A tremendous hymn. Now our Bible reading this
morning is taken from First Thessalonians chapter 5.
I'm going to read from verse 12 to the end.
OK, First Thessalonians chapter 5 reading from verse 12 to the
end. Let's hear the word of God,
reading of course from the King James Bible, First Corinth,
First Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 12.
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour 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 yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren,
warn them that are unruly. Comfort the feeble minded,
support the weak, Be patient toward all men.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever
follow that which is good both among yourselves and to all men.
Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and everything give
thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. Quench not the Spirit, despise
not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast that which is
good, abstain from all appearance of evil, and the very
God of peace. Sanctify you holy.
And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it.
Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an
holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that
this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, and we
know that God will stamp with his own approval and blessing
this reading of His own precious and infallible Word.
Now this morning we are continuing with our series of
expository sermons in First Thessalonians, and my text today
is First Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 12 and 13.
Let's read it together, and we beseech your brethren to know
them that labour 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 yourselves.
Now I have entitled this message The Spirituality of Leadership
in Christ Church. The closing portion of First
Thessalonians contains a series of short but powerful
exhortations for the life of Christ, Church and the Apostle
Paul having written at length about the personal, visible,
bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ of this earth, which, of
course, is the great hope of all true believers everywhere of the
out the world. Having written about that, he
now turns his attention to the practical matters concerning how
the church is to live together in this present age.
Remember, the congregation in Theftnanenka was a very young
church, three to six months old. It had been planted in the midst
of persecution and much opposition.
These believers were facing much hardship.
Some had suffered imprisonment, some were even put to death for
their faith. And now they're learning what it
really means to be a child of God and in fellowship with the
people of God. They're conscious now they live
in the midst of a hostile, Christless world.
And in such circumstances, some of the greatest needs in the
church was the need for peace, the need for order, the need for
stability, and the need for faithful leadership.
So here's Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
and he addresses the very practical matter of the
relationship between the congregation and those whom God
has placed in leadership over them.
Look with me at our text, First Thessalonians 5, verses 12 and
13. Listen again to the words and we
beseech your brethren to know them, which labour among you and
are over you and the Lord that admonish you and esteem them
very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace
among yourselves. These two verses, and it's easy
to skip over them. They reinforce the subject
matter of spirituality of leadership in Christchurch.
Now I want you to look at the text very carefully.
I want you to think first of all of the reality of spiritual
leadership in Christchurch and that that's a conjunction.
So it's linking up what he's previously said.
And we beseech that's a strong word to encourage and exhort.
Notice this and we beseech your brethren.
So he's writing to born again believers.
And what's he beseeched them about?
To know them, which labour among you, and are over you and the
Lord, And at monish you notice the three things to know them,
which labour among you, and are over you and the Lord, and at
monish you. Now on the surface, what does
that mean? What does that say to you?
It means this, that Christ as the head of the church has
established a structure of government over his church in
order for peace, in order for order, stability and harmony in
the church. You see, there's not to be
anarchy in the church, but there has to be an acceptance of
authority. There's not to be chaos in the
church, but there has to be council, consideration, and
compassionate care. And these verses, I believe,
speak directly to the life of a Presbyterian Church because we
believe that Christ governs his church.
In what way does he govern the church?
As the sole head and only king of the church.
He governs the church through the ministry of the Word.
You've got to think about the absolute authority of the Word
of God, the final arbiter to do with creed and conduct.
The final thought is what saith the Scriptures.
You see what God says, the Bible says, and what the Bible says,
God says and the. Dr. Ian Brown, he was preaching
yesterday in stanfast in the Faith Conference, emphasised the
absolute authority of the Scriptures in the church, and he
also governs his church. Listen to me carefully through
the eldership of the church, those whom God has called to be
shepherds of his flock. Listen to what Paul said to
Timothy, First Timothy 5 and 17. Let the elders that rule well be
counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in
the word and doctrine. Now the Westminster Confession
of Faith in chapter 25 reminds us that Christ has given the
ministry, the oracles and ordinances of God for the
gathering and the perfection of the Saints.
And in the form of Presbyterian government.
We believe that Christ exercises His rule not only as the head of
the church, not only through the absolute authority of the Word
of God, but through the teaching and the ruling elders.
And that is exactly what 1st Thessalonians 5 verses 12 to 13
is teaching. It is teaching how you're
healthy spiritual relationship blossoms and develops and
manifests itself in the church. Here is how spiritual leaders
and the membership of the church should function.
Remember what he says in Ephesians chapter 4 and in verse
11 and 12. And he gave some apostles that's
to his church, and some prophets and some evangelists and some
pastors and teachers. What was the purpose for the
perfecting of the Saints, for the working of the ministry, and
for the edifying of the body of Christ?
Verse 13 says, 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.
What does text is teaching? Is this Christ appointed
spiritual leaders in his church? They have been appointed to
labour, to rule, to admonish, and the congregation is called
upon, every local congregation to recognise and respect and to
love and to labour and to follow the lead of the spiritual
leaders. They're to do this for Christ's
sake. They're to do this for the
harmony of the worship and the work and the witness and the
proclamation of the Word of God. And this is an order that peace
may flourish within the body of Christ.
The pursuit of peace must be fulfilled.
I have no doubt that the devil will seek to undermine and
destroy the peace of the church. Remember what Paul writing to
the church at Corinth said. And 2nd Corinthians chapter 13
verse 11 finally, brethren, farewell, be perfect, be of good
comfort, be of one mind, live in peace and the God of love and
peace shall be with you. You see every true born again
believer along with every church leader who saved in in a
spiritual frame of mind. They must seek to nurture, to
strengthen and deepen the peace of Christchurch.
Now, let me ask you very quickly, how do you view this
church? How do you view Carried Off FPC?
If someone asks you to give a description of Carried Off FPC,
how would you describe it? Let me tell you what it's not.
It's not a business that merely exists to provide benefits for
its members. We're not in the consumer
business. You see, in the United Kingdom,
also in the United States of America, professing born again
believers, they often shop around for a church that
provides certain benefits for them.
And once they find what they're looking for, they support that
church. And the minute that church stops
being beneficial to them, they stop supporting that church.
But we are not marketing the church in this way.
Do you know that some churches have a pastor of marketing?
That is, they devise means to how best to market and promote
their church. A woke ideology, a user friendly
approach. They are delighting to tell
people what we don't stand for, what we don't believe.
And one of the things they don't believe, of course, is in the
awful subject of hell. But carried off, FPC is not in
the business that competes in the religious marketplace.
What are we? We are part of the body of
Christ, and in that sense we are a living Organism comprised of
those who have been born again and those who have trusted in
Christ for salvation. You see, whenever we're born
again and regenerated by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit has
baptised us into the body of Christ, who is the head of the
Church. And of course our bodies are
highly functional organisms, our bodies are organised and just
like our bodies are highly functional organisms and have to
be organised. So the church needs order, the
church needs peace and stability and management and organisation.
But Christchurch is not only part of the body of Christ, it's
a family of believers. It's part of the household of
faith. Again, if we go back to
Ephesians, Ephesians 2 it says in verse 19 Now therefore ye are
no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the Saints and of the household of faith, and are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all
the building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord, in whom also ye are build it together for
inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
And we beseech your brethren, that is, those who are born
again of the Spirit, those who are part of the body of Christ,
those who are part of the household of faith.
He's teaching them this, that leadership has been delegated by
Christ and that leadership is delegated by Christ to be
exercised in Christchurch. So that's the reality of the
spirituality of leaders in Christchurch.
The second thing is this very quickly, the recognition of
spiritual leadership in Christchurch.
You see, the church has a threefold responsibility towards
its leaders. That is, to know them is not
what it says to know them which labour among you, to know them
which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord and manage
you. Do you know that submission to
godly and good holy spiritual leadership is in a saying of
submission to Christ? You see, Jesus Christ is the
head of the Church, not the Pope.
And Christ has his own people, people that he's called out of
the fallen mass of humanity, people who were once dead,
people who were blind, people who are diseased.
And by the mighty operation of the Holy Spirit, as the Word of
God has preached, they have been regenerated in the newness of
life. And the Lord rules and reigns in
their hearts and minds by his word and by his Spirit.
Christ in that sense is an an absolute monarch, and he's the
absolute monarch over the whole of the universe.
There's not an atom that moves in the universe without Christ's
power and without Christ's input.
He's the monarch of all the nations.
He's the monarch of all men. He's head over all things to the
church, and this monarchy is administered in the Church by
men elected to the office of the eldership.
Now that's important. You need to get a hold of that
and not only face that reality, but you've got to think about
the recognition. Recognise 3 things.
He's pleading with his church. Now let's look at them very
quickly here it says to know them.
OK, You should underline that the simple Greek word is no.
That's the Greek verb. Modern translations put
different words. They change it for copyright
reasons, which is sad. Respect and appreciate, but it's
simple to know. And what does that mean?
It's not just to know that they exist, not just know things
about them, not just to be aware of the existence.
It does mean to recognise, it does mean to respect.
But it does mean that the men who are elders, the Church must
recognise them as those whom Christ has placed in spiritual
leadership. And that implies of course the
existence of an office that exists.
It implies the men are saved. It implies spiritual minded men.
It implies men of a certain calibre and certain character.
It's as if Christ is saying to this young church, I have placed
within you certain men over you for your well-being and for your
good. Nobody in the church was to ask
why have they taken on a leadership role?
Nobody in the church is to ask, well, who do they think they are
to say this and that? You see often times in the
church, leadership and membership relationships can
break down. Often times there can be abuse
of power. Often times there can be
resistance to the oversight. Well, let's remember this, that
the Lord has established the office and He has placed men in
that office. And if Christ has set up the
office, He has set it up for a purpose.
And the purpose is this for the church's spiritual growth and
spiritual development. And that's why we believe, of
course, in the office of eldership.
That's why we believe in a church membership.
Are there no verses that teach about A membership being in
submission to the leadership? Are there no verses that teach
about leadership being spiritually minded men?
Yes they are. And here's just one verse.
And notice in this recognition them that labour and no them
that labour among you. You see, let me emphasise that
the word labour means hard work to the point of weariness.
Spiritual leadership in the Church is not a position of
ease. But of endurance, it's not a
position of wantonness, it's a position of a work ethic.
You see part of the teaching elders workload.
He has to be in the study. There has to be the preaching of
the word of God. Here's his job description.
Preach the Word. That's what we're seeking to do
this morning, every Sunday morning, Sunday evening Bible
study. There's expository preaching on
the text to examine the truth of the Word of God.
There's prayer for the whole congregation.
There's pastoral visitation. There's the care of every soul.
The well-being of everyone is important.
There's the administration of the two sacraments, baptism and
the Lord's Supper. There's the oversight of the
church. That's where the curt session
comes in and the deacons, there's administration, there's
the care and maintenance of the place of worship, there's
funerals and there's weddings. And often times that labour is
unseen and much of it is in private.
Much of it's done quietly and you're not even aware that's
going on. But such labour is essential
because as I'm here, I'm a servant under Christ, not living
life independently and living in life submission to Christ.
And he has called me to be a teaching elder.
Then this is part of my job description.
This is what I do week in and week out and I do it unto the
Lord. Not only notice their labour,
but notice their lead. It says and are over you in the
Lord. Now this speaks of an individual
who acts like a Sergeant in the army.
He has got spiritual authority over the men.
This speaks of submission. And you see, true spirituality
includes that. But notice the limitation in the
Lord. The authority of church leaders
is not personal, it's not absolute.
It's delegated, it's derived. It comes from Christ, who alone
is the head of the Church. That's why the Western
Confession of Faith says that there's no other head of the
church but the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Christ exercises authority only as the servants of Christ,
only according to the Word of God.
The final authority for creed and conduct is the Word of God.
And in the Free Presbyterian Church, like in other
Presbyterian churches, this authority is exercised
collectively by the eldership. It's not a single individual
acting independently. That's the pattern of the New
Testament church. Notice thirdly here, notice
these words and admonish you. What does the word admonish
mean? It means to warn, means to
instruct. He's a teacher of the truth.
He's a watchman in the walls. He's a a shepherd who counsels
and and corrects his sheep. It's all about giving guidance.
It's all about the offering of advice.
It includes the teaching of truth revealed in the Word of
God. Remember, sanctify them through
thy word, Thy Word as truth. It means warning against error.
It means exposing falsehood. It means contending for the
faith. It means correcting sinful
behaviour. It means a call for guidance
towards a life of holiness. It means a call to faithful
service. You see, this is all about
wisdom. This is about patience.
This is about love and care. This is about devotion.
Notice also the responsibility for faithful leadership, not
only the recognition. You see, leadership is not about
status and about prestige. As I've said, it's all about
service. It's all about responsibility.
I'm called to labour in the Word and a doctrine.
I'm called to lead as a watchman for your souls.
I am called as a learner to try and teach and help you remember
what Paul says over there in Hebrews, Hebrews 13 and verse
17. He says this.
Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves,
for they watch for your souls as they must give an account that
they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is
unprofitable. For you see this is what a good
leader will do. There'll be the preaching to the
flock. His primary job will be
preaching and teaching the Word of God.
That's primary responsibility, and it must be faithful
preaching of the Word. Second Timothy four and two
preach the Word. The church is built up upon the
preaching of the Word of God, and without the Word, the church
cannot grow in fee, Ethan in holiness.
It will not function properly. It will not grow right.
So the preaching of the Word is primary.
The preaching of the Word is central.
That's why we've got a pulpit in the front of the church.
But on top of that, there's not only the preaching of the Word,
but there's the pastoring of the flock, the pastoral work behind
the scenes, the encouragement of the weak, help for all who are
facing difficulty, the bereaved, the sick prayer.
Another aspect is not only preaching and pastoring the
flock, but protecting the flock, guarding the church.
A faithful leader will guard against false doctrine and
error. It will guard against spiritual
danger. Remember what Paul said to the
church at Ephesus. He says, Take heed, therefore
unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost
has made you overseers, and to feed the Church of God, which He
had purchased with His own blood.
For this I know that after my departing shall grieve His
wills. Enter in among you, not sparing
the flock also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking
perverse things to draw away disciples after them.
There's a need for Watchmen. And not only is the the
preaching to the flock, and not only the pastoring of the flock
and the protecting of the flock, but there's also the purity of
the flock. And part of my job was to
exercise spiritual discipline. Exercising discipline is not a
punishment. The discipline that's exercised
is always for restoration. The goal is always repentance
and healing and the honour of Christ.
The confession of Faith states that censures are necessary.
Why? For the reclaiming of offending
brethren whose sin preventing others from going headlong into
sin. And that's the responsibility of
the leadership. So we've saw the reality of
leadership. We've saw the recognition of
leadership. We've saw the responsibility of
the leadership. Now listen to this as we finish
the respect for faithful leadership.
If you look at verse 12, we've read it.
We beseech you therefore, brethren, to know them with
labour among you and are over you and the Lord and among us.
You notice these words and to esteem them very highly in love
for their work's sake. You see, healthy relationships
don't blossom automatically. Relationships take hard work and
effort. It requires faithfulness not
only in the leadership but also in the membership.
You see, there's not to be any Mavericks.
I'm going to do what I want to do.
I'm going to do what I like. You see, that attitude is
totally unscriptural. That attitude is wrong.
Notice these words and to esteem them very highly.
The word esteem means to respect, respect the office,
respect the work that they're doing.
It means to think of, it means to consider.
It's not based on personality. It's not based on popularity or
prominence or promotion. It's based on the work that God
has called them to perform and to esteem them very highly.
Notice these words that means to display gratitude, support,
encouragement, trust and prayer, Confidence.
Leadership in the church can be a lonely place.
It can involve carrying a heavy burden.
And to be a faithful leader in the church needs a support of
congregation. And I've encouraged you in the
past. If you're hurting, if you've got
a problem, if you want to raise a concern, something you're not
happy with, then come and speak to me.
I'll certainly not bite you. I love you and the Lord.
I'll pray for you. I'll pray with you and I'll try
and help you. You see, this is to be done.
Notice the words and to esteem them very highly in love.
It is not the key for their work's sake.
You see, it's not based on something that's institutional.
It's based on we're a body of Christ.
It's based on we're a family of brothers and sisters in Christ.
And it's having a love for people, having a love for the
brothers and sisters, seeing an individual as a child of God,
seeing them as one for whom Christ bled and died.
And, and, and the love of God in Christ is prominent.
The church, of course, has to be a place of spiritual warmth and
a place of mutual love. And there's the respect.
This is what we are to do, we are to esteem them very highly
in love for their work's sake. And here's the result with this,
we finished this morning the result of spiritual leadership
in Christchurch. And be at peace among
yourselves. That's not accidental, that's
something that's acclaimed. You see, if God's order is
honoured and the Labours labour faithfully and they lead
faithfully and they seek to learn by way of admonishment the
congregation, as a result of that, there will be peace in the
church. And that's a very important
concept because that's on their mind.
The devil seeks to overthrow that.
People forget that. But that's what we're called
upon to do, to be at peace among ourselves, not defiantly, but
deliberately, and devotion. And if we are peace among
ourselves, that unity will be seen, that love will be seen,
that care and that devotion will be seen.
And it's all flowing out. Once we grasp the reality that
God has established a leadership in the church, there's office of
eldership that exists. And not only do we accept that
reality, but then there's the recognition.
What what is it going to do? And here's the responsibility
that flows from that recognition.
And here's the respect for it. And this is the final result.
And the result is and be at peace among yourselves.
I pray this morning the Lord will take these few thoughts and
bless them to you as we have tried to figure our way through
what this verse actually teaches.
And I pray that the Lord will help us and help me.
And I value your prayers as I seek to labour here and be over
you and the Lord and seek to admonish you for Christ's sake.
We're going to leave it there for today.
We'll look at the few more verses as the Lord gives us help
next week.