New Salem Baptist Church

Being Equipped with Every Good Thing

March 2, 2025

Read Hebrews 13:17-25.

 Last week we saw that we are to remember our leaders in the church. God, through the Holy Spirit, has put in place leaders in the church. These are not like leaders of political parties or a social club. Although those leaders ought to be people of high character, it is frequently not the case. This is because those they represent lack virtue themselves. More, the Holy Spirit is not installing them, but they are chosen by the vote of unregenerate people.

In contrast, the leaders of the church are chosen by the Holy Spirit and by the consensus of regenerate people. It is the exception when leaders in a Bible-believing church have serious misdeeds.Therefore, there is such a thing as spiritual authority. It is real. God has bestowed deputy authority upon certain persons and we are called to obey them and offer our submission. This is for our own benefit.

I recall after I had been here only a year or two, a young man came into my office. He was not a member of our church. Just a visitor. He had some questions about church in general. The subject of church leadership did not come up in our conversation but he evidently felt compelled to tell me seemingly out of the blue, “I don’t like being told what to do. I do whatever I please.” I’m not sure why he told me this. Maybe he was letting me know that, shoud he decide to attend our church, he was going to live and do as he pleased.

Of course, such an attitude reflects a spirit of rebellion and self-sufficiency, being contrary to what the apostle directs here. He did return a few times but only years later.

In what ways are we to obey our leaders? We do not need to obey in matters of personal preference, such as the style of music to which we listen, the kind of job to take, now who we should marry.

There are unhealthy churches that seek to dictate all kinds of personal matters, attempting to micro-manage your life. They will tell you how to dress, that you cannot swim in public, that you can only listen to music by Christians, and even then it must meet the leaders approval. They will tell you who to marry or not to marry. This is nothing less than following the commandments of men and it displeases the Lord to a great extent (Matt. 15:7-9). This kind of expectation is different than simply offering guidance. It is appropriate for more mature brothers in the Lord to offer advice on potential marital partners. Rather, I refer to cult-like churches that require a person to obey in regards to personal choices.

Not only so, but this sort of micro-managing of lives robs a person of the freedom they have in Christ (Gal. 5:1). So, on what subjects are we to obey our church leaders? The answer is in anything having to with the revealed will of God.

Hebrews 13:21 has the apostle praying that God would equip the readers with good things so that they may do God’s will. Leaders know the word of God which reveals the will of God.So, leaders ought not to make up rules not found in the Bible, but rather guide the members through what God has specifically revealed. (Not by what God has generically revealed and then adding their opinion and creating new rules.).

The right kind of guidance should be a joy. It ceases to be a joy when a member does not listen or does not obey. When members don’t listen, the leader loses his joy and the member loses his/her advantage. Some of you know this story but some do not, so I will share it again since it bears directly on this matter.

Several years ago a young lady in our church came to me asking if I would perform the wedding for her and her boyfriend. I asked her if I could ask her some questions. She agreed. As I spoke with her I discovered that she had been married before. I asked her the circumstances of her divorce. She told me that there had been no infidelity in her marriage but that they divorced bacause they could not get along. Rather than tell her that it was not God’s will for her to remarry, which would have been perfectly appropriate, I asked her to read Matthew 19:3-9 out loud and tell me her understanding of Jesus’ words. She read the passage and when she got to verse 9 she was enraged and slammed the Bible down and stormed out of the room. She never came back to our church. Her problem was not with our church but with God’s will. I was not joyful in that situation and she lost her advantage of being under an umbrella of protection.

In verses 18 and 19 Paul is asking for prayer. Not only requesting prayer but asking for greater earnestness when they pray. Please remember to pray for your leaders. They are in need!

Verse 20 is uplifting:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,[1]

Our God is a God of peace When we experience his presence, we experience peace. When we listen to him, we hear peace.

It is God who raised Jesus from the dead. Our faith is not founded on a tale. Rather, it is founded upon a fact of history. Because Christ is risen (and no other founder of any religion can make that claim), He is our shepherd, our leader. He is shepherd of shepherds and leader of leaders.

The apostle goes on in verse 20 to say that the blood of Jesus is a manifestation of an eternal covenant. It is eternal at both ends. It is eternal in the sense that it was planned and existed in the mind of God from before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8; KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT; and Acts 2:23).

It is eternal, too, in the sense that the covenant is perpetual. It never ends:

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,[2]

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.[3]

(See also Jer. 32:40; Rom. 8:38-39; John 14:16; and 2 John 2.)

Verse 21 is yet another magnificent verse! May the God of peace….

equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.[4]

The apostle is praying that that God would equip his readers with “everything good!” Isn’t this a wonderful request?

He treats us in a like manner as he did King David. Psalm 21:3 says that the Lord met King David “with the blessings of good things.” (NASB95) And that this supply of blessings was continuous (21:6) They are perpetual! See it! The blessings of good things are not just on rare occasions. These good things came to David forever! And they are to you also!

But here is a question. What do we do with the good things that the Lord sends our way? I will tell you what many do. They take the good things and just live a life of ease. They do little for the Lord but rather just live in comfort.

Is it wrong to live at ease? Simply living in comfort is not wrong…unless you neglect what the Lord has called you to do:

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory

and stretch themselves out on their couches,

and eat lambs from the flock

and calves from the midst of the stall,

who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp

and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,

who drink wine in bowls

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph![5]

This passage form Amos is about God’s own people. Verse 1 of chapter six begins; ‘Woe to those who are at ease in Zion1”

The second part of verse 6 shows why the Lord was angry with his people: they were not grieved over the sins of their fellow Israelites. B y implication, they did nothing to address the sins of their people. They were silent in the midst of sin. So, it is not just living in ease that is makes the Lord angry. Rather, it is taking the Lord’s blessings and just spending them on yourself.

In Hebrews 13:21 the Lord will give everything good to his people but its not just for living in ease. It is so “that you may do his will.”

Our problem as followers of the Lord Jesus is not so much not knowing God’s will, but in knowing God’s will and having trouble practicing it. Some would rather recline on couches (Amos 6:4) than carry out God’s will.

This is why the middle part of verse 21 is essential: God is “working in us.” If God did not work in us, none of us would follow his will. We would go our own way.

Someone may be thinking, “But wait, Pastor, I have trouble many times in carrying out God’s will. Does this mean that God is not working in me?”

I do not say, categorically, “No, God is still working in you.” I can’t say this categorically because there is such a thing as a false believer – someone who thinks they are a Christian but they only go through the motions. They attend church, maybe even read their Bibles. But their heart is not in any of it. Maybe they are doing these things for “fire insurance,” thinking that if they do these things then they must be followers of Christ and will escape punishment.

If our heart is given to Christ then the practice of God’s will comes naturally and doesn’t have to be worked up.

The answer to the dilemma of desiring God’s will yet having trouble doing it is found in the reality of sanctification. There are three main steps in the life of the Christian. The first step is justification. A person experiences conviction of sin. They feel guilt. In response to their conviction they place their faith in Christ and are justified, meaning that they are declared to be righteous by God Himself. We simply trust Christ and we are justified.

In theological terms justification takes place monergistically. That is a long, fancy word. All it means is that justification is all from God. He is the one that brings conviction of sin. He is the one who reveals the remedy, Christ. And he is the one creating faith within us. It is all of God!

The second step is sanctification. While justification is monergistic, sanctification is synergistic. This means that, in sanctification, both God and the person are involved. God requires our cooperation to actually carry out our sanctification. Sanctification, of course, is simply our transformation from rebels to those who are conformed to God’s will in our hearts and in our living.

What this means is that there will be times when we simply do not desire to follow God’s will in a matter. But, we must choose his will in those times of struggle. When we do, we discover that his power becomes available to us and we even experience a change of heart.

This is God working in us. The result is pleasing to God.

Paul ends his letter asking his readers to “bear with his words.” For him to appeal for their bearing up to his words implies what? Answer: that we may have a tendency to not bear his words. Remember, he is writing to saved people. Even saved ones do not always bear up under correction.

We don’t like to be corrected. This is our dilemma. We don’t like to be corrected but we need to be corrected.

Paul ends with a beautiful verse:

Grace be with all of you.[6]

Some might say that this is just a farewell greeting. But, words mean things, especially when inspired by the Spirit. This can be, and is, one of the best prayers that we can pray.

Ask for God’s grace often. Ask for his favor to be upon you often. King David either asked for God’s favor or thanked him for his favor numerous times in the Psalms. We ought to follow his example.

[Conclusion and Application]

So, what ought we to do? We can do the very things that we have read this morning in our passage:

• We pay heed to those who are more mature in the Lord. Listen and obey. Do you know what will happen when you do? Your life will improve!
• We rest in the eternal nature of the covenant. God has cleansed you of all sin and this is forever!
• We use the blessings that God has given us, not to just live at ease, but to carry out his will.
• Bear with the words in this book. That was Paul’s request. I encourage you to read the book of Hebrews again. This week. It has been nearly a year since we started and we have already forgotten what we learned earlier this year. (Some of you have forgotten what you learned last week!)
• Ask for a greater supply of God’s favor in your life!