Sermon Tone Analysis

Though skeptical of his teenage son’s newfound determination to build bulging muscles, one father followed his teenager to the store’s weight-lifting department, where they admired a set of weights.

“Please, Dad,” pleaded the teen, “I promise I’ll use ’em every day.”

“I don’t know, Michael.

It’s really a commitment on your part,” the father said.

“Please, Dad?”

“They’re not cheap either,” the father said.

“I’ll use ’em, Dad, I promise.

You’ll see.”

Finally won over, the father paid for the equipment and headed for the door.

After a few steps, he heard his son behind him say, “What!

You mean I have to carry them to the car?”

Preaching Today.com,

More Perfect Illustrations: For Every Topic and Occasion (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2003), 44–45.

Growth requires commitment… today we want to land the plane on our study of 1 Peter...as we have been studying this marvelous book, I trust you have seen a common theme…regardless of the amount of suffering we endure, and regardless of where that suffering comes from, we must remain committed to doing what is right… for us to grow in our faith, we have to be committed to the process of progressive sanctification…that process often involves suffering…that has been Peter’s message throughout this book...

His audience was experiencing some difficult circumstances often at the hand of the the hostile culture they lived in…it was going to get worse…Peter wanted to encourage them to understand God’s plan in their suffering and that He provides the grace needed to endure it.

As we come to this final chapter, Peter is going to conclude his letter by addressing specific groups of people to exhort them regarding their responsibilities to stand in grace…if each group he addressed wanted to successfully stand in grace, it was important for them to fulfill their responsibilities.

With that in mind please turn to 1 Peter 5:1-14.

Main Point: Troubling Times Necessitate We Stand in Grace!

Therefore links this text to the previous text…read 1 Peter 4:19 “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”

Troubling times put a strain on the entire community of believers…it is in those times we need to trust God and do what is right.

Peter addresses three specific groups of people in the church because he is convinced that relationships within the Christian community matter…they needed each other and had a responsibility to one another.

If we are to be successful to stand in grace, all of us need to be actively engaged within the body!

Peter gives three exhortations to help us answer the question “What is my responsibility to help the entire community to stand in grace?

Leaders Must Strive to Shepherd God’s People Well (1-5).

The first group Peter addresses is the leadership…because of the intense suffering and persecution these believers were facing and would face, the need for pastoral leadership was crucial.

He uses the term elders — this term is used interchangeably with pastor and bishop in the NT to refer to those who had leadership positions in the church…there was always a multiplicity of them because shepherding God’s people is too daunting to be done alone!

Notice Peter includes himself in this category…not only was he an apostle (which carried authority), but he was a fellow elder speaking to other elders…he was just as responsible to provide godly leadership as the people he addressed…

God has blessed our church with great men of God whom I am honored to call my brothers…fellow elders…or as my children call them…the Jedi council…

(take a moment and have all of them stand…make a point to thank Tim Hoffman for faithfully serving for 3 years, coming off this year, have Wayne Johnson stand…asking you to prayerfully consider adding Wayne).

I trust you are praying for us…we earnestly covet your prayers that we have the wisdom and compassion to lead you well...

Shepherding you well is something we take very seriously…

Notice how else Peter described himself...

witness of the sufferings of Christ...Everyone remembers what happened with Peter at the crucifixion…remember the rooster, the swearing, the denial…immediately that night, Peter came eyeball to eyeball with the suffering of Christ…(Luke 22:60-61).

fellow partaker of the glory that is to be revealed…Even though Peter denied him, Jesus fully restored him…he was completely forgiven and he leaned hard into the grace of God…regardless of your past, you can stand in grace, completely forgiven...

Peter uses his personal history and identification with his fellow elders to be an encouragement and challenge to them.

What are elders to do?

Watch over God’s Flock that is Under Your Care

The task of the elders is to function as shepherds of God’s flock…they are not to be like the Jewish elders in Ezekiel’s time who treated their flock “harshly and brutally”…see Ezek 34:4, 8.

By using the term “the flock of God”, Peter reminds them (and us) of who owns them…the church is God’s church…God has entrusted them (and us) with the privilege and responsibility to shepherd them.

I think Peter is remembering the imagery Jesus’ uses with him in John 21:16 “He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.””

Jesus told Peter to feed them, take care of them, feed them.

Peter uses the same word that Jesus did…literally could read it as “Shepherd the sheep”

What does that mean in the 21st century church?

“Shepherd”...means to herd, to tend, lead to pasture, to guide, and to rule…

The primary objective of shepherding is feeding…the flock must be fed often and fed the right food…that is why pastors/elders must be able to teach…

We are committed to expository preaching (explain) and teaching for life change…we want to provide you with a steady diet of feasting on the Word of God so that you grow strong in your faith, that your roots go deep so you are not tossed around by every wave of doctrine...

Along with feeding is protecting…Acts 20:28-30 ““Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

It is our responsibility to protect you from the ravages of sinful choices and destructive people, and from following unbiblical doctrine and practices…

sometimes that may mean we have to protect you from yourself because you are on the verge of making a sinful choice that will lead you towards destruction...

sometimes we may have to protect you by exposing a false teacher or philosophy that sets itself up against Christ...

sometimes we may have to protect you from someone within the church who refuses to repent and their sinful choices are destroying the testimony of Christ and this church and the only biblical recourse we have is to remove them from our fellowship (whole other sermon series)…

that responsibility comes with what Peter says next...

Elders are also entrusted with exercising oversight — verb meaning to give attention to, look at, take care, see to it, to accept responsibility for the care of someone, supervise

God has entrusted the management of the church to godly men…you are the church…both individually and corporately.

That means we have to faithfully make decisions as good stewards of everything related to the ministry to ensure we stay focused on our mission: Building Lives to Know and Live for Jesus Christ.

Next Peter tells the elders HOW they do that..

Serve with the Proper Motivation

Must be willing to lead, not pressured, but voluntarily.

Godly elders want to serve in this capacity because they love God and the Church and have a desire to help people grow in Christ.

Ministry should not be an unwanted burden, or done in an effort to please people.

Not greedy for money, but with eagerness

Peter is not suggesting pastors should not be paid…NT is very clear about that…by the way, Janine and I are so grateful for how you take care of us!

That being said, Scripture opposes the motivation for ministry being driven by greed…greed is dangerous in the ministry…some have fallen hard because of dishonesty with money…driven by greed also causes some to focus solely on personal financial needs to the neglect of others.

Eager = is a strong term meaning with enthusiasm, energy and excitement…it is ministry to others that brings excitement, not money.

Not lording, but leading as an example of Christ

lording over means to rule forcefully…it is a word of harshness that implies excessive use of authority.

There are times when a pastor/elders should exercise their authority, but it should never be flaunted or abused.

Godly leadership seeks to serve as examples to the body…means we are going to be sensitive to needs, show affection for people, live authentically, without greed or authoritarianism.

To please the Chief Shepherd

This is the highest motivation…all of those who lead in the church are ultimately responsible to Jesus as the Chief Shepherd.

When Jesus appears, he will honor those who have been faithful…

What is the Crown of glory?

We don’t know exactly…it could be eternal life or a special reward for elders...but what we do know is...

Receiving crowns is an idea that saturates the NT…in NT times, it was a cultural practice to bestow honor on citizens for distinguished public service as well as those who were victorious athletes.

it will never fade…contrasts with the physical crowns of laurel leaves awarded back then.

It is not something we get on this earth, it is only given on the day of Christ’s return

Elders can be confident that they will receive a great honor when their Chief Shepherd appears.

Second exhortation...

Followers Must be Submissive, Humble, and Stop Worrying About What We Can’t Control (5-7).

Followers Must Be Submissive to Leadership

Jewish and Church leaders were usually older members…the younger members were to place themselves willingly under the authority of those who had been given the responsibility of leadership.

I think Peter addresses younger believers specifically here because they were generally those who would most need a reminder to be submissive to authority within the church…they were the ones who were mostly independent-minded and prone to be rebellious against the elders…so he issues this as a command.

Just as the elders have the responsibility to lead well, all of us have the responsibility to follow well.

Being submissive is a willingness to place yourself under the authority of someone else…in the context here it is the leadership of the church…Elders.

It indicates a spirit of cooperation as opposed to dissatisfaction with the leadership.

Some believers think it is their right and responsibility to be the “balance” of the pastor/elders and oppose everything…some even go beyond that and seek to destroy or sabotage them, simply because they don’t like their style of leadership.

Nowhere in Scripture do we see God calling the members to be the “check and balances” to the elders except in what they teach...When believers take this upon themselves, they allow Satan to use them as a tool for division and destruction in the church.

The message here is clear…when elders lead their congregation with responsible and godly leadership and the members resist that leadership, those members are in disobedience to the Lord and have opened the door for Satan to devour them.

This does not mean “obedience no matter what”…if the direction they are leading is contrary to the Scripture then do not follow…

Those who are under leadership should be inclined to follow and submit to their leaders instead of resisting them and complaining about the direction of the church.

Please know, none of the elders believe anyone here is resisting the leadership.

Everyone Must Showcase Humility Toward One Another

Read v. 5b-6…Humility is the oil that allows relationships in the church to run smoothly and lovingly.

Clothe yourselves with humility… suggests humility should be a part of our wardrobe…it refers to a slave or servant putting on an apron or towel to serve someone else.

Peter saw this first hand when Jesus washed the disciples feet…John 13.

Humility = speaks of an attitude which puts others first, thinks of the desires, needs, and ideas of others as more worthy of attention than their own.

Showing humility to one another is to be aware of personal strengths and to be thankful to God for them…to be aware of your own personal weaknesses and to be dependent upon God to help you improve in those areas…