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Warren Wiersbe - Leading and Following in Peace - 16 of 20 | Back to the Bible | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Warren Wiersbe - Leading and Following in Peace - 16 of 20
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Summary
Core Theme
The Christian life requires an integrated approach, balancing intellectual understanding, emotional experience, and practical application of God's Word, particularly within the local church community. This integration is crucial for healthy spiritual growth and effective ministry, emphasizing the vital relationship between leaders and members.
[Music]
welcome to back to the Bible radio
featuring best-selling author an
internationally known Bible teacher
Warren where's being now we look at
first s alone Ian's chapter 5 and we
pause to pray gracious Father in Heaven
this word is living and help us to
receive it and to receive life this word
O God is our nourishment it's our
encouragement help us to receive it now
and then to practice it we pray that you
will do in our lives what needs to be
done there are many today with heavy
burdens and fighting battles we pray
you'll encourage them now and use the
Word of God in all of our lives in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ amen the
Christian life is a very practical thing
it's too bad that many of us don't get
our lives integrated into the Word of
God some people have a Christian life
that is wholly intellectual it's all in
their minds they like to study and mark
their Bibles nothing wrong with that of
course but it has to go beyond the mind
it must not simply be an intellectual
experience by the way one evidence that
people live this way that is their
Christian living is primarily mental is
that they like to argue they enjoy
making distinctions where there are none
they enjoy fussing about things that are
not really important because the only
way to make themselves feel like they
are Christians is to go through
intellectual exercises on the other hand
there are those whose Christian life is
only emotional they live on a religious
rollercoaster and they're up one day and
down the next they're always looking for
some new experience and this is too bad
because even though emotion is certainly
a part of the Christian life it's not
the greatest part of the Christian life
there ought to be balance Paul tells us
that the will is the thing that is
involved down in verse eighteen of 1st
Thessalonians 5:4 this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus concerning you
back in chapter 4 verse 3 for this is
the will of God the will of God is not
just something we study with the mind or
something that we feel emotionally in
the heart the will of God is something
that we do doing the will of God from
the heart and so the Christian life
ought to be an integrated life where we
are interested in the admonitions of the
Word of God as well as the revelations
of the Word of God I find people who
like to linger in the doctrinal sections
of Scripture or the prophetic sections
of Scripture but when you start talking
about the practical part of the Word of
God there they're not too interested in
that and yet that's the important part
the doctrine is the foundation for duty
all doctrine must give forth duty and
all Duty must be based on doctrine and
this is why at the end of first
Thessalonians chapter 5 we have Paul
giving this series of exhortation x' 1st
thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12 and 13
and we urge you brethren to recognize
those who labor among you and are over
you in the Lord and admonish you and to
esteem them very highly in love for
their works sake be at peace among
yourselves what is God looking for in
the local church well he's looking for
purity back in chapter 4 verses 1
through 8 Paul talks about
sanctification keeping our bodies clean
before the Lord he certainly wants love
verse 9 of chapter 4 brotherly love
loving one another and he wants people
to edify one another a chapter 4 he
talks about this in chapter 5 verse 11
therefore comfort each other and edify
one another the local church ought to be
a place of purity a place of love a
place of growth and encouragement and
then he says in verse 13 of
after five be at peace among yourselves
be at peace the local church ought to be
a place where there is harmony and peace
because there is love and purity alas
too often in local churches we find
disagreements and divisions and
competition you must break the heart of
God when he looks down and sees what's
going on in some places now at the close
of this letter beginning at verse 12
through the end of the letter Paul is
focusing on exhortation to the local
church rather interesting how he does it
I'd like you to see the pattern of these excitations
excitations
first she exhorts the leaders and he
gives them a three-fold exhortation they
are to labor and lead and admonish then
he talks about special people in the
church who needs special help in verses
14 and 15
especially verse 14 now we exhort you
brethren to warn those who are unruly
comfort the faint-hearted uphold the
weak here we have three exhortation
concerning special problems in the
church then he has a word for everybody
there's a three-fold exhortation
regarding everybody the end of verse 14
be patient with all verse 15 see that no
one renders evil for evil to anyone but
always pursue what is good both for
yourselves and for all
so the threefold exhortation to all is
be patient with all forgive all and
pursue good for all so he has exhorted
the leaders to labor and to lead and to
admonish he's exhorted people to
minister to the unruly the faint-hearted
and the weak
he's exhorting all of us to be patient
to forgive and to pursue what is good
then he deals with our relationship to
God verses 16 through 22 first our
inward responsibility rejoice always
pray without ceasing and everything give thanks
thanks
then our public responsibilities in
worship do not quench the spirit do not
despise prophecies and test all things a
series of triple admonitions in our
relationship one to another now we're
going to look at leadership everything
rises and falls with leadership God has
ordained that though all of us our
members are the same body and we have
the same equal standing before God some
are called the places of leadership this
is the way God's worked it out this is
even true in our bodies in the human
body there are some organs that are far
more important than others they're made
of the same material but they're far
more important than others I can lose my
little finger and get away with it I
can't lose my heart or my brain and get
away with it
I can damage my earlobe and somehow
survive but if I damage my pancreas or
my liver I may be in trouble they can
take out my appendix but they can't take
out both of my lungs you see there are
certain parts of the body of Christ that
are more important than others doesn't
mean that these people are necessarily
better than anybody else in fact we
should all esteem one another better
than ourselves it just means God has
called them two places of leadership
someone says well the church is an
organism it's not an organization well
that that is not true
if an organism is not organized it's
gonna die my body is an organism but it
is an organized organism and when it
gets disorganized then I have to go to
the doctor and get it organized again
yes the church is an organism but an
organism has to be organized or it's
going to die and therefore God has
ordained that there are leaders in the
local church these are gifts of God God
gives gifts to people then he gives
gifted people to the church and the
local church is the place where you
discover discipline develop and dedicate
your spiritual gifts and use them to the
now if our churches are going to be all
that they ought to be we must have a
proper relationship between leaders and
followers once again it doesn't mean one
is better than anyone else it just
simply means that we are different from
each other in that God has called each
of us to a different ministry what are
the responsibilities of the leaders and
then secondly what are the
responsibilities of the members and then
thirdly what's the result of all of this
well the responsibilities of leaders are
threefold to labor to lead and to
admonish verse 12 of 1st Thessalonians 5
and we urge you brethren to recognize to
know to to believe who they are and
accept them and and honor them to
recognize those who labor among you and
are over you in the Lord and admonish
you and to esteem them very highly and
love for their works sake be at peace
among yourselves now here's the
three-fold responsibility of the leader
number 1 - labor this word means to toil
- weariness it's a word used back in
chapter 1 verse 3 remembering without
ceasing your work of faith labor of love
Paul uses it in verse 9 of chapter 2 for
you remember brethren our labor and toil
laboring night and day chapter 3 verse 5
for this reason when I could no longer
endure it I sent to know your faith lest
by some means the tempter had tempted
you and our labor might be in vain Paul
was a worker now the purpose of an
office is service a lot of people fill
offices who don't use the offices if
you're an officer in a local church a
leader in a local church that leadership
is a responsibility for work
distri is hard work people don't believe
that but it's true ministry is hard work
watching for souls watching over the
family of God is hard work
it requires diligence vigilance courage
ministry is hard work if it's faithful I
know it's some nominating committees who
sit down you know and they're going to
choose the officers for the next year
and somebody says well you know
so-and-so hasn't been coming to church
too much lately let's make him an
officer so he'll start coming you don't
do that that's the worst way to get an
officer or someone accepts an office and
has no intention of using that office
someday you're going to give an
accounting of what you've done with your
opportunity as a church officer and
therefore the job we have is to labor to
use the office not just to fill it
secondly to lead recognize those who
labor among you and are over you in the
Lord not over you in themselves they
aren't dictators no no you don't drive
sheep you lead sheep you don't drive
children you lead children to lead means
to stand before to take a place of
leadership the church is organized and
has to have leaders the church as a
family are there not leaders in our
family have you ever been in a home
where everybody did whatever he wanted
to do our family wasn't raised like that
the church is an army Paul talked about
that back in chapter 4 verse 2 for you
know what Commandments we gave you
through the Lord Jesus that word
Commandments means a military order
handed down from the officer the church
is an army if an army is not organized
with leadership it's not going to win
the battle the church is a body a
building whatever image of the church
you look at in the Bible there is
orderliness attached to it and their
leaders have the responsibility of
leading now look at the problem that
they have and we urge you brethren to
recognize those who labor
among you and are over you that is a
difficult posture to be among them as
well as over them now some people are
very good at being over and don't want
to be among they don't want to mingle
with the Saints some people are very
good about being among and don't want to
be over Peter talked about the same
thing over in first Peter chapter 5 and
think he uses similar language about
leadership first Peter chapter 5 verse 1
the elders who are among you I exhort
who am a fellow elder and a witness of
the sufferings of Christ Shepherd the
flock of God which is among you serving
as overseers there it is you are over
but you are among now for officers not
to be among the people is sin pastors
and elders and deacons we need to know
what is going on among our people we
have to be among them as well as over
them that's why a pastor has to visit
his people and get to know them and feel
the burdens of their hearts we're not
bossing we're serving the source of our
authority is the Lord Jesus Christ not
our office they are over you in the Lord
and how was the Lord in his leadership
he was a servant if you hold a church
office as a point of pride something to
brag about then you've got the wrong
attitude we accept a church office a
church place of leadership because we
want to serve if we don't want to serve
we ought to get out let somebody else do
it and so we have the responsibility of
laboring and of leading and thirdly of
admonishing they are over you in the
Lord and admonish you that word admonish
means to warn or to instruct it has to
do with the sharing of the Word of God
now believe me I have pastored three
churches and I've preached in hundreds
of churches it's no fun to admonish
people from the Word of God it's no fun
to sit down with someone and say look
you are not obey
the Word of God hebrews chapter 13 verse
7 remember those who rule over you
that's talking about spiritual rule the
the spiritual guidance who have spoken
the Word of God to you whose faith
follow we don't just teach we have
practice it considering the outcome of
their conduct Jesus Christ the same
yesterday today and forever do not be
carried about with various and strange
doctrines now get the connection there
God gives leaders who teach us the Word
of God they admonish us they warn us why
because there are strange doctrines
abroad oh how many times I've had to go
visit people and say look I understand
that you're moving in this direction
you're starting to believe things that
are not true to the Word of God now
let's stop it because we had better do
the word and the will of the Living God
and people say well pastor thanks for
warning me we don't like to be
admonished but we have to accept it now
what are the responsibilities of the
members the leaders are supposed to
labor and lead and admonish what should
the members do number one recognize them
know them accept them recognize those
who labor among you why because they are
working for you and for the Lord you say
well I can't respect some of the people
who are in leadership in our church then
you respect the office because we better
respect God's leaders it doesn't mean
you have to agree on everything but you
better respect the office because it's
the office that carries the authority
not the personality of the leader so my
responsibility the church member is to
recognize and know the spiritual leaders
in the church and by the way the
spiritual leaders in the church ought to
let us know who they are
I've often been in services where the
pastor will say now if we can be of any
help to you contact one of the Deacons
and I'm a visitor in the church I don't
know who the Deacons are they ought to
identify themselves we should recognize
them secondly we should honor them
esteem them very highly in love for
their works sake
notice this if they are faithful to do
the work God has called them to do honor them
them
now some don't work it's amazing in
local churches how people will take an
office or responsibilities and not do anything
anything
well you can't honor people like that
they ought to be replaced
we should esteem those highly who are
faithful in doing the work of the Lord
you know how much work there is to be
done let me say a word to elders and
deacons and trustees and committee
members and Sunday School teachers your
pastor needs your help he cannot do the
job alone pray for him every day that's
your first responsibility pray for him
pray for him encourage him be in the
services be faithful in your giving in
your stewardship to your local church
and encourage him as he seeks to expand
the work of the Lord
in that church oh it is a hard job and
you can't do it by yourself let me tell
you a story from my own ministry there
will be people listening who will know
this story because they were a part of
this church I was at Calvary Baptist
Church in Covington Kentucky and our
dear beloved senior minister had a heart
attack was called home by the Lord and
on a Wednesday I had the the sorry
responsibility of conducting the funeral
service and then that evening the church
called me to be his successor and the
next morning one of the Deacons came to
the church office and he said to me I
want you to know I'm a deacon in this
church I have been a deacon here for
many years you are now my pastor
anything I can do to help you in your
ministry you let me know
I will polish your shoes I will wash
your car I will do anything you need as
long as it helps you in the Ministry of
the Lord well that's the kind of deacons
you want to have
and that's the kind of a man he was well
esteem them very highly in love for
their works sake do it in love there
must be love between the leaders and the
followers we do not lead people by force
we lead them by love and then our
responsibility is to follow them we
should listen to their admonition esteem
them highly and obey what they have to
say and do it joyfully there's an
interesting word in Hebrews chapter 13
that we should notice Hebrews chapter 13
verse 17 obey those who rule over you
that means spiritual rule and be
submissive for they watch for your souls
as those who must give account let them
do so with joy and not with grief for
that would be unprofitable for you you
know what he's saying here don't add to
the burdens of your leaders make them
joyful be obedient to the Word of God
submit to the Word of God and if you do
you're gonna bring joy to them today as
they serve and it'll be joyful for you
tomorrow when they give an accounting of
their ministry to the Lord I think some
of these church problems are gonna be
settled at the judgment seat of Christ I
believe there's going to be some
apologies made our job is to follow and
to obey those who have the spiritual
rule over this this is not dictatorship
this is in the Lord Jesus Christ through
the Word of God and therefore it is
important for us that we should walk
with the Lord and follow our leaders
what's the result be at peace among
yourselves by doing what following your
leaders doing what God wants you to do
because he is the one who brings peace
to our hearts and peace to the church
when we are following our leaders as we
ought to follow them therefore let us be
obedient to the Word of God and follow
our spiritual leader
thanks for being a part of our back to
the Bible listening family it's
wonderful to have you with us each day
if you missed part of the program or
you'd like to listen again just come to
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