Godly Leaders

The author of Hebrews is giving some final instructions. He has encouraged his readers to love one another and to put money in its proper place. He has reminded them that God is enough. Now he focuses on how they should treat their leaders. Stand with me as we read from Hebrews 13. We’ll be looking at verses 7-8, then skipping down to verses 17-19.

This is the Word of God: if you let it, it will change your life.

Reading: Hebrews 13:7-8, 17-19

Hebrews 13:7–8 ESV

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:17–19 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. 18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Prayer

Good leaders are a gift of God. All of us have been impacted by someone who led us. You may have had a father who modeled Christ in the home. Maybe you remember a Sunday School teacher who led you in the faith. It might have been a youth minister or Pastor who mentored you. Maybe you came to faith later in life and someone discipled you.

All of us have seen the impact of godly leadership. This morning, we’re going to consider our proper response to godly leadership.

Before I go on, let me say one brief thing: I believe that the Bible speaks to every relationship and situation we face in life. It might sound a bit self-serving for me as your Pastor to preach about how we should treat church leaders, but this is what God’s word says. I see in these words not a command for you that doesn’t apply to me. I find the Scripture shaping me before I proclaim it to you. Like Amos stated: “The Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?”

So let’s dig in to Hebrews. Look with me at verse 7:

Hebrews 13:7 ESV

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Throughout verses 7-8, then in 17-19, we are faced with some imperatives on how to treat godly leaders. The very first word is our first imperative:

Remember Them

The idea here is not just remembering - but remembering in order to respond. It’s like when you remember that you need to do something, so you go do it right away. Maybe you’ve remembered that you have a doctor’s appointment, and you rush to get ready and go. Or you remember that you left your car windows down when you hear thunder approaching, so you hurry to the car to put the windows up before it rains. That’s the kind of remembering verse 7 directs us to do.

Do you remember some godly leaders you’ve had in the past? Remember them - not just for nostalgia or for the warm-fuzzies. Remember them to let them guide you once more.

And notice how we remember them:

Hebrews 13:7 ESV

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

They spoke God’s words to us. They didn’t hide the truth because it might not be popular. They didn’t shy away from the truth because it might hurt our feelings. They spoke God’s words, and did so with love.

So think about those leaders. Remember them. Thank God for their willingness to speak the truth in love.

The end of the verse 7 shows us our second imperative:

Hebrews 13:7 ESV

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Mimic Them

The second imperative for honoring godly leaders is to mimic them. That word imitate means to mimic - it means to watch someone do something, then to try to do it yourself. I’ve told the story of kids in VBS copying the pastor’s wife while singing and doing the motions to the songs. The kids are all on stage watching her do everything in the back, and they are trying to copy her.

That’s the idea of this imperative. You’ve watched godly leaders live their lives. You’ve seen the outcome - the faith they have and the way they conducted themselves. You’ve seen their marriages flourish, their kids grow into fine young men and women, their businesses thrive. You’ve seen how they have overcome obstacles and grown through hardships. You’ve watched them handle struggles and challenges with grace and peace.

Now it’s your turn! Live your life the same way. Have the same kind of faith they have!

Jesus was telling a crowd about the two greatest commandments: (1) love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and (2) love your neighbor as yourself. Someone asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” So Jesus told them the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Afterwards, Jesus asked, “who do you think was a neighbor to the robbed man?” Look what happened next:

Luke 10:37 ESV

37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

That should be the motto for us: go and do likewise. Like what? Like godly leaders who have gone before us, for they are imitators too. Look at Hebrews 13:8:

Hebrews 13:8 ESV

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Godly leaders have a steadfast faith because their faith is in Jesus Christ. They follow him - imitating him as much as they can. Even the best men and women will never be as sure as Christ, but they strive nonetheless to be faithful to him. And we should follow their lead, looking to Jesus and walking in his ways.

You ever driven in really bad rain? If you’ve been taught how to drive by a good instructor, they will tell you to drive in the tracks of the car ahead of you. That’s where the water is least likely to cause you to hydroplane. Same with the spiritual life - drive in the tracks of godly leaders who go before you. And keep your eyes on Christ!

There’s another imperative we need to hear this morning. Look in verse 17:

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

This is actually two imperatives, but they go hand-in-hand. In fact, the words in Greek are similar-sounding words. The author is playing a little word game with the idea of being persuaded to the point of yielding. One way we should respond to godly leaders is to

Obey Them

God expects us to obey our leaders. Now, sometimes leaders can make mistakes. They can plan things out that don’t work well. Sometimes, they can even cause more harm than good, even when they have good intentions and think they are doing the right thing. So obedience doesn’t mean just blinding following their every command without question.

But it does mean giving them the benefit of the doubt when you’re not sure. It means expressing concerns, but still being willing to do things even when you aren’t sure how they’ll turn out. It means being willing to change things that need to be changed, even if you like them the way that they are. It means putting the will of God in front of your own will.

Why go through all that? Why should we submit to leaders? Well, first, God put them in charge. We should respect God’s agent as he fulfills his calling and exercises God’s authority entrusted to him. But also, look what he’s responsible for:

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

They are entrusted not just with doing God’s will, but also with tending God’s flock. That’s a heavy burden. If you’ve ever had any role where people report to you, you realize the burden of being responsible for their good. Whether you’re a manager in a company, or the owner of a small business, or a parent of children or a teacher in a classroom, knowing that someone depends on you to make the right decision is a grave responsibility. Now add the spiritual implications of misleading God’s sheep, and the burden is even heavier.

Godly leaders faithfully and dutifully bear the burden of people’s spiritual well-being. They make sure the flock is fed and has the water of life to drink. They chase away the wolves and go after the strays. They spend sleepless nights praying for the people they love. That phrase “keeping watch” implies “chasing away sleep.”

That leads us to a fourth imperative:

Encourage Them

We find this at the end of verse 17:

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Perhaps the single greatest thing you can do for a godly leader is show your appreciation. Now, godly leaders aren’t in it for the glory - they are content for the glory to go to God. After all, it’s all his glory anyway. But a “thank you” goes a long way.

Some of God’s leaders have not had much encouragement in their lives. Jeremiah prophesied and prophesied, but most of his words fell on deaf ears. Same with just about every prophet. Ironically, the most successful prophet in the Bible was Jonah - and he was pitching a hissy-fit over his success!

I think of the life of Charles Simeon. Simeon was a preacher for decades in one church - and they despised him. Yet he ministered faithfully year after year. He started training men to preach, and by his death in 1836, 1 out of 3 Anglican ministers in Britain had been trained by Simeon.

How much better it is, though, when we love our leaders back. Encourage those who lead. Get behind them. Cheer them. Pick up the plow and help them. You’ll bring joy to God’s servants and it will benefit you too!

One more imperative is found in verse 18:

Hebrews 13:18 ESV

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.

The final imperative for responding to godly leaders is to:

Pray for Them

The verb “pray” here has the idea of coming to God on another’s behalf. In other words, just as godly leaders are responsible for the spiritual vitality of those they lead, so we as sheep ought to bear them up before the Lord in prayer. We should ask God to bless them with clarity and vision, with power and with wisdom, that they might lead well. We should ask God to help them through their personal struggles and to remind them of his grace and provision in their need.

What a beautiful picture these verses give us of the church. Leaders are diligently modeling Christlikeness before the church while caring for its needs and protecting the congregation from dangers without and within. The church responds to its godly leaders by remembering their example, mimicking their faith, obeying them, encouraging them, and praying for them.

God has designed the church to work that way. So, what are we waiting for?

Prayer to Invitation