1 Peter: Shepherding the Flock of God

If you’re a pastor who preaches through the various epistles of the New Testament, one of the more humbling sermons you’ll eventually have to preach is one on a text like tonight’s passage. It’s a text that deals with pastoral ministry, and it begs the question from every pastor — “How well am I measuring up to the demands of the Scriptures in ‘shepherding the flock’ under my watchcare?”

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to council men who have asked my advise about entering pastoral ministry. I always tell them essentially the same thing ... “Ministry is the best of callings, and the worst of professions in the world. Nobody, nobody, nobody should seek the ministry as a profession! Nobody, nobody, nobody should refuse the ministry as a calling!” ILLUS. John Piper, a nationally-known Baptist Pastor in Minneapolis/St. Paul was right when he told fellows pastors, “Brothers, We are NOT Professionals!” Ministry is a calling and not a profession. Men who don’t understand that are doomed to a miserable career as a minister.

ILLUS. Haddon Robinson, a professor and dean at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, had this to say about ministers: “The modern minister has a job description that sounds like Superman. He is expected to make house calls like an old country doctor, to shake hands like a campaigning politician, prepare lessons like a professor, and see as many people as a Psychologist. He has to be as skilled as an executive of a business, and as shrewd as a financier at a bank. He has to be so good a diplomat that he could umpire a baseball game between the NAACP and the Ku Klux Klan.”

That said, Peter is writing to men who have felt called into pastoral ministry. As he closes out his letter, Peter singles out the elders among you for some special admonitions. This last chapter breaks down into two topics: 1) Rules for Shepherds (vs. 1-4), and 2) Rules for Sheep (vs. 5-7).

I. RULES FOR SHEPHERDS — THEY ARE ROLE MODELS

"To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:“

1. Peter speaks to the elders of these congregations as a fellow elder

a. this begs the question, “What is an elder?” who is Peter referring to when he exhorts his “fellow elders”?

2. the New Testament uses three terms interchangeably to refer to the same church leader — they are Elder, Bishop, and Pastor

a. each Greek word gives us a different description of what these church leaders are to do

b. taken together they refer to spiritually mature men singled out by the Church to be spiritual leaders, who oversee the evangelistic, missionary, and benevolent ministries of a congregation, and some of these men are gifted to become shepherds who feed the flock of God through a preaching/teaching ministry

3. Peter appeals to these church leaders, not as an Apostle with apostolic authority, but as: 1) a fellow elder, 2) a witness of Christ's sufferings, and 3) a sharer of the glory to come

4. from vs. 1 we can glean several important attributes about an Elder's responsibility to be a role model

a. let me begin with the last of the three and work my way forward

A. AN ELDER IS A ROLE MODEL IN HIS SPIRITUAL LIFE

1. Peter ends vs. 1 by telling his readers that he is confident that one day he will share in the glory to be revealed

a. he's talking about the Second Coming of Christ and the resurrection of believers

b. he reminds his readers that he is a follower of the Christ who has been born from above

2. every Christian pastor ought to have a conversion testimony he can relate to his congregation

a. an Elder must be a man who has a relationship with the risen Lord, Jesus Christ

b. this congregation has heard mine repeatedly over the years; some of you can probably repeat my testimony as well as I can

c. pastor must be men who know Jesus, who love Jesus, and who worship Jesus

1) like Peter, I will share in the glory to be revealed because God mercied me and compassioned me by giving me a heart of flesh, granting me repentance and giving me the gift of faith that I might be adopted into His family by Christ

3. elders are leaders of the local congregation and as such our most important area of leadership is to exhort people to faith in Christ that we ourselves have experienced

B. AN ELDER IS A ROLE MODEL IN BEING A WITNESS

1. Peter was a witness of Christ's sufferings

a. he alludes to Gethsemane and Golgotha where Jesus suffered and died

b. Peter was a witness to the life of the Anointed One of God

2. throughout the New Testament the term witness has a double meaning ...

a. 1st it means to see something take place (in a literal sense), and

b. 2nd it means to proclaim the message of the occurrence (a figurative sense)

3. being a witness, first of all means that we are witnesses of the resurrection of Christ

a. you may protest, "But pastor, this is twenty-two hundred years after Calvary. You couldn’t have been present!"

1) and I say, yes I was!

2) Christians believe in a vicarious substitutionary atonement meaning that Jesus substituted himself for you upon the cross

ILLUS. When I was growing up there was a television show called, "You Are There". It blended history with modern technology, taking an entire network newsroom on a figurative time warp each week reporting the great events of the past. It ran on TV from 1953-1971. The series featured various key events in American and world history, portrayed in dramatic recreations. Each episode would begin with the characters setting the scene. News anchor, Walter Cronkite would give a few words on what was about to happen. An announcer would then give the date and the event, followed by a loud and boldly spoken "You are there!"

b. if you're a Christian You are there at Calvary with Jesus, your sins being atoned for

4. being a witness, secondly means that we are witness to the resurrection life we have experienced in Christ

a. Elders are men who, by their life and by their word, witnessed the events of Calvary

C. AN ELDER IS A ROLE MODEL IN GODLY CHARACTER

1. Peter writes to fellow elders, men who had been gifted by God and called out by the Church to serve the needs of a local congregation

a. it is an awesome responsibility and everywhere in the New Testament Elders are held up as examples of Godly character for the people of God to follow

2. I cannot read the biblical requirements of eldership without being humbled and convicted

"Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap." (1 Timothy 3:2-7, NIV84)

a. I will tell you, however, that it is sometimes easier living up to God's expectations than a congregation's expectations

ILLUS. Some years ago I cut the following article out of a Christian magazine. It speaks to the difficulty of being a pastor in the church today. The title of the article is, "The Characteristics of a Good Minister." It reads: "After dozens of years, a model minister has been found to suit everyone. It is guaranteed that this man's character will please all the people in any church." He preaches only 20 minutes, but thoroughly expounds the Word of God. He condemns sin, but never hurts anyone's feelings. He works from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. doing every type of work from preaching in the pulpit to janitor work. He makes $350 a week, wears the very best of cloths, drives a nice car, and gives half his weekly salary to the church. He always stands ready to give to any other good cause that comes along. His family is perfect in their behavior, dress and attitude. His wife is beautiful and talented and his children perfectly behaved. He is 30 years old and has been preaching for 35 years. He is tall, but not too tall, he is thin, but a little on the heavy side, he is handsome, but rugged looking. He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all his time with the older people. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work. He makes 15 calls a day on church members, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched, and is always in the office when you need to find him.”

3. The Elder as Role Model (but cut him a little slack if he's not perfect)

II. RULES FOR SHEPHERDS — THEY HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES

“Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

A. ELDERS MUST SHEPHERD THE FLOCK

1. shepherds play a prominent role in the Scriptures

a. Israel was primarily an agrarian society and virtually every family tended sheep and goats

1) the most well-know Psalm of the Old Testament reminisces on the believer's relationship to God as a sheep relating to its shepherd

2) shepherds guide, and guard, and feed, and lead

2. similarly, Elders lead, guide, guard, and feed the community of believers

a. this is what it means to shepherd the flock

1) the word shepherd in this verse is the word we have come to translate as pastor

2) pastoring a church is the shepherding role of ministry

b. Peter reminds the elders that the flock is God's and that they are responsible for its loving care in the difficult days in which they live

ILLUS. The picture Peter paints of a Shepherd caring for his flock is reminiscent of the 23rd Psalm. Sheep are almost entirely defenseless—they can't kick, scratch, jump. When attacked by a predator, they huddle together rather than running away. That makes them easy prey. Sheep need a protective shepherd in order to survive.

1) in his closing words to the Church Elders at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul charges them ...

''Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20:28-30, NIV84)

2) we have seen the sad reality of this throughout the history of the church and it still happens today

ILLUS. One of the blights upon the Church today are toxic pastors. Late last year, a 12-part podcast began making the rounds in the Christian blogosphere. It was called The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, produced by Christianity Today Magazine. It documents the meteoric rise of pastor Mark Driscoll and his church, Mars Hill, and then the thundering collapse of the whole empire. Most of you won’t recognize Driscoll’s name, but he’s an example of a growing blight on the Body of Christ — Toxic Pastors. The sad question is, “Why does the church keep empowering, following, and fawning over this type of leadership?” Toxic Pastors are those elders who enjoy domineering over those in their charge. These men are often Unteachable, Inflexible, Impatient, and Unforgiving. They would rather be popular than biblical, and refuse to share the spotlight, and care most about appearances. Most sadly, these are men who abuse the authority a congregation has entrusted them with.

3) maybe this is why the Bible gives very specific character attributes for those who would be elevated to such a role

c. Christians today need similar protection from error and those who spread it

1) this is one of the most important jobs every pastor has

2) if the church scatters because of our negligence and irresponsibility, we are accountable to God

B. ELDERS MUST OVERSEE THE FLOCK

1. Elders serve by being overseers of the flock

a. this implies an administrative role in shepherding the church

1) left to themselves, most herds of sheep tend to do one thing: scatter

2) shepherds are to keep that from happening

ILLUS. Every farmer will tell you, that wether your raising cattle, or sheep, or hogs, there is lots of work to be done if you're going to run a profitable venture. In my first pastorate, most of the families where cattle ranchers or dairy farmers. In either case there were lots of administration and business decisions that had to be made for the care of the heard as a whole. Individual animals sometimes needed special care and sometimes the entire heard was rounded up for tending.

b. Peter gives them a number of instructions about how they are to do their work

2. 1st, not because we must, but because we want to

a. Elders are not to serve because of compulsion

ILLUS. In America, many pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living. That tells me that, unfortunately, many Pastors are serving their congregations under a sense of compulsion. They are doing it because they feel like they have no other choice. It’s their job and their way of earning an income ... not their calling.

3. 2nd, not being greedy for money, but eager to serve

a. during his earthly ministry, Jesus instructed the disciples: "The worker deserves his wages" (Luke 10:7)

b. Paul amplifies this thought when he writes about the material support of the pastor,

"The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14)

c. in the pastoral Epistles Paul indicates that elders received remuneration for their labors in the church

"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching" (1 Tim. 5:17)

1) twice the Apostle uses an Old Testament illustration ... Don’t muzzle the ox that treads the grain ... as a euphuism for compensating the pastor of the church

d. elders, however, ought to shun every desire to enrich themselves at the expense of their members

1) what is forbidden is not the desire for fair remuneration, but the sordid love of gain

2) sordid gain actually goes beyond just seeking wealth and speaks to the shameful acquisition of it

a) true shepherds will never use the ministry to steal the sheep's money or acquire it dishonestly

b) should they yield to this desire, they are commit the sin of greed, which the Apostle Paul says, "is idolatry" (Col. 3:5)

e. instead, Elders should be "eager to serve"

1) he says that they must be filled with enthusiasm in their task of serving God's people

2) they must find their satisfaction in serving Christ, not in serving Money

4. 3rd, not lording it over the congregation, but being examples to the congregation

a. any kind of autocratic, oppressive, and intimidating leadership, with elements of demagoguery is a perversion of the overseer's office

b. in Matthew 20:25-28, the Lord Jesus set the standard:

"Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."" (Matthew 20:25-28, NIV84)

c. Christ is head of His church, not the pastor

C. ELDERS MUST FEED THE FLOCK

1. in Titus 1:5, the Apostle Paul identifies elders as those men who labor "in the word and doctrine"

2. in John 21, Jesus drove home to Peter the importance of feeding the sheep

a. twice in His command to Peter, Jesus says feed my sheep

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him 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, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”” (John 21:15–18, ESV)

3. the pastor's goal is not to please the sheep, but to feed them

a. we are not to tickle ears, but to nourish souls

b. we are not to offer merely light snacks of spiritual milk, but the substantial meat of biblical truth

4. those who fail to feed the flock are unfit to be shepherds

III. RULES FOR SHEPHERDS — THEY HAVE REWARD

"And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." (1 Peter 5:4, NIV84)

1. Peter reminds the elders he writes to that God’s faithful servants can expect a reward

a. when we, whether or not we are ordained elders, faithfully care for those under out authority, we can expect to receive an unfading crown of glory

b. COOL!

Pastors should never forget that they are directly responsible to Jesus, who bears the title Chief Shepherd in this text. They ought to remember that the church belongs to Jesus, even

though they faithfully love and serve God's people. They must acknowledge that they serve the master Shepherd, whom they serve until he returns. As Jesus' undershepherds, they guide his sheep to the green pastures of his Word and feed them spiritual food.

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