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I'd invite you to take your 
Bibles and turn with me to the 

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New Testament book called 
Hebrews. 

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It's almost at the end of your 
Bibles, but not quite. 

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The page that we're going to be 
looking at today is printed for 

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you in the bulletin for the Red 
Bibles and the chairs around 

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you. 
We're going to be looking at 

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Hebrews chapter 13, verses 17 
through 19. 

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Now we've got a lot of visitors 
here today. 

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So let me just explain a little 
bit. 

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You are visiting on a day and 
jumping into a kind of a mini 

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series that we're doing here at 
Trinity. 

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We are in the process of 
launching some elder LED 

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shepherding groups in our in our
congregation. 

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And so as a result of that, 
we're taking last Sunday and 

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this Sunday before we jump back 
into our sermon series in the 

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book of Isaiah next Sunday to 
reflect on what shepherding is, 

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what it means, how, how it 
should be done, and those kinds 

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of things. 
Last Sunday we looked at first 

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Peter chapter 5, and there Peter
gave instructions to elders on 

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shepherding the sheep, the flock
of God, God's people. 

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Today we're looking at Hebrews 
chapter 13, verses 17 through 

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19, and there instructions are 
given not primarily to the 

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elders, but primarily to those 
who are being shepherded to 

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God's people, to the sheep, to 
God's people under their elders.

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So let's look and see what the 
author of Hebrews has to say. 

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Chapter 13, beginning in verse 
17. 

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Obey your leaders and submit to 
them, for they are keeping watch

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over your souls as those who 
will have to give an account. 

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Let them do this with joy and 
not with groaning, for that 

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would be of no advantage to you.
Pray for us, for we are sure 

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that we have a clear conscience 
desiring to act honorably in all

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things. 
I urge you the more earnestly to

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do this in order that I may be 
restored to You the sooner. 

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Let's pray together. 
Father, we thank you so much for

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giving us this portion of Your 
word, and as we read it, we pray

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that You would help us to 
meditate on it for these next 

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moments. 
And that You would, through the 

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work of the Holy Spirit, open 
our eyes and our hearts and our 

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minds, that we might understand 
and believe and be changed by 

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what you have to say to us. 
From the book of Hebrews. 

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And we ask it in Jesus name, 
Amen. 

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If you were here last Sunday, 
you heard me start the sermon by

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saying there's no such thing as 
a perfect elder. 

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We could also say there's no 
such thing as a perfect church 

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member. 
It's interesting, and some of 

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you have experienced that first 
hand, whether here at Trinity or

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at other churches that you have 
been a part of. 

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It's interesting that one of the
most common descriptions of 

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God's people in the Bible is 
sheep. 

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That's God's choice in terms of 
using sheep as an illustration, 

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as a description of God's 
people. 

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Now, there are some positive 
connotations related to that 

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description, but not very many. 
Most of the connotations are 

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negative. 
Real life sheep tend to be dirty

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and dumb and mean. 
They can bite, and they're 

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almost entirely dependent on 
their shepherd so so that they 

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won't die. 
Why would the Lord pick sheep to

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describe his people? 
It's because He knows, like we 

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do, that there are no perfect 
church members we like. 

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Sheep go astray. 
God's people, His flock, His 

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sheep, exhibit many of the 
negative qualities of real life 

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sheep Often. 
And like real life sheep, we 

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need shepherds to help us and to
guide us. 

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Now, as we discussed last week, 
in the Lord's Providence, He 

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created a structure for the 
church to care for and to serve 

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His sheep. 
We saw last week the Lord raises

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up elders to be His under 
shepherds, to shepherd the sheep

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of God's people. 
And in his kindness, the Lord 

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provided instruction for what 
elders are to do and how they 

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are to do it. 
And we looked at that last week 

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in first Peter chapter 5. 
But today we also see that in 

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his kindness, the Lord provides 
instruction for church members 

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as well, how they are to respond
to their leaders. 

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So let's look at these verses 
and see what we're told about 

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how church members should 
respond to their leaders. 

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We'll see that he says that they
should obey them, and he tells 

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them what that means and why. 
And then he also says that they 

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should pray for them. 
So first of all, right at the 

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beginning of verse 17, we see 
what the author of Hebrew 

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Hebrews says is that they should
obey their leaders and submit to

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them. 
Now the writer of Hebrews picked

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a very unusual verb here for 
obey. 

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It's not the usual word we find 
for obey in the in the New 

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Testament. 
Now this verb does mean obey, 

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but it has a sense of being 
persuaded by of believing and 

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trusting. 
So this command that he's giving

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to obey the elders has a sense 
of obedience that is earned as 

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the elders are loving and and 
serving and shepherding. 

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Well, it is to persuade us to 
obey them. 

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The writer here is probably 
specifically thinking about and 

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referring to the teaching of the
elders. 

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As they're teaching, as they're,
as they're leading biblically, 

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as they're leading in a good and
healthy way, we are to be 

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persuaded to obey them. 
And it's not optional. 

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The verb here is an imperative. 
It's a command. 

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This is a we are to do this 
command. 

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But notice he also says that we 
should submit to our leaders. 

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It's another unusual verb that 
he uses. 

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It's used frequently in secular 
Greek, but only here in the in 

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the Bible is it used. 
It has the sense of regular 

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readiness to comply with someone
who is in authority over us. 

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And that's not optional either. 
This is another imperative. 

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That's another command God's 
people are to obey and be in 

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submission to their elders, to 
their leaders. 

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Now obviously this is talking 
about obeying and submitting to 

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elders who are loving and 
serving and shepherding 

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according to the Lord's word and
will. 

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We are to follow our elders as 
they are faithfully following 

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Jesus. 
This is not talking about 

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obeying and submitting to elders
who are abusive or who use the 

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authority that has been given to
them by Jesus to harm the sheep,

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or who are teaching unbiblical 
things, or who are serving for 

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their own selfish gain. 
But when the elders are serving 

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the Lord according to His Word 
and according to His will, the 

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command for God's people is that
we to we are to obey and submit 

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to them. 
Now I want you to notice here we

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are given a number of reasons 
why this is the case. 

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In verse 17, the writer gives us
reasons for why the Lord's 

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people are to obey and submit. 
The first reason is in verse 17,

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just the word leaders. 
We have leaders because that's 

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how the Lord decided to 
structure His church. 

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He set up a system of government
for His people that involves 

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leaders, involves elders, and 
because God set it up that way, 

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we should abide by His plan. 
We should obey and submit 

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because this is the system that 
the Lord created for His church.

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Jesus died for His church, and 
then He kindly created a 

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structure for it to exist and 
flourish. 

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So we should obey and submit to 
His leadership through His 

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elders. 
A second reason is here is 

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implied here in our text, but 
it's given more directly in 

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Paul's letter to the Ephesians. 
Ephesians chapter 4, he says, 

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and Christ gave the apostles, 
the prophets, the evangelists, 

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the shepherds and teachers to 
equip the Saints for the work of

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ministry, for the building up of
the body of Christ. 

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We should obey and submit to our
leaders because their authority 

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isn't from them, it's from God 
himself. 

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It's from Jesus. 
Jesus is the one who has called 

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them, who has raised them up, 
and who has put them in the 

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place to lead. 
It's not by their own authority,

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but by the authority of Jesus. 
And so we should obey and submit

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to them because by doing so 
we're submitting to Jesus 

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authority through them. 
There's a third reason why we 

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should here in the middle of 
verse 17. 

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We should obey and submit to our
leaders because they are keeping

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watch over our souls. 
The writer says. 

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Now this word for soul that he 
uses has a sense of eternal 

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life. 
Our leaders are having the 

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responsibility to watch over our
souls, to watch over our 

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professions of faith, to watch 
over our salvation. 

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And even this word keeping watch
is interesting. 

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It has the sense of to lose 
sleep over. 

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The writer is saying that elders
are to keep watch over. 

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They are to lose sleep over the 
care and the needs and the 

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salvation of the sheep. 
And if someone cares for and 

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loves us that much, we should 
follow them. 

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We should obey and submit to 
them. 

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A fourth reason why we should is
also in the middle of verse 17. 

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We should obey and submit to our
leaders because they will have 

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to give an account to the Lord. 
One day. 

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They will stand before the Lord 
to give an account of their 

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shepherding and their leading of
the sheep. 

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That's part of the reason why 
they keep watch over the sheep, 

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because they know that they're 
going to have to give an account

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one day. 
And we want them to be 

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commended, commended for their 
work and their service and their

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care. 
So we should obey and submit to 

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them as they are teaching and 
leading us. 

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Well, there's a fifth reason why
we should. 

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Toward the end of verse 17, the 
writer says we should obey and 

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submit to our leaders because it
will it will bring them joy to 

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not follow and to not learn from
and obey our leaders who are 

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serving the Lord well in their 
leading and shepherding can 

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become a great burden to the 
leaders, can become a heaviness.

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It can weigh our leaders down. 
It can lead them to burning 

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themselves out, but to obey 
them, to submit to them, to 

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follow them, to listen to their 
teaching can bring joy. 

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It encourages them. 
It sustains them. 

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It spurs them on to greater 
service and love for the sheep. 

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Now, after Sunday school today, 
one of the elders in the first 

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service who heard the sermon 
brought to my attention that 

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there is a way that you might 
misunderstand what I just said. 

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Our elders don't want you not to
bring the burdens that you have 

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to them because you feel like 
you'll be burdening them. 

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You, you won't steal their joy 
by sharing the pain and the 

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difficulties that you're having 
in your life. 

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They want you to bring those 
things to them. 

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But this first, I think in 
particular is talking about how 

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we are living among our elders. 
Are we living our lives in such 

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a way that we're bringing them 
joy or causing them to groan? 

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That's obeying them and 
submitting to them in a good way

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will bring them joy, the writer 
says. 

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And there's a 6th and final 
reason, and that's at the end of

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verse 17. 
To not obey, to not submit to 

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our leaders, to burden them 
rather than to bring them joy, 

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he says. 
That's of no advantage to anyone

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in the church. 
Our elders shepherding and 

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leading with joy and 
encouragement and unity and 

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peace. 
That is a great blessing for all

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of the sheep. 
So for all of these reasons and 

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for more, we are called as God's
people, as God's sheep, to obey 

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our leaders and to submit to our
leaders as they are loving and 

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serving and shepherding 
according to the Word and 

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according to the will of the 
Lord. 

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Now it makes a lot of sense. 
I think given the high calling 

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and the responsibilities of the 
elders, it makes sense that the 

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writer in the very next verse 
would call for prayer. 

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See what he says there in verse 
18 after he talks about obeying 

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leaders and submitting to them 
and all of the things that 

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elders are going to have to do. 
He says pray for us in verse 18,

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for we are sure that we have a 
clear conscience desiring to act

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honourably in all things. 
I urge you the more earnestly to

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do this in order that I may be 
restored to you the sooner. 

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This is another thing that God's
people are to do for their 

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leaders. 
They are, you are. 

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We are to pray for our elders. 
Now, the writer says these 

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leaders are sure they have a 
clear conscience that they are 

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leading according to how the 
Lord wants. 

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And he says they want to act 
honorably in all the ways that 

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they lead and shepherd and care 
for the sheep. 

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So they need the prayers of 
God's people. 

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It is a high and challenging 
calling to be a shepherd of the 

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sheep. 
It can be difficult to be in the

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lives of God's people and to 
care for them. 

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It can be exciting and 
encourage, encouraging but also 

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wearying to see how God is at 
work in their lives. 

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It can be heavy to know and to 
carry the burdens of the sheep. 

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So pray for them. 
Pray for the under shepherds. 

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Do you pray for your elders? 
They want you to, they need you 

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to, they expect you to. 
And for the elders of this 

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church, you can find them all 
listed on the back of your 

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bulletins every Sunday. 
We have all of the elders listed

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there. 
Now we have 3 elders who are 

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listed as emeritus. 
Now, it doesn't exactly mean 

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this, but emeritus kind of means
they're retired, right? 

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They have all the blessings and 
the privileges of being elders, 

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but none of the 
responsibilities. 

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The other elders that you see 
listed on the back of the 

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bulletin are on the session or 
on sabbatical. 

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Those are the elders who are 
leading the shepherding groups. 

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What are some ways that you 
could remind yourself to pray 

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for them? 
Well, you could put the 

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bulletin, the back of the 
bulletin on your bedside table, 

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and each night before you go to 
sleep, you could pray for one of

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the elders. 
Or you could put the bulletin in

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your car and each day you're 
driving somewhere to the store 

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or to school or to to work, you 
could pray for one of the 

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elders. 
You could put a recurring 

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reminder on your calendar that 
pops up regularly, reminds you 

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to pray for your elders. 
You could put the bulletin in 

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the refrigerator and every time 
you open the refrigerator to 

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take something out, you could be
reminded to pray for one of your

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elders students. 
You could take the bulletin to 

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school and put it in your 
locker, and each day when you 

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first open your locker, you 
could pray for one of your 

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elders. 
Or if you don't have a locker, 

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you could put the bullets in 
with your school books to remind

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you to pray for them as a 
family. 

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You could pray for an elder a 
couple times a week when you sit

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down to eat dinner. 
There are all kinds of different

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ways that you can remind 
yourself to pray for your elders

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and you can think of even more. 
What are some things that you 

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can pray about for them? 
You could pray for their 

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faithfulness and their calling 
to shepherd the sheep. 

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You could pray that they 
wouldn't abuse the authority 

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that's been given to them by 
Jesus. 

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You could pray for them to have 
a great measure of wisdom and 

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discernment. 
You could pray for them to have 

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a lot of compassion and care and
gentleness toward the sheep. 

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You could pray that they 
wouldn't become cynical or 

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impatient or angry. 
You can pray for them to have 

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strength to persevere in their 
calling to shepherd the sheep. 

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00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:10,640
You could pray for them to have 
wisdom not just about 

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shepherding the sheep, but in 
things like adding on to our 

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building, planting a church, 
what should be preached and 

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taught on Sunday mornings, 
overseeing our Sunday school 

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program for our children. 
You could pray for the elders 

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themselves that they would have 
a great sense of unity with one 

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00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,520
another, love for one another. 
You could pray that they would 

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have great joy and encouragement
as in their work as an elder. 

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00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,360
You could pray that they would 
preach and teach God's Word 

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faithfully according to what the
word says. 

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00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:46,040
You can pray that they would 
grow in their relationship with 

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Jesus and living holy lives. 
Godly examples. 

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00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:57,080
Or you could just ask them. 
You could contact an elder and 

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ask them how you can be praying 
for them, what specific things 

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00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:05,800
they would like for you to pray 
about, and one other final thing

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00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,040
that you could be praying for 
that's related for the Lord to 

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raise up more men to be elders 
in the future. 

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00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:14,280
Right now, each of our elders 
who has a shepherding group has 

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about 15 family units in each 
group. 

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00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,400
Realistically, that's the Max it
should be. 

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00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,640
Ideally it should be 11:50. 
If the Lord were to raise up 

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00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,160
additional elders, it would 
lighten the load for everyone. 

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00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:31,080
So you can pray for the Lord to 
raise up new elders. 

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00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:36,600
Last week in first Peter chapter
5, Peter told us about what 

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under shepherds, what elders are
to do. 

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00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:42,320
He said they are to shepherd the
sheep of God under their care. 

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00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:45,600
He said that they are to 
remember that they're not their 

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00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,720
sheep, that they're God's sheep,
God's flock, God's people. 

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They belong to Him and they are 
just under shepherds of the 

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Chief Shepherd, Jesus. 
He told the elders that they are

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00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,240
to exercise oversight, not being
compelled but doing so 

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00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:04,040
willingly, not doing so for 
shameful gain, but eagerly, not 

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00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,560
domineering but being examples 
for the flock. 

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00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,840
And all of it was to be clothed 
in humility. 

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00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,400
And he reminded them that their 
motivation was a crown of glory 

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00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,640
that they would receive when 
Jesus returned. 

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00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:21,200
A crown of glory they would get 
because Jesus wore a crown of 

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00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,640
thorns for them. 
Today we see the writer to the 

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Hebrews showing us how God's 
people are to respond to their 

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00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,720
elders. 
He says obey and submit to them 

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00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,200
as they are following Jesus and 
leading as Jesus taught. 

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00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,600
And why? 
Well, because the Lord 

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00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,520
structured his church that way 
with elders. 

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00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,960
That was his plan. 
They have given, they've been 

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00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,960
given authority from Jesus 
himself. 

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They are keeping watch over your
souls. 

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00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,760
They they have to give an 
account one day to Jesus about 

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00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:57,720
how they have done because it 
will bring joy to them rather 

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00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,080
than groaning, and to not do so 
would be of no advantage to any 

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00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,240
of us. 
We are to obey and submit to our

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00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,120
leaders and we are to pray for 
them. 

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00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:13,560
We are to pray for them often 
and regularly. 

324
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:22,800
Let's pray together. 
Father, we thank you for these 

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00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,640
two weeks when we can reflect on
the idea of shepherding this 

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00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,560
incredible motif that runs 
throughout the Scriptures. 

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00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,720
And what a humbling idea it is 
that you have set up your church

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00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,760
in such a way that under 
shepherds are to to care for 

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00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:40,440
your sheep, your flock, your 
people. 

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00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:45,040
We thank you, Father, that you 
have loved the church. 

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00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,840
You've loved the church so much 
that you sent your Son, our 

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00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,520
Savior, the Lord Jesus, to die 
for her. 

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00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,680
And in your Providence, you have
set up the structure of the 

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00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,160
church and called men to be 
elders, leaders of the church. 

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00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,560
I thank you for the ones who 
have served and are serving as 

336
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:04,160
elders in our congregation 
today. 

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00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:06,960
We thank you for their 
faithfulness and the ways that 

338
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,440
they exhibit so many of the 
qualities we've already talked 

339
00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:11,600
about. 
We pray that you would be with 

340
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,000
them, that you would strengthen 
them, that you would help them 

341
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,200
not to grow weary. 
And, and what they are doing 

342
00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,760
that you would strengthen their 
faith and their relationship 

343
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:25,160
with you, that you would bring 
them joy as they seek to serve 

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00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,720
you and to serve the people that
you've called to be a part of 

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00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:32,440
this church family. 
We thank you for them and we 

346
00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,560
pray you would sustain them. 
Help us, Father, to treat them 

347
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,160
well. 
Help us as they are leading us 

348
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,200
to Jesus. 
Help us to obey and submit to 

349
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,920
them. 
And Father, help us to be 

350
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,280
reminded to pray for them. 
We know that prayer accomplishes

351
00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,200
your purposes and will. 
And so we pray that you would 

352
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:54,520
help us to remember to pray for 
them, Bring them to our minds 

353
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,720
regularly. 
Help us to lift our voices up, 

354
00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:01,800
lift their names up that you 
would sustain and encourage 

355
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:03,960
them. 
All this we pray in Jesus name, 

356
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:04,960
Amen.