Do I Have to Obey My Pastor?

• Hebrews 13:7-9,17

• God has not left His church without leadership. Christ Himself has given pastors and elders to shepherd, teach, protect, and lead His people.

•  I have rarely, if ever, stood before you and explained the burden, purpose, and responsibility of a pastor. Others have preached it, but I have generally avoided preaching about myself.

• But today the text requires us to deal with it. This is not a sermon about glorifying a man. 

• This is a sermon about understanding an office that God created for the good of His church.

• Pastors have responsibilities before God, and the people of the church also have responsibilities before God. How I lead matters and how you deal with me as your pastor matters. 

• A faithful pastor must preach the Word, live a faith worth following, watch over souls, and point people continually to Jesus Christ.

• And God’s call to the church is clear: remember your pastor, obey him,own follow Christ, and live out the Gospel.

1.Remember your Pastor because he points you to Christ

• • 7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
  • Do you ever stop and consider that God has given you a pastor to lead you to Christ?
  • Hebrews says, “Remember those.” Don’t live as though you have no pastor-no shepherd helping lead you to Christ so that you may grow in grace and knowledge.
  • Who are you to remember? Those who have spoken the Word of God to you. This is the primary responsibility of a local pastor: “Preach the word!” 2 Tim 4:2
  • Your pastor preaches the Word to convince you of God’s truth, rebuke you so you will turn from sin, and exhort you to continue in the faith.
  • 1 Peter 5 Says2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 
  • And Hebrews says to follow their faith, considering the outcome of their conduct.
  • A pastor should have a life of faith you can follow through rough times and into the unknown.
  • Your pastor is the one who shepherds the local church where you are planted the one who knows you, and whom you know. 
  • If you leave this church, I may still love you, care about you, and want God’s best for you, but I am no longer your pastor. 
  • I do not carry pastoral responsibility for people who are no longer part of this flock. You need to find another church, submit yourself there, and allow that pastor to know you, lead you, and care for your soul. (Time on the phone w someone who attended large church)
  • I cannot pastor everyone who has ever attended this church. I must give my time and strength to the people God has entrusted to me.
  • READ 1 Tim 3:1-7  READ
  • Notice: the standard is not sinless perfection, but a blameless life: not living in ongoing compromise, with godly character and a well-ordered household.

• I willingly submit my life to this biblical standard, and by the grace of God, I meet it. If I did not, I should not be leading this church.///

• Remember- God is the one who gave you Eph 4:11 And He Himself…. gave some pastors 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ
• And that is the purpose, to equip the saints and build up the body of Christ.
• You may not understand how a church works. This is not my company. This is not my personal wealth. This church may have millions of dollars in property and assets, but I do not own any of it. I will not retire one day and take the church with me. (most people would sell a biz)
• I will not inherit the building, the land, or the resources of this ministry.
• One day, if the Lord allows, I will hand this work to another pastor, and he will lead it. 
• The assets will remain with the church because they belong to the church, not me. I am a steward . I will hand the keys to someone else who must steward what he does not own
• That is why pastoral leadership cannot be reduced to personal ambition or financial gain. 
• A faithful pastor spends his life building something he will eventually hand to someone else for the sake of Christ and His people.

2. Obey Your Pastor Because He Watches Over Your Soul

• I want to jump to verse 17 because remembering your pastor is not enough. You must also obey and submit to those who watch over your soul.
• 17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out 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.
• There is a unique relationship between a pastor and his flock. He is entrusted and lives with the burden of watching over souls. Not programs. Not budgets. Not services. Souls. 
• I’ve met many people who desire the position without carrying the burden for the souls of the sheep. They want a platform and not parishioners. They want a pulpit and not pilgrims. 
• A pastor who never weeps and never loses sleep over the sheep is not a pastor you should follow.
• A decision isn’t made for comfort. A confrontation isn’t made for conflict. Its for your very soul//
• a called, blood-bought pastor takes the Scriptures about shepherding seriously.
• Titus 2:15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you
• Acts 20:28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God. James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
• A true pastor knows he will answer to God for how he shepherds you. That is why he cannot treat the responsibility lightly.
• It should be a joy for a pastor to shepherd the flock, but that joy is replaced with grief when people become resistant, rebellious, and unrepentant toward the basic commands of God.
• What does a pastor ask of you that isn’t biblical? Love, serve, forgive, give, serve, walk in holiness, love God. 
• Your reasonable response is obedience. Not because a pastor gets to invent his own demands, but because when he faithfully gives you the Word of God, God requires you to obey it. And that obedience is for your benefit.
• A pastor cares about the details of your life because those details affect your soul, your family, and the health of the church.
• People often resist these basic demands and then become angry with the pastor, but they are not his demands. They are the commands of the Lord.
• The answer is simple- Obey your pastor in all things pertaining to Christ and his commands. 
• Everything I’ve said up to this point could be misunderstood if we stopped here. You might think the Christian life is about attaching yourself to a pastor. That’s why the Holy Spirit gives us verse 8. Our faith doesn’t rest on a man who changes. It rests on a Savior who never changes

3. Believe in Christ, Not Your Pastor, Because Christ Never Changes

• • Verse 8:  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 
  • The Ultimate leader is the great shepherd not the under shepherd. You must follow Christ
  • The point of the remembering and the submitting is to be led to Christ and to follow him
  • Hebrews places this truth in the middle of considering conduct and obeying leaders to remind us that Christ never changes, regardless of who holds the position.
  • Your salvation does not come through submission to an earthly leader. Salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
  • Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
  • A pastor points you to the cross. A pastor points you to grace, mercy and forgiveness. 
  • 1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
  • If you ever wonder what I’m doing as your pastor, it’s simple. I want you to die to yourself, live for Christ, and spend eternity with the Son.
  • I want you to experience the abundant life Christ offers. I want your cup to run over, and when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I want you to fear no evil. I want you to know the blessing of following Christ.

• But you must submit to the one who saves. Submitting to me wont save you. ///

• Picture this. We’re on a boat and it sinks. We’re treading water in the dark, and you’re getting tired. I see a rescue boat in the distance and I start shouting, “Keep going. Don’t give up.” When the boat reaches us, I push you toward it, pull you toward the rope, and yell, “Grab it. This is your rescue.”
• John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
• John 5:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
• I want you to grab the rope. I want you to live and not die. I’m not in the water to be liked.
• And this is the test you must ask yourself: Is my pastor leading me to the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever? Because He is the only hope I can hold on to for eternity.
• John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
• This is why church hurt and pastor hurt cannot become the foundation of your faith. Your hope is not in the criminal on the cross beside Him. Your hope is in the Son on the cross who saved you.
• Jesus will never fail you. Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. Keep your belief in HIM> 

You protect your heart, mind, and soul by keeping your faith fixed on the Son who was, and is, and is to come. Christ has not changed, and He will not change.

4. Stay With the Gospel Because the Gospel Never Changes

• • 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
  • A biblical pastor protects you from strange doctrines by continually feeding you the true Gospel of grace.
  • I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m not profound I’m just good at saying basic things
  • When we talked about adultery and fornication, it was not some strange new doctrine. It was basic biblical truth that needed to be said. I am not chasing pet doctrines, new revelations, or endless speculation. I want to keep preaching Christ and Him crucified.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:1–2  And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
  • If that’s all I accomplish in my limited earthly ministry I’ve done my job- preached the gospel. 
  • 1 cor 15: 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Remember me. Obey me in the Lord. But above everything else, hold firmly to the Gospel I have preached to you.
  • Rom 10: 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
  • And run from any Gospel that distorts the simplicity of the Gospel- Jesus Christ came to save sinners.  Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 
  • Friend there is one Gospel– 2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
  • People often ask me what I read. The Bible. They ask which preachers I listen to. Mostly my friends.

• The Gospel has not grown old to me. Forgiveness has not become boring to me. Salvation is still precious to me.///

• You do not need another strange doctrine. You need another touch of the cross that saved you.
• You do not need another new revelation. You need a fresh revelation of the joy of your salvation.
•  Do not chase after bread that perishes. Go to the One who gives the true bread of life.
• Colossians 1:28 “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
• And who is this Jesus we preach? The sinless One who took your sin.
• The righteous One who bore your judgment. The loving One who forgives you, restores you, and brings you into relationship with God.
•  Stay with Christ. Stay with grace. Stay with the Gospel.
• It is still the power of God unto salvation. It is still able to save your soul.