Pray For Your Overseers and Leaders

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.. -Acts 20:28-32

Loved ones, this morning, I’m in need of prayer. I’m exhausted, my resources are stretched thin (in every which way), and I feel like a person who has been through a good work out! Last night, we completed day 2 of our Revival (if you’re in town, come join us tonight at 7, come to be challenged, but above all come to be changed), and I have indeed been inspired and challenged to grow and fan the flames of Renewal and Awakening in our congregation and our town. And, in this examination of myself through the Scriptures and the faithful preaching of the word, I realize this: I need prayer. I need prayer for so many things, but, especially, to lead, alongside and in submission to the Elders of this congregation, this people God has called me to preach to. The Elders need prayer. The Deacons need prayer. We need it so we can be who God has called us to be, and to fulfill the calling by which He has called us.

Indeed, I call upon every Believer everywhere: pray for your leaders. Pray that God’s Spirit through God’s Word will transform hearts and minds, that the Gospel would faithfully be proclaimed, that Repentance is constantly called for, and that Jesus would continue to raise the dead (As He did in us!). Pray, expectantly, that the Elders and Overseers of the Church would faithfully administer the word and be constant in prayer, that the Deacons would constantly meet the needs of the congregations they serve, and that the members of the body would find their gifts, that each would work together, under the headship of Jesus Christ to build the Kingdom and make Heaven crowded! This is the time we’ve been given, and we need leaders (pray for me and all Christian leaders in this regard) who will never waver from God’s word, who will lead in Truth and Love, who will stand firmly on the word of God, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ which calls sinners to repentance, and who are led by the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures. Pray that our God will supply every need, and that He will continue to raise up saints for the work of the ministry!

Hebrews 13:17-19

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.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Ephesians 4:11-16And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

1 Timothy 3The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,

    vindicated by the Spirit,

        seen by angels

proclaimed among the nations,

    believed on in the world,

        taken up in glory.