 So what do I really think about the idea of spiritual authority and church leadership? More importantly, what does the Bible have to say about this important topic? If you're ready to receive the truths of Scripture, write these three simple words in the comment section. Lead me, Lord. Let's get right into this. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 17 says, Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls and they are accountable to God. Give them a reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That certainly would not be for your benefit. Again, that's Hebrews 13 17. So very clearly in the scripture right here, we see this idea presented, the idea of spiritual leadership. Now, the purpose of having a spiritual leader is not to have a mediator between you and God. There's only one mediator. That's Christ Jesus. A spiritual leader is a Christian who is more mature in the faith, more experienced, more knowledgeable in the word. Someone who can guide you, someone who can comfort you, someone who can correct you. Now, it's important to remember that the Bible gives us leaders, not lords. We only have one Lord. Again, Christ Jesus. But God has given to us spiritual leaders in order to benefit us. They are to act as spiritual covering, protection, not a spiritual lid, control. Covering, not control. That's the key thought here. But God in fact has given us spiritual leaders. Now, what about this idea found in 1 John 2 27, that we don't need anyone to teach us? Let's take a look at the verse now. But you have received the Holy Spirit and He lives within you. So you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know. And what He teaches is true. It is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. Now, the context of what's being written here is a warning about antichrist, or people who come in the name of the Lord preaching an entirely different gospel. So here in 1 John 2 27, we're not being told that we don't need anyone to teach us the scriptures, or anyone to guide us spiritually, or anyone to offer us advice and comfort and correction. Rather, what we're being told here is that you don't need anyone to come and teach you a different gospel. You don't need anyone to come and lay again the foundation of truth. You already have that. Indeed, the Holy Spirit in you speaks as that inner witness of the gospel you have received. Compare that portion of Scripture with Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 and 12. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. So there in those two verses we clearly see that pastors and teachers are in fact gifts from Christ. Now, God does nothing without intention and purpose. God would not say, here are teachers, but you don't need teachers. Here are pastors, but you don't need pastors. Christ has given to us apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists precisely because that's what we need in order for us to grow spiritually. Now again, they're not there to lord authority over us. They're there to lead us. They're not there to govern, but to guide, not to control, but to spiritually cover. These are not people who are to be spiritual dictators. And of course, some people do abuse their spiritual authority and they try to manipulate God's people, control every detail of their lives. And under this type of leadership, believers find lifestyles of legalism and fear and paranoia and religious thinking. And that's not the way God intended for you to live. So I'm not talking about people who abuse their spiritual authority and in fact such leaders do exist. But we have to avoid also this other extreme, this idea of rogue Christianity. God's design and intention was never that we would just live our Christian lives apart from fellowship, apart from accountability, apart from God's authority within the earth. God has given to us spiritual leaders because that's what we need. Again, they're not mediators, only Christ is the mediator. But it's a healthy thing to have a relationship with someone who is further along in their faith, more knowledgeable of the word, more mature in Christ because they're there to guide you. They're there to help you, to comfort you, to correct you. And many times we do need correction. But let's take a look at the bigger issue here. Often the bigger issue that people have with spiritual authority comes from their discomfort with spiritual accountability. Only in true relationship can you have accountability. Only with spiritual authority can you have accountability. Think for example of the concept of discipleship. Well, how are we as the church supposed to continually build disciples if there's no accountability? How are we supposed to build disciples if there's no one there to do the discipling? And then who decides who does what discipling? This is why we have to follow God's order, lest there be chaos and immature believers get opportunities to lead people wayward, even if unintentionally. And again, the big issue comes from this idea of I don't like accountability. I don't want someone telling me what to do. People say things like, well, I'm following Jesus, not man. Well, that's great because Jesus gave us men and women to help lead us in the body of Christ. That's part of the system that God implemented in the earth. There is this spiritually prideful idea that says, I just want church outside the four walls. And look, I understand this idea of moving outside the four walls of the church. I'm an evangelist. I use media ministry. I do events around the world. We do outreaches of all sorts. I believe in going out and evangelizing. But some are of this belief that anything that's structured, anything that's systematic, anything that's orderly, should be rejected as religious. This idea that if it's inside the four walls, if it's within a church context, if it's done by a church body with order and systems and settings and leadership, well, then that should be rejected as religious. No, that's a spiritually immature way to look at ministry. And in fact, there's this spiritual pride that arises when we say things like that, not all the time, and not everyone who says that they want to do ministry outside the four walls of the church is spiritually prideful. But that's often an expression used by those who are filled with spiritual pride. And they have this idea in their minds that they're the only ones doing real ministry. They're the only ones who are on the front lines. They're the only ones who are really going out and making an impact and touching lives and really preaching the gospel. When, in fact, the most effective ministry, the most powerful tool that God uses within the earth to help spread the gospel is the local church, is the church system. People say things like, well, you know, I don't like organized religion. Well, what do you like? Disorganized religion? Chaotic religion? Disorderly religion? No, everything that God does is in order. Everything that God does is with a system. Think about the fact that our world exists in a solar system. Is itself an ecosystem? Your body has systems. Name me one thing that God ever did that wasn't organized. Name me one thing that God ever did that didn't have a system and a purpose to it. Everything that God does has an order. And where there is order, there are systems. And where there are systems, there is spiritual ranking. And again, we don't like this idea. We like this idea of, well, everyone's on an even playing field. Everyone's exactly the same. So therefore, no one can tell me what to do. Well, that's just not the spiritually mature way to look at it. In fact, that's not the model that we see in the book of Acts. So the 12 called a meeting of all the believers. They said we apostles should spend our time teaching the Word of God, not running a food program. And so brothers select seven men who are well respected and are full of the spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the Word. Everyone serves in different capacities. Everyone serves in different ways. This is what makes us the body of Christ. All of us coming together, offering our various different gifts unto one purpose. Now, the Bible clearly does teach that there are higher standards for those who will teach and who will preach and who will lead spiritually. James 3.1 says, Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church. For we who teach will be judged more strictly. Spiritual pride is what rejects God's leadership. Spiritual pride is what rejects God's system of the church in the earth. Spiritual pride is what rejects church authority. Now again, let me emphasize this because I definitely don't want you to hear what I'm not saying. And if I have to keep repeating this to get this across, then it's worth repeating. I am not talking about spiritual abusers. I am not talking about power, hungry, self-centered, egocentric people who lead for the sake of status, who lead for the sake of greed, who lead for the sake of self. I'm talking about the leaders that God has given to us who live with integrity, who are humble, who genuinely love God's people, who deeply know the word, who walk closely with Christ, who live out spiritually mature lives. There's a benefit in receiving from those. There's a benefit in having pastors and having teachers and being connected to the body of Christ, which is God's system. All too often, believers get this idea that the rest of the body of Christ is somehow a contamination to them. Maybe they were hurt. Maybe they were offended. Maybe they had a bad experience in church. And so now they isolate. They pull away from the rest of the body of Christ. They pull away from spiritual headship. And they say things like, well, I'm serious about Christ and I only want people around me who are serious. Meanwhile, they're isolating. Meanwhile, they'll never connect with anybody because nobody is perfect. And then they say things like, well, I don't attend the church. I am the church failing to realize that we are only the church when we come together to assemble. Only in our togetherness are we the church. Only in our unity are we the church. Only in our connectivity are we the church. The individual alone does not make up the entire church. Again, it's in our togetherness. And then they say things like, well, I don't go to church. I'm not a part of the system. I'm the remnant. Listen, Hebrews 10.25 makes it very clear that we are together, that we are to connect with the local body of believers. So if you're not connected with the body of Christ, you're not the remnant. You're the rebellious. And I know that's difficult to hear. And I know that our defenses go up. I know we can probably brag about the various accomplishments that we have. I know that maybe we can brag about the signs that we see and how God speaks to us and how spiritual we think we are. But ultimately, one of the greatest demonstrations of true spirituality is humility. It's acknowledging that we don't have it all figured out and that we aren't perfect either. It's acknowledging that we need other members of the body of Christ and it's also in acknowledging that we need spiritual covering. We need spiritual guidance. Again, these people don't act as mediators between you and God, but they're a great source of accountability, a great source of correction when we have blind spots. We cannot see our blind spots, our spiritual blind spots. And that's why it's good to have leaders. They're to point out things that maybe we missed. They're to help us with things that would be more difficult to carry or not for our connectivity with the body of Christ. Again, God has given to us spiritual leaders, spiritual headship as a gift, not to govern but to guide. So, we must avoid those extremes. Avoid that manipulative, controlling, abusive leader, but also avoid that self-righteous, spiritually prideful attitude that says, I don't need the body of Christ, nor do I need the gifts that Christ wants to give to me. I can do it all on my own. Now, I want to say this, and it may be difficult to receive, but here's the reality. If you can grow in something, then there are levels to it. Now, of course, we understand that all of us have everything we need in the Spirit, but not all of us are using everything that we have in the Spirit. And so, we make progress. And if we make progress in something, then there are levels to it. So, if you can grow spiritually, there are spiritual levels. If you can grow in the anointing, there are levels to the anointing. If you can grow in ministry, there are levels to ministry. If you can grow in maturity, in wisdom, in power, then there are levels to all of these things. Again, I understand we have them in the Spirit. We're complete. But the rest of us is still catching up to the Spirit, man. And this is why we need each other. Now, most don't want to admit that. Most don't want to admit that there are, in fact, spiritual ranks. That there are, in fact, spiritual levels. But if we don't have the humility to admit the fact that there's room for growth, we'll never grow. If we don't have the humility to admit that we are lacking in some areas, then we'll never find fullness in those areas. Humility precedes growth. Humility precedes power. Humility receives the gifts that Christ has offered to us and then experiences the fullness of the Christian life. We were designed to be connected to one another. I thank God for the spiritual leaders that God has placed in my life. You know, having spiritual leaders has been a great benefit to me. There have been times where I felt discouraged, and then they encouraged me. There have been times where I felt confused, and they ministered truth that helped to set my perspective correctly. And then there were times where I became a little prideful in some areas, got a little off track in some teachings, and God sent these wonderful men and women to correct me, to recalibrate my thought process, to help show me, from their greater knowledge of Scripture, where I missed it. And this is why, among other reasons, we need spiritual leadership. So I'm going to pray, and I want you to pray with me. Let's ask God to give us the humility necessary for spiritual growth and to give us the discernment in finding the right kinds of spiritual leaders. Come on, let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for that one watching now who's asking for humility and discernment. And I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would begin to guide them. Right now, what I want you to do, I want you to begin to repent if you're one of those individuals who is resistant to the idea of spiritual leadership. Maybe you've been hurt, maybe you've been wounded, maybe you've had bad experiences. I understand. We've all been there in some sense, but that's no reason to reject what God wants to give to you. So pray right now. Pray that God would help you to repent of that mindset. Father, give us grace. Let your power begin to flow. Touch each one, believing Lord for breakthrough in this area. Mold us. Keep us humble. And Father, give us discernment that we might reach the fullness of our potential in you. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus, and I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Well, if you enjoyed this teaching and you think others need to hear it, leave a like on the video right now. And while you're at it, don't forget to subscribe to EncounterTV and click that notification bell when you do subscribe. 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