NXR Podcast - DAILY TRUTH - All Christians Need a Shepherd
Aired: 2022-10-03
Duration: 08:30


=== Accountability Within the Flock (08:30) ===

[00:00:00]  Wait, Hold it.
[00:00:02]  Big announcement, a scary announcement, a threat, but also a promise.
[00:00:07]  The price of our conference, the Post Millennial and Theonomy Conference, it's going up.
[00:00:12]  It's going up right after Reformation Day.
[00:00:14]  We are going to hold the price at $100, which is super cheap for a three day conference with Dr. James White, Dr. Joseph Boot, Dr. Gary DeMar, and the guy who's not a doctor.
[00:00:24]  So we'll say Pastor Joel Webbin.
[00:00:26]  We've got a great conference May 5th, 6th, and 7th in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin, for $100.
[00:00:33]  Super cheap.
[00:00:35]  But we can't hold that price forever.
[00:00:37]  So if you want to get into that price, you got to get in now, right after Reformation Day, not Halloween, Reformation Day, October 31st.
[00:00:44]  That's the last day that you can get in this conference, register at the price of a hundred bucks.
[00:00:49]  After that, starting November 1st, it's going to be a hundred and thirty.
[00:00:53]  So go to Right Response Conference dot com, Right Response Conference dot com, and register today.
[00:01:00]  Thanks.
[00:01:02]  Jesus said, Man cannot live on bread alone, but from every word that proceeds from the mouth.
[00:01:07]  Of God, you're listening to daily truth.
[00:01:13]  Acts chapter 20, verse 28, first Peter 5 also works.
[00:01:16]  Pay careful attention.
[00:01:17]  This is pastors and deacons now, primarily in this context, it's the Ephesian elders, it's pastors.
[00:01:22]  Pay careful attention to yourselves.
[00:01:24]  So, pastors, watch your own lives, be godly, and to all the flock.
[00:01:29]  Whoa, if we stop there, I just wouldn't even be able to get out of bed in the morning.
[00:01:36]  I'm a pastor, this is a commandment from scripture to me.
[00:01:41]  Pastors, watch yourselves.
[00:01:42]  It's like, that's already a full time job, okay?
[00:01:45]  Try my best by God's grace to do that.
[00:01:48]  And the flock.
[00:01:50]  Our flock here is a universal global flock of God.
[00:01:58]  How do you practically obey that command?
[00:02:01]  How do you do that?
[00:02:02]  How does a pastor keep care?
[00:02:04]  And it says, careful.
[00:02:05]  Careful watch over every single member of the flock of Christ universally.
[00:02:13]  It can't be what he's talking about.
[00:02:16]  We know it's not what he's talking about.
[00:02:18]  And here it is explicitly.
[00:02:19]  It's very helpful.
[00:02:20]  Which flock?
[00:02:21]  The one in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
[00:02:25]  Oh, okay.
[00:02:26]  All right.
[00:02:27]  Well, that's still going to be a tall task.
[00:02:29]  But by God's grace, that's something that me and the other pastors of this church, we can do.
[00:02:33]  Watch your own lives.
[00:02:35]  Watch each other.
[00:02:35]  Hold each other accountable to godliness and repentance.
[00:02:39]  To right doctrine and right lives.
[00:02:41]  And together, as a team of pastors, that's why our church.
[00:02:45]  Affirms a plurality of elders, meaning more than just one pastor, because we want to carefully oversee, watch the flock.
[00:02:54]  And we can more carefully watch the flock if there are more of us watching.
[00:02:58]  And so we have five elders, five pastors at this church who are going to be watching each other and watching the flock carefully.
[00:03:05]  And the reason we can do it is because we have five pastors, not just one, and because we have one flock that is visible and definable through church membership and not an ethereal, theoretical. invisible church where there's no way of knowing who's a part of it.
[00:03:22]  So again, submission, you can say, my attendance is enough for me to see that you're my leader and I need to submit to you.
[00:03:29]  Here's the counter with shepherding.
[00:03:31]  Your attendance is not enough for me and the elders to see you and know that we're going to be held accountable for keeping careful watch.
[00:03:38]  See, so by attending, you're able to pinpoint us as your leader.
[00:03:42]  But by your attending, we are not able to pinpoint you as a part of this flock.
[00:03:47]  Look, there are people who have attended this church dozens of times.
[00:03:52]  But I don't even know your name.
[00:03:55]  You show up late, you leave early, probably intentionally.
[00:04:02]  I say probably because we can't discern motives.
[00:04:03]  I'd be hypocritical if I said definitely.
[00:04:05]  I already addressed that, right?
[00:04:06]  So I don't know, maybe that's not your motive.
[00:04:08]  Maybe every single week, you know, there's a reason.
[00:04:13]  But how can I legitimately, in any way that would be faithful to obeying this command, Acts chapter 20, verse 28, shepherd you?
[00:04:23]  I don't know anything about you.
[00:04:25]  So how do you get on my radar?
[00:04:27]  See, that's the very thing I think in our hearts, especially in the American church today, that's so lackadaisical.
[00:04:33]  And it's not just apathy, it's also fear.
[00:04:35]  You're afraid.
[00:04:35]  I get it.
[00:04:36]  You're afraid.
[00:04:37]  We are afraid of making ourselves accountable to someone else because it's giving someone power.
[00:04:45]  I mean, doesn't it feel so much safer to just keep the power for yourself?
[00:04:49]  I'm not going to trust somebody else and give them that position, that authority to discipline me.
[00:04:56]  So, your whole sermon today, really, Joel, you thought this sermon was going to be compelling?
[00:05:00]  You thought it was going to be persuasive?
[00:05:01]  Because your whole sermon is you're saying that I should voluntarily bind myself to this flock so that I could be potentially kicked out and publicly everybody would be a part of it?
[00:05:17]  Why would anyone do that?
[00:05:19]  There's so much safety in accountability.
[00:05:25]  Could those leaders, could those people in positions of authority, positions of accountability, abuse it?
[00:05:31]  Yes.
[00:05:32]  And here's the reality.
[00:05:33]  There is no way to definitively ensure that that won't happen.
[00:05:40]  I cannot promise you.
[00:05:43]  I want to.
[00:05:43]  Everything in me wants to.
[00:05:45]  But I would be lying.
[00:05:46]  I would not be being forthright with you.
[00:05:48]  I want to promise you that if you're a member of this church, the elders and the deacons and the other members will never, ever abuse you.
[00:05:58]  I can't make that promise.
[00:06:00]  I am a sinner.
[00:06:01]  I'm going to do my best.
[00:06:06]  You might be abused.
[00:06:10]  But here are your options.
[00:06:12]  You could submit yourself to the people of God who are at least striving to be biblical, who preach expositionally, text by text, every single week, who have a 23-page constitution that most of it is scripture to try to ensure that we do things justly and rightly.
[00:06:29]  That, yes, you may still be abused, but is earnestly striving not to, and at least you have accountability and safety and authority and blessing.
[00:06:37]  Or.
[00:06:39]  You can trust yourself and only yourself.
[00:06:45]  And you can be the rogue Christian who shows up at this church and then shows up at that and maybe even consistently attends one church, but you never raise your hand and say, Here I am, Pastor Me.
[00:06:59]  By your attendance, you've put us on your radar, but by your refusal to become a member in the church, you've never put yourself on our radar.
[00:07:08]  And when your marriage starts going south, You have intentionally designed your commitment to be just obscure enough to where no one will call.
[00:07:15]  Because you don't want them to.
[00:07:19]  And when greed is an idol in your heart and you're actually not being generous in giving to the household of faith, no one will know.
[00:07:28]  And no one will be able to correct you on it.
[00:07:34]  And it's by design.
[00:07:36]  You did it intentionally.
[00:07:39]  You spurned correction.
[00:07:42]  The proverb says that the man who spurns correction is a fool.
[00:07:48]  Don't be a fool.
[00:07:50]  Yeah, you might be abused.
[00:07:52]  But you know how I can promise you that you will be abused?
[00:07:57]  If you only give power to yourself.
[00:08:01]  If you become a member of this church and give power to others, authority to others, allow others to hold you accountable, you might be abused.
[00:08:09]  But if you only ever give authority and power to yourself, you will be abused.
[00:08:14]  Thanks so much for listening.
[00:08:15]  But, real quick, before you go, do us a small favor.
[00:08:18]  Take a moment and leave us a five star review if you enjoyed the show.
[00:08:22]  This is undoubtedly the best way that you can help us get this biblically faithful content to as many people as possible.
[00:08:29]  Thanks so much.