Garry spoke tonight about submission to church authorities, looking at Hebrews 13:7-17. In continuing to talk about the need for submission in the Christian life, he spoke also about cults and ‘heavy shepherding’ before talking about Biblical leadership.

A religious cult is an organised group which dominates its members, often through psychological manipulation. Cults tend to be led by charismatic people who demonstrate absolute power without accountability, a belief that they are always right and that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing truth or giving validation. Cults often have zero tolerance for criticism or questions, often keep their finances hidden and tend to have quite a strong ‘Them’ and ‘Us’ attitude. Cults believe that anyone who leaves the cult is wrong; there is never a legitimate reason for leavng, and there is often abuse of member (which could be spiritual, emotional or physical.) Submission is not a voluntary option in a cult, but is demanded. The church should not be a cult.

‘Heavy shepherding‘ is the term used to describe controlling leaders. Jesus Himself is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Great Shepherd (Heb 13:20) and He loves, leads and cares for His sheep, even sacrificing himself for his sheep (see John 10).God’s people are often called sheep (see Matt 9:35, John 10:16, John 21:17). Those in church leadership are often known as shepherds (see 1 Pet 5:1-5), but heavy shepherding is spiritual abuse, where leaders want to know everything about a member (finances, relationships, service and so on) and want to control what people do. Again, alarm bells should ring if people are not allowed to question or crticise.There is no place in Christian leadership for lording it over people (see Matt 20:25-28).

Biblical leadership is indeed God-given (1 Cor 12:28-30) and varied, but every leader is first of all a follower of Christ. Their lives should match their words and they should be respected when we see a Christ-filled heart. Paul urged the Corinthians to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ (1 Cor 11:1). Leaders may well have to rebuke as well as teach (see 2 Tim 3:16). Paul had to rebuke the Corinthians for their sexual immorality (1 Cor 5) and the way they carried out Communion (1 Cor 11), but even when leaders rebuke, there is the choice for us to submit or to ignore.

It is God’s idea that there are spiritual leaders who act as guides and who direct and govern in His church. We are called to submit to their leadership provided they are following God and are living and leading accordingly. To submit is a free choice and a choice that can be changed. Where there is good Christian leadership and good Christian submission, God can do amazing things.

In our series ‘Living According To God’s Ways’, we looked this morning at the subject of praying according to God’s will. (1 John 5:14-15) Both John and Jesus spoke very positively on the subject of prayer (see also Mark 11:22-24), but many of us struggle to have such a positive experience of prayer. We may feel God is too busy to hear our prayers or that we don’t know how to pray, but the Bible assures us of our worth in God’s eyes (Matt 6:9-13, 25-34, Matt 10:30) and that we can have confidence that God hears and answers prayer.

Confidence is the first step to praying according to God’s will (see 1 John 3:21-22, 1 John 4:17, Heb 4:16, Heb 10:19, Heb 11:1). God has promised to listen when we pray (see Ps 116:1-2) and He listens attentively (see 2 Chronicles 7:14-15). He is our loving Father; prayer arises from an intimate relationship with God. It is not about twisting God’s arm to do what we want; instead, it is about a mutual respect and desire to do God’s will. We have to learn to believe what God says above what we feel or believe.

Praying according to God’s will happens when we realise that what God wants is the best. He is simply the best, and what He wants for us, for our families, for our church, for our community, for our world is the best. We need to move away from our arrogant certainty that we know best and come to pray on our knees in humble supplication. Often, we may not even know how to pray or what to pray for, but God’s Spirit can pray through us. (Rom 8:26-27)

To pray according to God’s will is to have wrestled with God and submitted to Him, as Jacob did and as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42). As we grow in prayer, we can learn to pray through the prayers in the Bible (see Eph 3:16-19 and the Psalms, in particular.) Then we can be confident that God answers our prayers: ‘whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’ (Mark 11:24)

The ‘buts’ in the Bible are significant, showing us the difference God makes in any situation. After David has been sent home to Ziklag by Achish, he arrives to find yet another problem: in his absence, the Amalekites had raided Ziklag, carrying off all the women and children who had been left behind. (1 Sam 30:1-6) David now is faced with yet another problem, and this time, it is made worse by the bitterness and anger in his own men. ‘David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters.’ (1 Samuel 30:6) If David thought things had been bad when the Philistine leaders refused to let him join them in battle, this was infinitely worse.

What do we do when situations go from bad to worse, when no matter what we do, things just don’t get better? David shows us how to deal with despair: ‘But David found strength in the Lord his God.’ (1 Sam 30:6) This was a turning point for David. He learned to encourage himself in the Lord; he learned to take from God’s strength and make it his own. Ultimately, we aren’t strong enough to deal with life on our own. We need help.

David sought God (1 Sam 30:7-8), asking His advice, seeking His will. Gone is his arrogance; gone the assumption that whatever solutions he can come up with (such as fleeing to Gath) will solve the problems. He learns that the only way back to God is through repentance and that we must seek God’s face with all our hearts (see Ps 27:8-9, Ps 63:1, Jer 29:13.) Jesus told us to ask, seek and knock (Matt 7:7-8), reminding us of the need for persistence and faith as we seek God, reminding us that our priority must be God. (Matt 6:33) The good news is that when we seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him (Deut 4:29). This desperate situation was turned into victory for David because he turned to God and relied on him (see 2 Cor 1:8-9) We have a miracle-working God who is in control even when our lives feel like they have fallen apart. When we seek Him and exchange His strength for ours, we will know victory like David.

In 1 Samuel 29, we see the situation between Israel and the Philistines deteriorating and war looming yet again. This time, David is on the other side, so to speak, having gone to Achish to hide from the plots of Saul and thus being enlisted in the Philistine army. It seems life has become so difficult for him that he must either fight against his native country and king or lose the support of the Philistine commanders and end up back to square one, being hunted by Saul. This ‘no-win’ situation cannot have been easy for David and his army of six hundred men.

As it turns out, God provides a ‘third way’, with the Philistine commanders refusing to let David – the one who had slain tens of thousands of Philistines in the past – go out to fight for them. Achish may have been convinced of David’s sincerity, saying David was like an angel of God to him (1 Sam 29:9), but they were far more cynical and pragmatic. The decision was taken out of David’s hands; he was told to go back to Ziklag and wait out the battle.

Eugene Peterson comments that ‘God’s purposes are being worked out most profoundly when we’re least aware of them.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘Leap Over A Wall’, P 100) David does not seem particularly happy with God’s solution; many of us react in a similar way when decisions are made for us, rather than by us. But if we truly believe that God works for good in all circumstances for those who are loved by God and called according to His purposes (Rom 8:28), then we must come to terms with the fact that God’s people are never victims of their circumstances. God is there in all situations, including the ones which cause us despair and distress, working for our good. His ‘third way’ (as the Israelites had experienced on leaving Egypt when they faced death by drowning or death from Pharaoh’s chariots only to find the Red Sea parting before them, enabling them to pass through on dry land) reminds us that He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. (Eph 3:20) Deliverance and salvation come from Him; the battle belongs to the Lord.