch him as he walks with God by faith.  The church needs to observe the convictions that grip his heart.  You should understand the fact that he carries you in his heart, Heb. 13:17.  See the depth of his convictions; the reality of his walk with God; the commitment he demonstrates; the faithfulness that characterizes his life and burden he carries for the church and for the Lord.  See these things and know that he is God’s man; that he is worthy to be followed; and that he worthy of the respect due to the spiritual leader of this church.  Let his life serve as an example for your own walk with the Lord.

B.  Speaks Of An Emulation – “whose faith follow” – You are to watch the way your Pastor lives.  You are to watch him as he walks with God, so that his life can serve as a pattern for your own walk with the Lord.  You are not to watch him so you can judge him.  You are not to examine his life so that you can find fault with him and criticize him, but you are to observe faith as it is lived out in his life and follow his example of dedication, faith and service for the glory of God.

            This sounds like we are exalting the life of a man, but this was the council of Paul.  Three times, 1 Cor. 4:16; 1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 3:17; Paul told his readers to “be ye followers of me.”  Paul knew that he was living the life and walking with the Lord and that his example could be followed.  Brother Jason’s challenge is to live that kind of life as well.  Your duty is to get behind the man of God and follow him for the glory of God.

 

Conc:  Church, God has honored you greatly!  He has given you a Pastor.  He has given you a man of God.  He has given you someone who will pray for you, who will love you, who will tell you the truth, who will carry you in his heart, who will serve you faithfully and who will do so much for you that only in eternity will you know the depth of his commitment to you.

      Here is my charge to you:

1.  Protect His Time - Give him opportunity to pray and study the Word.  Don’t expect him, his family or his home to be the center of entertainment for the community.  Every Pastor wants to be available when needed, but no spiritual man of God can afford to waste his time!

2.  Pray For Him Continually - Call his name out to the Father and God will fill him and use him.

3.  Pay Attention While He Preaches - The sermon is not the time to be fiddling with the checkbook, looking through the hymnal, cutting your toenails or taking a nap.  The man of God has labored long and hard to prepare the spiritual meal.  At least have the common decency to pay attention when he preaches!

4.  Provide For The Needs Of Your Pastor – God will bless the church that blesses the man of God.

      5.  Please The Lord Through Your Ministry To The Pastor – How?

·        Respect him for the office he holds.

·        Follow him as he follows the Lord.

·        Help him carry out the Lord’s work in this place.