74 Acts 20:7-12 Church Leaders: Priority #1

March 23, 2025

Christopher C. Freeman

Title: Church Leaders: Priority #1 Text: Acts 20:7-12 FCF: We often struggle listening and obeying church leadership. Prop: Because obedient church leaders give their highest priority to the spiritual growth of the church, we must consider it our highest priority by listening to and obeying our leaders’ spiritual instruction. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 20. In a moment we’ll read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 7. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Some have noted that last week’s message was somewhat surprising. In reading what amounts to essentially an itinerary, perhaps you too did not think that there would be much to learn from such a text. Nevertheless, we see Paul’s consistent desire to exhort, encourage, and teach the scriptures to believers all around the Aegean Sea. In what is quickly becoming Luke’s emphasis, we will notice yet again the character of Paul in this text this morning. I dare say that as many were surprised by last week’s message hidden in a seemingly empty 6 verses, many will be equally surprised by this week’s message. Because many a believer has no doubt entered this text and been led to believe that Luke’s primary point is the miracle of raising a young boy back to life. However… would it shock you to hear that the death and resurrection of this young boy is actually just an interruption in what is the main point of this passage? Don’t believe me? Let’s look. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Most loving and gracious Father. You have sent Your Son to purchase us from the domain of darkness. You have sent Your Spirit to dwell in us and make us new. And to guide us in Your ways you have raised up for us godly church leaders whose primary objective is to do all that is in their power to ensure our spiritual success. Father, I pray that you might send your Spirit among us today to reveal to us the blessing of Your Dear Son’s Undershepherds and their purpose which has been ordained by Christ Himself. May Your people grow in their attentiveness, submission, and love for spiritual instruction. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Transition: Let us get right to the text this morning… there is much to cover. I.) Obedient church leaders give their highest priority to the spiritual growth of the church, so we must be attentive and submissive to spiritual instruction. (7-9) a. [Slide 2] 7 - And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, i. From some of the earliest writings we have of church fathers that are not the writings of the apostles, we understand that the early church met together on the first day of the week to worship God together. ii. They called it the Lord’s Day. iii. On the first day of the week in creation God created the heavens and the earth. His Spirit moved upon the formless waters and brought order out of chaos. He created light and separated the light from the darkness. On the first day of the week our Savior rose from the dead and brought spiritual light to His people separating them from spiritual darkness forever, bringing them the dawn of new creation. iv. While there are many Christians who believe that the Lord’s Day is the equivalent of the Christian Sabbath, there is actually very good reasons to conclude that this is, in fact, not the case. v. At some point in the near future, I plan to do a deeper dive into this matter. The title of that study will be, “Should we celebrate a Christian Sabbath on Sunday?” We’ll discuss the arguments posited by both sides and see if we can’t find an answer together. vi. Until then, it is important to understand that the church at this time both obyed the Sabbath on Saturday, if they were Jewish, and also gathered together on Sunday as the church, Jew or Gentile. vii. Luke points out here that gathering together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, sharing a fuller meal together, worshipping God and hearing preaching of the Word on Sunday – was all normal and common practice in the church since its beginning. b. [Slide 3] Paul began speaking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. i. Luke and Paul spent a week in Philippi celebrating the feast of unleavened bread, they traveled for 5 days to Troas and then stayed in Troas 7 days. ii. This is the seventh day of their stay in the city of Troas and Paul and Luke intend to leave the next day. iii. Paul is trying to make it to Jerusalem for Pentecost. Pentecost is on the 50th day after Passover. So, if we are tracking, we are about 14 days into that 50. iv. Given what could happen during travel, Paul and his companions are eager to press on – but not so much so that they abandon believers seeking discipleship. v. We see Paul staying up to midnight preaching a message of exhortation from the word of God to the brothers and sisters there in Troas. vi. Although church services would no doubt be held after sunset to accommodate lower class workers, it is certainly not a normal thing for services to have gone on this long. We can infer that from Luke telling us that Paul prolonged his message until midnight. vii. Paul wishes to leave them with as much teaching as possible. viii. The word for speaking here is often used of dialectic teaching where there are questions and answers. It would have been structured and ordered – but there would have been opportunities for discussion as well. ix. Because of this we can reasonably assume that the vast majority of the believers here at Troas were interacting with Paul and Paul was not droning on and on to a group of people who were bord out of their skulls. x. Inferring these details from what Luke has told us, helps us to see this narrative episode for what it is because so often people see it for what it isn’t. xi. More on that as we go forward. c. [Slide 4] 8 - Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. i. I literally laughed out loud after the fourth or fifth time reading this passage through. ii. It suddenly occurred to me the potential comedy associated with this little verse. iii. Luke seems to imply that everything upstairs was well lit with many lamps. It wasn’t dark. Paul was preaching, so it wasn’t quiet. iv. In other words, Eutychus didn’t have a lot of great excuses to fall asleep. v. Now as I turned to commentators and scholars to confirm that this is what Luke is saying, I was shocked to see how many different opinions there are on the significance of this little verse. 1. Some, but very few, saw it the way I did where these lights were meant to exonerate Paul and the church in Eutychus’ falling asleep. a. There were actually punishments associated with young people falling asleep in the synagogue at that time. b. You could actually be expelled from the Synagogue for 30 days if you were a youth that fell asleep during the teaching of the Word of God. c. Therefore, Luke may be hinting that Eutychus has some of this blame as Paul and the church did not make it easy to fall asleep since it was loud and well-lit. 2. Some conclude that Luke is implying that the upper room was very warm with so many lit lamps. a. Thus, it was very conducive for sleep… in other words the opposite reading of what I saw. b. But, if it were too warm, wouldn’t Eutychus have stood a better chance at staying awake at the window? 3. Other commentators, knowing that they were no doubt oil lamps, suggest that the oxygen in the room would have been in low supply. a. Again, indicating that it was conducive to sleep. b. But Eutychus being at the window has the best chance of breathing easy. 4. Still others suggest that this comment of many lamps is intended to suggest that the room was quite full of people, who have brought their torches with them. a. The strength of this interpretation seems to be in keeping with Luke’s emphasis. b. Luke is emphasizing Paul and his conduct as a good church leader and with many people there and only 1 falling asleep, again Eutychus is to blame for falling asleep. 5. And even others suggest that the many lights indicate that the Christians were not hiding or meeting in secret. a. Again, a valid interpretation. b. However, if this is Luke’s point, it seems to be well hidden since there is no indication of persecution by the authorities in the city of Troas. vi. When we come down to it, we must understand verse 8 in the context of the whole. The miracle, as we will see, and Eutychus’ part in all this, is very… VERY small. vii. Luke is telling this story to further authenticate Paul as a servant of God like previous servants you may have seen in the scriptures including both Peter and even Jesus Himself. viii. Therefore, I conclude that this comment about the lights has to be related to exonerating Paul from any blame associated with this accident. d. [Slide 5] 9 - And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the windowsill, sinking into a deep sleep. i. Nevertheless, despite there being many lamps and despite Paul speaking with power and authority, and despite all these folks gathered and discussing the scriptures together, this young man named Eutychus, was sinking into a deep sleep. ii. Now to be fair, it is midnight. Assuming he woke that day at sunrise, and assuming that he spent all day working as a slave boy, which the word “boy” in verse 12 could also be interpreted to mean, and assuming the evening had been full of celebration with the church, feasting, many songs, and long sermons… we can see why Eutychus might have been a little sleepy. iii. And perhaps he sought the window because it WAS getting stuffy in the house and Eutychus sought the cool breeze off the Aegean to keep himself awake? We can assume noble intentions. iv. In any case, Eutychus fights a losing battle with his weak humanity. v. He does not take enough necessary steps to stay awake. e. [Slide 6] And as Paul kept on talking, he sunk into that sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. i. Paul continues to preach because the message is not finished. ii. We even get the impression that most of the church gathered there in the upper room were attentively listening and even participating in discussion. iii. Indeed, Paul seems to be the one making a great sacrifice here. Despite having to leave in the morning, he continues to preach. iv. Nevertheless, Eutychus succumbed to his human need for sleep and fell out of the third story window. v. The expression, picked up dead, is an idiom suggesting that he was dead when he hit the ground. Most likely a broken neck. vi. There is absolutely no reason to believe anything different in this text other than that Eutychus was dead. Not unconscious or appearing dead. Luke is a physician remember. He would certainly be able, with relative precision, to determine if the boy was merely unconscious or dead. vii. Luke says he is dead. f. [Slide 7] Summary of the Point: Since, as we’ve said, Luke’s emphasis seems to be less on Eutychus and the miracle and more on Paul and his excellence as a spokesperson of God in a long line of prophets all the way back to the Old Testament, it is important to see that the message of this text is primarily rooted in a truth about obedient and godly church leadership. Paul is not an Elder of a church, although he is certainly qualified to be one. He is a missionary and an apostle. A Preacher, an Evangelist. His role encompasses various roles we still have even now in the church. Meaning Paul is able to provide an example for us for all church leaders. And we see very clearly in this text, the priority that Paul puts on the spiritual growth of the church. Even though he must leave the very next day, he meets, into the late hours of the night, with these believers in Troas, ministering to them and growing them in spiritual instruction. He lingers with them, at the expense of himself. We see prophets, priests, kings, other apostles, and even Jesus Himself doing similar things. Paul then is a model for us of what Godly and obedient church leaders value most. What they prioritize most in their ministries. And it is, quite simply, the spiritual growth of the church. So, what ought to be the response of the church to such a church leader? We ought to listen attentively and submissively to our spiritual leadership. Yes, Eutychus provides for us a negative example. Even though we can excuse him for being tired – the bottom line is that to a certain degree, he allowed himself to fall asleep. Much like Jesus rebuked his disciples for sleeping while he prayed in Gethsemane, so also, we must see Eutychus’ example as a rebuke to us, and recognize that we cannot passively grow in spiritual maturity. We cannot grow closer to Christ by osmosis. Instead, we must actively listen and obey instruction from the Word of God. Transition: [Slide 8(blank)] Well, we already know what happens to Eutychus. In fact, the story is so well known that there isn’t a lot of suspense here on what will happen next. But after Eutychus is raised… it might be a shock to you what happens then. Let’s get into it. II.) Obedient church leaders give their highest priority to the spiritual growth of the church, so we must also greatly appreciate spiritual instruction. a. [Slide 9] 10 - But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” i. Paul, pauses his sermon for the immediate physical need of the young boy Eutychus. ii. He goes down to the street and falls upon the boy. iii. In a scene which is reminiscent of Elijah and Elisha laying upon someone in order to raise them from the dead, Paul embraces the young man and pulls him close. iv. Luke does not tell us that Paul prayed for him. He does not tell us that Paul commanded him to live again. v. Given the fact that he was dead when he hit the ground, one thing we can be sure – it was the power of God, not Paul, that raised Eutychus from the dead. vi. When Paul recognizes that life has returned to him, he assures everyone that there is no reason to be worried or troubled. The boy is alive. vii. So, what now? The boy is raised? Probably time to dismiss everyone and go home right? b. [Slide 10] 11 - And when he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. i. In what could certainly be seen as rather unkind or lacking compassion, Paul returns inside and fellowships and speaks with the church until daybreak. ii. Some may suggest that after such a terrible tragedy being averted only by a miracle from God, perhaps that was a good time to call it a night and return home. iii. Instead, Paul continues to fellowship with the church and even speak further with them concerning the things of the Lord. iv. Probably Luke intends The Lord’s Supper here when he mentions breaking bread. v. He stays until the sun rises. vi. This is a true expression of Paul’s priorities. vii. Certainly, he did not ignore the physical world, as if it did not matter or was evil – like the Gnostics would later conclude. viii. Instead, he had compassion on the boy who had died, but when he was alive again, he returned to spiritual matters and matters of fellowship with the body of Christ – for these were of utmost priority to Paul before he left them for Jerusalem. ix. Perhaps because he assumed he would never return. c. [Slide 11] 12 - And they took away the boy alive, and were not a little comforted. i. And just in case there was any doubt as to the boy’s condition as the night went on – he went away alive with his family. ii. He did not swoon back as if he hung on the balance between life and death. iii. Instead, he was dead, and was now alive. iv. His family left the church assembly after daybreak greatly comforted because he was as he came. Alive and well. d. [Slide 12] Summary of the Point: Luke again emphasizes the priority that church leadership must give to spiritual growth. Just because something is the highest priority doesn’t mean other things aren’t important. Paul was obviously not done instructing the congregation in Troas. But he interrupted all that he was saying to go and minister to the young man. However, once he was raised back to life, Paul went right back to breaking bread and teaching the believers again. No doubt even using the vivid death to life illustration to teach on Christ through the Lord’s Supper and further explain the nature of Christianity to them. It is very clear that Paul’s top priority, even in the midst of someone dying during one of his sermons, was to ensure the spiritual growth of God’s children. What do we see as the response? Paul’s continued ministry of the Word is met by people who have reordered their life to appreciate the instruction. Even the newly raised Eutychus stays until Paul is finished. If the church leadership is prioritizing spiritual growth, that should also be the priority of the church as well. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today and how then shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 13] Every episode in the book of Acts exposes the work of God to spread the gospel and the kingdom of Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth through His apostles. And in this particular context, we see the priority of those God is using to do this. The priority of church leaders, even missionaries like Paul, is to focus on the spiritual growth of the church. Paul needs to leave on Monday, but the Christians of Troas need his instruction. So, Paul stays up with them until daybreak to instruct them in the Word. Even when he is interrupted by a young man falling from a window and dying, Paul, by the power of the Holy Spirit, raises the young man back to life and then continues ministering to the spiritual growth of the believers in Troas… including the young man who had just been raised. This is a pattern for us describing what every obedient and godly church leader ought to prioritize above everything else. Namely, the spiritual growth of the children of God to be mature and Christlike people. In this little story we see two responses to the priority Paul places on spiritual growth. The first is a negative example of Eutychus. He did not remain attentive or submissive to the spiritual instruction of Paul. Second, we see that after he was raised, Eutychus stayed, proving that his priorities had reoriented around the importance of spiritual instruction. So we too much put spiritual instruction as our primary objective by attentively listening and obeying it. But let me apply this more directly to us today. Let me give you some rather toe crunching applications this morning. 1.) [Slide 14] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that church leaders are required by God to focus on the spiritual growth of those in their charge. a. Though a miracle occurs in this text, it is very obviously an interruption in what is the priority for Paul. b. Paul sacrificially gives of himself to teach and preach to hungry believers in Troas. He has to depart the very next day, but stays up with them until midnight discussing the things of the Lord. c. They are interrupted by this tragedy, but the moment it is resolved, Paul goes right back to preaching and fellowshipping with the church there. d. The heart of Paul shows a clear priority on the spiritual instruction and growth of God’s people. e. If we go back, we see this same heart found in the prophets and godly kings of Israel. We see this same heart in Jesus as he corrects Martha for working while spiritual instruction was occurring. f. No matter what your preconceived ideas of what a Pastor or Elder should be… you must come to grips with the reality that our primary role… the one for which we will stand before God to be judged… is whether or not we focused on the spiritual instruction and growth of God’s people. g. Knowing this, it may require you to discard some expectations you may have of your Elders. h. Our culture expects pastors to be all kinds of things that would cause us to sacrifice spiritual instruction as our primary objective. i. Many were raised expecting their pastor to make house visits, hospital visits, go do to door evangelizing, conduct weddings, perform funerals, call on everyone in the church just to check in with them, come to people’s houses and mow their lawns, fix their plumbing, and a whole host of other expectations that could require an Elder to sacrifice the one priority that the Lord has placed on his shoulders. j. Now, can an Elder do these things? Should an Elder do these things? Certainly. k. But not at the expense of our primary objective. l. It has been almost a decade, so I feel as though I can speak of it plainly without seeming like I am airing dirty laundry. m. But before I became the pastor here, I was an associate pastor of another church for about 6 years. n. About a year before I was fired, the lead pastor met with me and told me that he did not think that I was called to be a pastor. He explained that I did not seem to have a heart of compassion for others as a pastor should and suggested I become a professor at a seminary since I spent most of my time preparing to teach the scriptures. o. My friends, this pastor was deceived. He was duped to believe that compassion for others, specifically in acts of kindness, should be the primary focus of a pastor. p. And he believed it so much that he was convinced that something was wrong with me for prioritizing teaching God’s people His Word. q. I bear no ill will toward him, because the Lord’s hand of providence clearly led me to this church, and in June I’ll have been your pastor for 9 years. r. But one of the things I have appreciated the most about you as a church family, is that you have allowed me to put your spiritual instruction as my highest priority. s. I must confess that I often feel a longing in my heart to call each of you to check in. I feel a longing in my heart to visit you when you are ill. And when the Lord allows, I do enjoy visiting or calling you and by the end of our conversations I always feel a desire to make it a more frequent occurrence. t. But among the other Elders or the congregation, I have never felt an expectation to do anything other than devoting most of my time to deep study and diligent instruction of the Word of God. u. And for this – I say, thank you. v. And also, let’s keep it that way for all the Elders. w. God’s primary objective for every spiritual leader, is to see to the spiritual instruction and growth of those to whom He has entrusted to us. x. But, of course, we can pendulum swing too far, can’t we? 2.) [Slide 15] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that church leaders should only focus on the spiritual growth of the church. a. We notice in this text that in the middle of a long discussion about spiritual things, Paul is interrupted by such a petty little thing as the death of one of the church members. 😊 b. I am joking of course. c. Paul performs this miracle out of sheer compassion and sympathy for the boy and his family. d. He stops his instruction and runs to the street and falls on the boy. e. We see prophets, priests, kings, apostles and Jesus Himself all have compassion on people and take a moment out of their teaching to alleviate the physical pains of those around them. f. For a church leader, yes our primary objective is the spiritual growth of God’s people… but that doesn’t mean it is our only objective. g. For though we are church leaders, we are also part of the church. This means that acts of kindness, acts of service, acts of love toward other believers is also laid upon us. h. We also are commanded to love other believers as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. i. Now we do not do this to the exclusion of the rest of the body, as if we are hirelings of the church to do everything… but we work alongside the rest of the church to help those in need. j. Elders must have spiritual instruction as our primary objective – but this does not mean we are free to shut ourselves up in our study, take the pulpit and preach and then quickly run back to our study to begin the next sermon. k. Instead, Elders must function with the primary objective of spiritual instruction in balance with other fruits and duties that are part of following Christ. l. This is where a plurality of qualified church leaders is so important. Elders share the load of spiritual instruction so that if a physical need arises that would require an Elder to abandon their spiritual instruction, another can take his place in a moment. m. Again, I appreciate so much that our church seems to understand this balance very well. n. So now that we see what church leaders should prioritize – how should we all respond to church leaders executing their number 1 priority? 3.) [Slide 16] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must be attentive and submissive to the spiritual instruction of our church leaders. a. Luke frames Paul’s continued preaching as an act of sacrificial love toward the church in Troas. They were starving for spiritual instruction, and even though Paul had to travel the next day, he stayed late into the night teaching them from the Word. b. And although we may understand why Eutychus fell asleep, it does not excuse him from doing so. c. It certainly is never the desire of any church leader to be boring. None of us want to get behind a pulpit, lectern, or lead a class where everyone is dying of boredom. It is incumbent upon us to be well studied and to deliver our teaching with passion and clarity. d. But listen to me… that is instruction for church leaders… not for you. e. You must be attentive. You must do all that is within your power to hear and obey the teachings of the Lord as delivered by His human servants whom He has appointed over you. f. You do not have the luxury of playing the boring card. g. You do not have the right to fall asleep every week or play on your phone or read a book and ignore the teaching of the Word of God because the person doing so is not your cup of tea, they are boring, or they aren’t telling enough stories. h. Another piece of instruction people have heard is that people won’t care about what you say if they do not know that you care. This is great instruction. But once again, it is instruction for church leaders and not for you. i. It is true that it is easier to hear and obey what someone says when you know that they love you and want what is best for you. But listen to me, it is a lie that church leaders must earn the right to exhort you from the Word of God. j. They do not. k. You do not have to feel loved, appreciated, cared for, or respected in order to listen to a church leader’s reproof, rebuke, correction, or instruction from the Word of God. Because it isn’t their words… it is God’s Word. l. Church leaders are not politicians. We do not have to court your good feelings and your best wishes in order to earn the right to tell you hard things. m. Instead, we should tell you hard things BECAUSE we love you and want you to live in accordance with the commands of a Holy God. n. Whether you feel loved or respected is absolutely irrelevant if the person speaking has been appointed by God over you and is delivering to you the Word of God. o. Our only responsibility when we are being instructed with the Word of God is to hear and to heed. To listen and to obey. To be attentive and to submit. p. Do not be like poor Eutychus who allowed his human desires to get in the way of being attentive and submissive to spiritual instruction. Do not dismiss the instruction of the Word of God for any reason at all. q. Be attentive. Be submissive. r. And what should we stop doing? 4.) [Slide 17] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop allowing lesser priorities to take the place of spiritual instruction in the church. a. Whatever else the church is… it must primarily be about the spiritual instruction and growth of the church. b. And although it is important for each local assembly to understand their role in their local community, every church regardless of context is required to prioritize the making of disciples. c. This includes evangelism but beyond merely conversion. To the spiritual instruction and maturity of the body of Christ. d. Many churches in American Evangelicalism have cast aside this mission. e. They have opted for less teaching, shorter sermons, smaller fellowship focused groups, artificial programs, and strategies dependent more on data than God’s Word. f. All in an effort to get more butts into the pews. g. But my friends… therein lies the problem. h. Getting more people has become their number 1 priority. i. The logic is, if we can get more people in, we can expose more people to the gospel. j. But the scriptures tell us to go… and make disciples. k. They have flipped the paradigm upside down from the biblical model. l. We as individuals go and share the gospel so that we can gather those whom the Lord is saving into one body where we can teach all that the Lord has commanded, so that they can live as He has commanded us to live. m. Nothing should take the priority of spiritual instruction in the church… because nothing can and still render the same results. n. When we emphasize butts in seats, we have a host of people with an inch deep faith. o. When we emphasize spiritual instruction and growth, we may have fewer people… but whose faith can endure trials and tribulations that are sure to come soon. p. My friends – may we never sacrifice the number one priority of spiritual instruction and growth in this church. The day we do this… is the first day of our demise. 5.) [Slide 18] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God has given spiritual leadership for the benefit of the church. a. Turn with me briefly to Hebrews chapter 13. b. With all this talk of attention and submission to church leaders, I can already hear your objections. What if they tell me wrong, what if they lead me astray, what if… what if… what if. c. These are valid objections and certainly should be looked out for… but they are irrelevant to this discussion of being attentive and submissive to spiritual instruction from the Word of God. d. Listen to the words of Hebrews 13 verse 17. i. The church is tasked with obeying and submitting to its leaders. As an aside, of assurance, the author of Hebrews tells them that their leaders are pursuing the noble purpose of watching out for their very souls. But there is actually A REASON to obey and submit to church leaders… what is it? ii. So that they will watch over your souls with joy. We have to watch over your souls whether you obey or not. Whether you submit or not. Whether you are a pain or a pleasure, we must watch out for you. iii. But the instructions of the Word to you are to obey and submit so that your Elders can do this with joy and not with groaning. iv. So, what if they do so with groaning? v. Again… God’s word says it is better… FOR YOU… if we watch over you with joy. e. My friends, church leaders, Elders… are given for the good of the church. f. We are watchmen looking out for false teaching. g. We are shepherds providing biblical guidance. h. We are like fathers to children, like husbands to wives, we are responsible for and care for the spiritual wellbeing of those we have been charged with. i. And this is for your good. j. And it is for your profit to listen to us and to obey us when we instruct you from the Word. k. We need to care for you soul regardless. But you cause great groanings when you don’t listen and obey. l. We are here for you. To serve you. And to serve you primarily by giving spiritual instruction. You only harm yourself when you do not listen and obey. [Slide 19 (end)] Let me close with a prayer recorded in the Apostolic Constitutions written in the late 4th century. Lord God Almighty, no one rules over you. You always were. and are, and will be. You stand in need of nothing. You alone are true, and wise, and most high. You alone are good, and beyond compare. Your knowledge is without beginning. You are God and Father of your only begotten Son, of our God and Savior, the creator of the whole world by him. Your providence provides for and takes care of all. Father of mercies, God of all consolation, you dwell in the highest heaven, but see us here below. From the beginning, you ordained leaders for your people: Abel, Seth, and Amos. Enoch and Noah. Melchizedek and Job. Abraham and the rest of the patriarchs, with your faithful servants Moses and Aaron, Eleazar and Phineas ... who chose rulers and priests in the tabernacle. Pour down the influence of your Spirit. Grant by your name that these servants whom you have chosen may feed your flock, serving you night and day, and gathering those who will be saved. May we please you in meekness and a pure heart, with steadfast and blameless minds, above reproach, offering to you a pure sacrifice through Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. All glory, honor, and worship be to you in the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for all ages, amen. Benediction: May the Lord grant you to see where you are lacking, that you might have everything; May He grant you a vision of your poverty, that you might be rich beyond measure. May He show you that you are destitute so that you may be filled with fullness of His supply. Until we meet again, go in peace.