Let All Things Be Done for Building Up

Introduction

Transitions and changes have potential for great success or great failure. We see some stories about this in scripture. Particularly, you may remember the story of Rehboam. Rehoboam, a man who listened to the wrong people. He decided to rule in a domineering way and ended up losing ten of the tribes to Jeroboam, who then took them and ran north. But there are also stories of great success when it comes to changes and transitions, like Ezra and Nehemiah. They come as leaders into people who are struggling, and along with Haggai and Zachariah, they push them and they prod them to do the right things and for the right reasons and with the right motives. And so this morning I want to talk a little bit about some changes and transitions taking place in our congregation.

Obviously, we are looking for new overseers. We’re working on some things like improving congregational worship and Bible classes. We’re even looking at a new auditorium coming in the future. And so there’s a lot of changes happening at Decker Prairie, which also means there’s a lot of opinions.

Actually, that the New Testament talks about pretty frequently as I worked through that book and sermons, two different groups and their opinions and their cultures being very different, and the potential struggles that Paul is worried about with that. Our aim here is to be led by biblical principles toward biblical purposes. And there’s a problem in our world that we struggle with that goal because we just live in a world that is so selfish and me focused. And of course, it’s hard for us to not be wrapped up in that, all of us. It’s just around us everywhere. Everything is about you. And the sources of our entertainment are things like YouTube, right? I mean, it’s all about you and what you’re looking for. And so everything is centered around what I want.

And I everything on the internet and social media, it’s geared to then cater to me. So why shouldn’t everything cater to me? Why shouldn’t it all be about me? I mean, that’s the life I live and experience day to day, unless it’s interrupted by someone else who has a different opinion or wants something to be a different way. And so I think we need regular reminders in our culture, especially. We’re probably not the only culture that has faced this. I’m sure that’s true. Other cultures have dealt with selfishness and you know, not caring about other people and all of that, so we’re not the first one to do that. But I think we do need regular reminders, particularly in the area of congregations and assembly, that the congregation really has two primary purposes.

And neither of them is about making sure individuals get what they want. That’s just not the way it is. We can look at scripture, and I’ll allude to some this morning. We’ll we’ll look at some others that really show that the purpose of what we’re doing here, the purpose of worship, the purpose of a congregation is first to honor God, and then to build up the body as a whole. We are to work together, to be united, to have the same mind, as Paul says in Philippians chapter 2. We’re working for the same purposes. And so, although I want to discuss some things that relate particularly to shepherds this morning and are going through that process to have new ones, I want to start with some principles.

1. Let All Things Be Done for Building Up

I want to work off of a principle in 1 Corinthians 14, one that I titled the sermon after, Let all things be done for building up. I want to work from there and then we’re gonna hit some other passages along the way. So have your Bibles handy this morning and be ready to kind of bounce around to some different places. The key verse I put on the slide is in verse 26. Now there’s a whole context to all of this that I just can’t go into great depth on, but I’ll talk about just a little bit. Paul says, What then, brothers? This is 1 Corinthians 14 in verse 26. What then, brothers, when you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.

Let all things be done for building up. Let me put that into a little bit different phraseology that sort of is based on the context. Everybody has a hymn or a lesson or a revelation or something they want to do. That’s great. But the real purpose is that the church is built up. That’s what we’re actually here to do. It’s not that I get to preach a sermon or that someone gets to lead a song or someone gets to lead a prayer or any of those other things. Those are important things and they need to happen, but the goal is not to elevate a person. The goal is not to build up an individual or for an individual to seek to build up themselves through any one of those means.

The actual goal and purpose is to honor God and to build up the entire group. That is what we should be focused on. That is the goal. And anything that impedes that goal and gets in the way of that goal is missing the purpose. It’s getting in the way of what we are supposed to be doing as a congregation. So let me now back up to the first part of 1 Corinthians 14 to kind of get at least a little bit of context. They’re struggling here with the idea of tongue speaking. They all want it. Right? It seems so fun. I get to speak all kinds of different languages, and people notice me because now I can go in, I can speak in tongues, and so it’s this kind of interesting, neat thing that the Corinthian brethren seem really obsessed with.

And Paul is trying to help them understand that they really are missing the point. And so it’s not that tongue speaking is bad. In fact, Paul can do it, and he mentions that in the context. It’s not that it’s a bad thing. They’re just misunderstanding the importance of other things. And they’re focused on what they want and their own desire to elevate themselves in the eyes of others rather than elevating God and trying to build up the group. So this is what he says in verse 1. Pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. So he just came out of 1 Corinthians 13, which is all about the importance of love. 1 Corinthians 12 is more about how they’re too concerned with spiritual gifts, particularly tongue speaking.

And so he’s saying, actually, if you really want a spiritual gift, it’s not tongues that are important, it’s prophecy, right? So he goes on. Especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God. For no one understands them. The idea is you come in here and you want to start speaking in another language. How many languages do we speak in here? I mean, maybe a few. But if someone got up and said, I’m gonna I’m gonna say my prayer this morning and mandarin. You know, I just really like it. That would be really fun, and I’m gonna do my prayer in Mandarin. How many people are gonna understand that in this audience? Anyone? Maybe a couple? We got a few, right?

But the point Paul’s making is most people don’t understand anything. They don’t understand anything you’re doing. So why would you desire that? Why would you make this about you, right? So then he goes on in verse 4 the one who speaks in a tongue, notice the focus here, builds up himself. Now, this is just an illustration. But when you’re focusing only on what you want to do and what you want to accomplish, because it gives notice to you, he said, you’re just building up yourself. But the one who prophesies builds up the church. Right? So this is something that is beneficial to everyone. Now he’s going to work through this whole text, and no less than six times is he going to talk about the importance of building up the church.

It’s not about an individual and what they’re doing, but it’s about what’s being accomplished for the benefit of all. In fact, he uses that word a few different times. The idea of benefiting everyone, benefiting the whole church. Let all things be done then for building up. He kind of summits it in verse 26. And the point of this in verse 31 is that so all may learn and all be encouraged. And then the famous line most of you know is really at the end in the context of all of this. All things should be done decently and in order. Now the point here is not that we have an order of worship, structure that’s really nice and tidy. That’s not really the point he’s getting at.

The point is that we do things in a way that edifies, that builds up. And so in the context of this, he says, hey, somebody has a prophecy, and then someone else gets one. A little bit different than how we do things now. He says, hey, someone else gets a prophecy, you sit down. There’s a new prophecy. What you’re saying is not as important now. You need to sit down and let the other person talk, right? It’s not about the individual. It’s not about honoring this one person that had a prophecy, another person got a prophecy, and now they’re speaking. Right? And if there’s no tongue, if there’s no interpreter and you’re speaking in tongues, what’s your point? Right? This is just about yourself. You’re not benefiting anybody.

And so, unless there’s an interpreter to interpret that Mandarin prayer for nobody that speaks Mandarin, hardly in this entire audience, maybe like one percent. Why are we doing that? What’s the purpose of that action? Right? So Paul’s trying to help them think carefully about how to do this. Now, there can be times in which some of these things are appropriate. I’ve been overseas and I’ve done mission work, and there’s people who speak different languages, and we used interpreters, and people spoke in tongues and did all that because it was needed. And so when things are needed and they’re beneficial to the kingdom, that is when we do them, because the fundamental idea here is that we’re honoring God and that we’re building up the church. Verse 20.

A little bit of rebuke here. As he’s working through this idea, he says, brothers, do not be children in your thinking, be infants and evil, but in your thinking be mature. It’s not about you. That’s what Paul’s saying. Stop being a child. What matters is the congregation. And that the congregation is being built up, that they’re learning, that they’re being encouraged. Those are the sorts of things that actually matter. Not that I get my way. Or that I get my place at the table, or however we want to phrase it. The mature see the foolishness of this type of self-seeking glory within the body. And then he goes on to even say there’s times in which this actually affects outsiders, right? Or unbelievers who then show up and they see it’s kind of a show.

And do we have a problem with that in our culture? People maybe are interested in Jesus, gospel. But when they come to a worship, they see it’s just kind of a big show. How does that impact them? Well, Paul would say in a negative way, he actually talks about this very thing. And the goal should be that when they come in, the secrets of their hearts are disclosed. This is verse 25. And so falling on his face, this visitor will worship God and declare that God is really among you. When someone leaves this place, what I want them to be saying is that God is really among those people. Now, that the song service is great, wonderful. If the prayers are amazing, great. If the sermon is excellent, great.

I’m happy about all of that. And all of those things probably would go into this idea of somebody coming in and experience something where he then says, God is truly here, and worship has truly happened. But don’t miss the important detail for all of the other things that sometimes we think as humans are really important.

There’s a lot of different ways that can happen. Their culture was probably very different than ours. Their worship service and the way they did things, probably very different than the way that we do things. Right, the fundamentals are the same. They’re going to say prayers and they’re going to hear from the word of God and they’re going to sing songs. But the way that all goes about, I doubt it was very similar to what we’re doing. Because times change and cultures change and people do things in different ways. But the reality is people can come in and they can say, These people love the Lord. And I can see by their sincerity and by the way they’re doing things that they truly want to honor him, and they’re building each other up, and these people love each other and are working together.

2. Choosing Shepherds: The Purpose Remains the Same

And so this goes back to 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul makes this very point. He says, you know, figure out where you fit and you work for the common good. That’s the phrase he uses. But you’re working for the common good, chapter 12 and verse 7. Not for what you want, not for your desires, but it’s for the good of the whole body. Okay, so with that fundamental idea in place, I now want to shift the thought to some more specific things, particularly the idea of choosing shepherds, elders or overseers within this local body, something that we’re in the middle of. Some of you have probably submitted names for that already coming into today. I think today is the last day to do that, if I remember correctly.

And then there’s going to be a period of time of thinking through this, deciding what is best overall, and various parts of that process. But just as my personal service and the things I’m doing should be aligned with the congregational purpose of honoring God and building up the body, it is no different with something like selecting elders. The purpose remains the same. The things that we’re doing here, they still remain with these two primary purposes of glorifying God, of worshiping Him and building up the body. And that should be at the foundation of my thoughts, my decisions, my aims for even something like who we want to lead us as elders or shepherds of this congregation. And so we need to see this maybe as more than just a list of qualifications.

We’re going to look at those, but it’s bigger than that. You know, the qualifications, it’s kind of like your resume. You know, like things I’ve done, some experience or whatever, and it tells some things about you, but there’s actually more in scripture about all of this than just those qualifications. And those qualifications are meant to aim into the character and the morality of the person. It’s not just a checkbox that we work through and say, okay, they meet these, they’re good. Well, there’s more thought that needs to go into this than simply that. And there’s all sorts of places I really wanted to go this morning and talking about this, but it’s just limited time. We’re gonna have to focus on a few texts. Many of you have read Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3.

I probably will reference both, but I think we’ll spend a little bit more time in Titus 1 this morning. But I actually want to read from 1 Peter 5. I want to start there and talking about this idea of shepherds and who they are. Now, in Titus 1, it talks about them as being God’s stewards. So that’s behind what I want us to understand here is that shepherds, they’re not just older people. they’re not just people who look out over things and make sure everything’s functioning correctly. That’s that there’s more to it than that. This is someone who is a steward. They are a steward over God’s things. They are overseeing God’s house. And so the qualifications and the character and the morality and all of that sort of come together with this reality that just kind of like Joseph was running Potiphar’s house.

You remember that story? He’s making sure everything is functioning in just the right way, but he still is accountable to Potiphar. We’re gonna see in 1 Peter 5 that our shepherds are accountable to the chief shepherd. And I want all this to sort of come together into the third point I want to make this morning, and so it’s important that we get some of these ideas. That there is a chief shepherd that our shepherds are accountable to. They are not the ultimate authority. There is an authority above them, and I think pretty much we all understand this. But again, sometimes we need we need some reminder in understanding this process. Is somebody going to do that? Are they going to realize they are to submit to the ultimate authority and not become their own authority?

That’s one aspect of this that’s important. So Peter says, chapter 5 and verse 1, I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Alright, I want to stop there for now. And we may sort of bounce around to some other text, but we will ultimately come back to 1 Peter 5 if you want to put a marker there.

3. Overseers Are to Be Chosen Extremely Carefully

Paul is going to offer some very reasonable qualifications in the places I already referenced, Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3. I think the idea there is that overseers are to be chosen extremely carefully.

And so I just want to hit on some major categories here of some of the things that Paul goes over. The first of those is reputation. A person who is chosen to be a shepherd needs to be well thought of both within the body, within the assembly, the local assembly, and also outside. They need to be somebody who is respected in both realms. In terms of their home, he gives some specific instructions. There are to be a husband of one wife, have believing children, and they cannot be accused, it says of debauchery. Debauchery is an interesting word there. We don’t really use that a whole lot. But the term itself is actually the root term here, it comes from the word for salvation. It’s just the negation of that.

Right? So it’s from the word sozo, if you have any knowledge of Greek, which you don’t have to, but it’s the idea of preservation. That word, it doesn’t just mean salvation, but it means to preserve something, right? Or to deliver it. So there’s there’s a lot of different aspects to how that word can be used. And so the opposite of that word is what’s being used here. someone that is wasteful. That’s the idea. So their children can’t be those who are accused of being wasteful. And actually, within Greco-Roman world, this term is used, this the same term is used to and translated into English often with ancient philosophers with a word you’re very familiar with, prodigal. So they can’t have prodigal children. Now, you can think deeply about what that means.

But you know the story of the prodigal son, what we often call it, who’s run off and kind of doing his own thing and wasteful living. This is the idea. Insubordinate. Right? An overseer can’t have children who don’t listen. And a house that is not managed well, and Paul makes the point: if they can’t manage their own house, how are they going to manage the house of God? Because they are stewards. They are managing the home. Now, this is a big home, right? This is a big family, but it’s the same concept. Right? And so they need to manage their home, their individual home, and this is part of the proof or evidence that they have the ability then to manage God’s house. So this is very logical sort of thinking that I think Paul is using here in terms of the home.

And then there’s a whole lot of things about character. The primary, I think there is not arrogant. You simply cannot have an arrogant person.

Who is setting out to lead them, it’s going to become a mess. It’s going to get into all other sorts of problems. And it is really behind many of the other moral failings that Paul lists there, something like greed or whatever. Pride is behind all of that.

We have to have someone who we know is humble, who we know is of low mind, doesn’t hold himself above others. And so Paul makes this point very clear in Titus 1, he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered, which again is going to be kind of the substructure of an anger problem, whatever is going to be pride and arrogance, a drunkard, violent, greedy for gain. And there’s these other things that he needs to be doing. Someone who is hospitable, who loves good, controlled, disciplined, holy, all the sorts of things that you would expect from someone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. And then also he needs to have knowledge. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, that he may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Now it’s interesting, Paul then goes on to give a few different examples of what that looks like. He starts with the circumcision party, which are these Judaizing teachers saying, you’ve got to keep our rules or else you can’t be in Christ. He talks about Jewish myths, which involve all sorts of crazy and interesting things. And then the commands of people, just things that people come up with. Human thinking. An elder needs to have the ability then to counter all of that, to rebuke those who are bringing those sorts of things into the church. No human thinking is really a part of this process. What I mean by that is the things that humans might think are important to have as a leader, maybe like a successful businessman.

You know, he’s proven himself in the business world, or he’s rich. You know, clearly, if he’s rich, he’s done something right. You know, the sort of human thinking we can we can allow ourselves to begin to pull in even to the church, or someone who’s got some influence or who’s powerful or who is important. Now, look, some of those things may follow good men. So I’m not trying to say those are bad, but those are not the reasons for someone to become a shepherd. Now, clearly, if someone is an underhanded businessman, that does factor in. If someone’s taking advantage of others or using their power in an abusive way, I mean, all those things they can factor into how this decision is made. I just want us to understand that just because someone is successful in the world doesn’t mean they are now in prime position to lead the body of Christ.

4. A Shepherd Knows the Flock and Is Sacrificial

It is really all these other things that Paul talks about that we could go into depth on that are truly important. Even Jesus teaches us some things about what shepherds are supposed to be. I’m just going to allude to this, but you probably know the text in John chapter 10. He’s talking about how he is the good shepherd, but in doing so, he talks about shepherding and what it’s like. And we learn some things about the importance of a shepherd. Jesus says he knows the sheep. He knows them so well, he calls them by name. A shepherd has to know the flock. If they don’t, quite simply, the flock will not listen. He says later on that the flock knows and follows him. They know his voice, Jesus said.

A good friend of mine says it this way you aren’t a leader unless people follow you. And so as we’re thinking about that process and the kind of people we would put in this position, it should be the kind of people that people follow. The kind of person that already has influence, who’s already guiding wisdom, who already knows the flock, not someone who will get to know them, and they will have to get to know them. That’s not what a shepherd is. And then Jesus says a shepherd is sacrificial. They’re not after personal gain, right? This is in 1 Peter 5. We just read. That’s part of this concept that we’ll look at here in just a minute. But they’re not doing this for themselves, but shepherds are sacrificial, just like Jesus, he says, I lay my life down for the sheep.

And he talks about the hireling, right? The one you bring in to do this for you, and then the wolf comes, or obstacles, difficulties, and what do they do? They run the other way. Because they aren’t sacrificial. They aren’t invested. They don’t really care for those sheep. But Jesus, as the good shepherd, is saying, He is sacrificial. And this is the example of what shepherding looks like. And so this now brings us back to 1 Peter chapter 5. In some of these, this construction in verse 2. There’s some not but constructions here.

The idea here is to he deliberately serves. He gives of himself freely, which kind of goes into the next one as well. But it’s it’s not something he just feels like he has to do. You know, it’s a burden. But it’s something that he is glad to do and he willingly does for the good of the congregation, right? Because that’s the purpose. The purpose is to honor God and to build up his people, his assembly. Not for personal gain, but eagerly. The idea of this concept is readiness, right? Or a passion.

No, you want to help. You see that as something that is valuable and important. You know there’s a problem, you’re at their house saying, hey, we need to talk. Not to be domineering, which is the next one, but as an example to the flock. Now, many of these things, I’ve preached a sermon in the years past that talk about the idea of qualifications for everyone. That most of these things, now there are some very specific ones like being married and having children that don’t apply to every single person, but particularly the moral aspects, the character, these are things that actually every Christian should have. And what the shepherds are doing, the overseers, part of their role is then actually to be an example, to be a type.

That’s the word there. To be a type for what everyone else should be doing in a variety of ways. And so the goal is not to rule and have authority and be domineering and call the shots and be the final say. It’s kind of like being head of the household. The goal there is not that I get my way and I can say what happens, and I’m the boss and I’m in control. That’s really not the idea at all if we look carefully at marriage in scripture. I actually care about my wife, and I’m looking out for her good and for my kids as well, that I’m actually working for the good of the whole family. Now, we don’t necessarily do our rules perfectly. I think we all know that, and we fall short.

And that’s going to be similar with our shepherds, too. They’re humans, they’re not perfect. And it’s unfair to expect perfection from them, but it needs to be the kind of person who is looking out for the good of the whole, not looking for power, not looking to be able to have his say and do what he wants. We certainly don’t want other people acting that way. And so he is to be an example of the kind of leader it takes and the kind of person it takes to be a church that is growing, that is being built up. And so at this point, I would just offer a warning to those who are considering this, or maybe your name is brought up and you didn’t even know it was going to be, and so now you’re considering it.

5. Poor Shepherding Is Destructive to the Lord's People

Be warned of that poor shepherding is destructive to the Lord’s people. When it is not done well, bad things happen. It’s a position that earns honor. Paul says this let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5, verse 17. What this means is ruling can be done poorly. And it can be done in a dishonorable way. It can be done in a way in which a shepherd mismanages the stewardship of God and his house. And so it’s very serious business to think about this role and what it means. As I already mentioned, the shepherds will give account to the chief shepherd. They are accountable. And I would encourage anyone who is a part of this process whatsoever to read Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34.

We’re not going to read all those this morning, but I’ll tell you just a summary of what’s there. God promises judgment on shepherds who fail at their job. And by failure, what he means is they take advantage of people, they push aside others, and they work to get their way. Just a short snippet of what’s there in Ezekiel 34. Oh, the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves. Should not shepherds feed the sheep? The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not helped, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. The fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

So there’s a stiff warning about using a position like this for your own benefit. And the temptations are real, which is why Paul mentions them more than once. The importance of not being a novice, so that you aren’t led into being puffed up and arrogant. In for Titus 1, he just says, Don’t be arrogant. Don’t use this position of power for your own gain. And we kneel with Israel and Judah both. They had this problem. And so it is a serious warning. And Paul’s qualifications anticipate the potential danger of poor shepherds. And so we need to think carefully about that in terms of who we select, of who we choose to rule over us, and whether or not we think we’re ready for that position. This brings me then to where I want to conclude, and that is where Peter goes next in 1 Peter chapter 5.

6. Humble Yourselves Under the Mighty Hand of God

He says, likewise, this is chapter 5 and verse 5. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that the proper time he may exalt you. What I want us to get from all of this, whether it’s shepherds, elders, overseers, or whether it’s the flock in general, is that the path to exaltation is not through self-glory. It’s not through pushing for what I want and to get what I want, and making sure I get my turn or I get my attention. That is not the path to exaltation. The path to exaltation is to humble myself under the mighty hand of God.

And part of that process, then is to humble myself underneath the elders, underneath the shepherds, the people who have been chosen for this work. Now I want us to understand in all of this, as I’ve been trying to build throughout the sermon this morning, there’s a cycle to this. Choose properly, and it should be no struggle to respect and submit to your leaders. It doesn’t mean that their opinions will always match my correct opinion. Right in that how we feel.

Peter puts it right there together. Be subject to the elders and be clothed with humility and then humble myself under God’s mighty hand. God is the one who put this whole system in place. Having shepherds, overseers, leaders over the church. And by the way, a lot of this could apply to deacons as well, not talking about that as much this morning, but the same sorts of problems can occur seeking status or power or title or whatever it might be. These are positions of service and work. They’re not to get attention or self glory. And so the same warnings really apply either way. Paul talks about this in general terms in other places. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians chapter 2. Humility demands that we look, not that we can’t think about our own interests, but that we also are looking at the interests of other people. That we are elevating them above ourselves.

And getting my way is not the most important thing. But actually, I’m concerned about the things that other people think. I think marriage is kind of a good example of some of the struggle that we have with this. You ever had that feeling like I’m going to scratch their back, but then they won’t scratch mine. And so we sort of feel that way sometimes about what we want to get to, maybe in a group like a congregation. If I let them have the things they want, they probably won’t do that for me later. But I want to suggest to you that’s just nothing more than selfishness. That’s Paul’s entire point. That we’re looking out for the interests of others. Maybe I won’t get the things that I want, but that’s what humility and love is.

Now I’m not talking about allowing things to happen that are detrimental or ungodly or unbiblical. So understand that’s not the idea here. I’m talking about the changes and transitions and things that take place where people have lots of opinions about how this should be done and that should be done and all this sort of thing. And I it’s really easy to get concerned that I get what I get. And here’s the thing, we can always find reasons to dislike something. And sometimes there are major problems, and they have to be voiced and taken care of, and hopefully, elders will be humble enough to listen to those major problems. Other times, I may just need to check myself and make sure I’m just not out for my own interests.

The Hebrew writer says it this way in a text that is more pertinent to the direct topic this morning. Obey your leaders and submit to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage or benefit to you. Again, do what builds up. Do what is good for the whole congregation. Think carefully about the kind of people you’re choosing, because you need to submit to them. You need to obey them. And they have a responsibility that someone who doesn’t have this responsibility cannot understand. I have enough trouble watching out for my own soul and the souls of those within my family, which I think I have an obligation to do.

Shepherds are looking over the souls of hundreds of people, at least in this congregation. That is a heavy task. And so maybe be gracious and patient with how strongly an opinion is shared or thought of. I’m just as guilty as the next person and thinking I know best. That’s how opinions work. But we have to realize there may be times my opinion’s just ill-informed. I don’t know all the details. I may think I do. But I’ll tell you, shepherds spend hours and hours and hours talking to people and working on things that are a problem, trying to help people get through the difficulties they’re having. And there may be a number of things, and there are, and I’m sort of glad they don’t tell me all the things that are going on.

There are a number of things I don’t know about. That our shepherds who are willing and who are ready handle. Because that’s the kind of people they are. And that is worthy of honor. It’s worthy of obedience and submission. Not because I say so, but because Scripture tells us that’s what we’re supposed to do. This is the plan. This is what God is willing us to do as a local congregation. Rehoboam’s monumental failure was a result of his pride. He wanted to lord it over the people. He wanted to show how strong and how big he was. And he abused his power, and the people ran. But sometimes it takes a leader that’s willing to push people, like Ezra and Nehemiah, too. And say you’re not doing the right thing, and it’s time to get to work.

Conclusion

And so what I want us to understand this morning as we’re thinking about these changes that are coming up and the transitions that we’re having here at Decker Prairie is that we think very carefully about the kind of leaders that we will have here and what that will mean for this congregation and the direction that it will take. There’s so much more there, and there’s a lot more text to read and to think through, just gave you really kind of a surface level this morning. But I hope if you have strong opinions, that those opinions will be based on these scriptures. That’s the foundation of them, and where you will look to make your choices and make your suggestions and decide what you think is best.

And at the same time, remembering that what we are about here is honoring God and building up this congregation for the future. Maybe this morning you are interested in following Jesus Christ. That’s what we want to do here. And you want to give your life to him. You realize you need to submit your will to his. That’s the first part of this process. And you die with him in the waters of baptism. We’re ready to help you do that. We did it last week. We would love to help you in that process. And then begin a life of giving up your will for his, of submission. That’s a hard thought in our culture, but it’s the path. That’s what God calls us to do. Will you come now?

Why don’t you come as we stand and we sing?