(1 Peter 5:1-5)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Elder, Overseer, and Shepherd are the three biblical titles for Pastor (they are used interchangeably depending on what function the Pastor is doing.)
Elder- Wisdom
Overseer- Bishop, Oversight
Shepherd- Pastoring
1 I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed:
1 I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed:
Exhort- Appeal
Fellow Elder- He doesn’t call to his apostolic authority, rather His shared experience as a elder
Witness to the sufferings of Christ- does witness here mean I witnessed something, I saw something happens, and eye witness, or someone sharing something that they saw happen, “can I get a witness?”
For Peter it’s both:
Remember in the upper room at the last Supper, there is an arrogance with Peter. I will fight for your Jesus I am never going to leave you Jesus. Jesus looks at Peter and says you will deny me three times before the rooster crows this morning.
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the garden. Jesus leaves those three at the gate while he goes a little away to pray. He tell those three to pray too. They fall asleep three times.
Finally the last time comes, they look up and see Judas… leading this group of people that have come to arrest Jesus.
Judas kisses Jesus, to show the betrayal.
What does Peter do… whip out his sword and starts swinging it around, Peter needed a men’s sword cutting event to practice his aim. He isn’t Zorro, able to swing his sword with incredible precision, Peter was likely aiming to kill a guard, fight off a whole army of people with one sword… Peter gets the guards ear, cuts it off.
Jesus says stop… it’s not going down like this. Picks the guys ear up, puts it back on his head (who can do that but God?) and then is arrested and lead away.
Peter follows along behind them probably a good distance because Jesus is under arrest and won’t be able to help Peter, but something about that must have shook Peter, because that night while Jesus us undergoing illegal trials.
Peter isn’t sturggling to stay awake any more.
He is warming himself by a fire, and three times Peter denies that he knows Jesus, and one time was to a little girl so we know that he wasn’t physically being intimidated into denying Jesus.
Right after the third time Luke tells us this happened in Luke 22:61-62.
60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
61 Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
One who shares in the glory about to be revealed- Partaker
Peter had another moment with Jesus being glorified that he is recalling here.
28 About eight days after this conversation, he took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.
30 Suddenly, two men were talking with him—Moses and Elijah.
31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep, and when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him.
33 As the two men were departing from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud.
35 Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!”
36 After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They kept silent, and at that time told no one what they had seen.
Peter saw a glimpse of the glorified Christ, He understood what this meant at the transfiguration. Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah! The one who brought the law from God to the people, and the great prophet who never died!
Jesus is God in the flesh, the second person of the trinity, the eternal Son of God.
And so Peter knows that Jesus is coming back again at some point. We have seen this throughout this letter… Peter telling the people faced with suffering and hardship, remember Jesus didn’t leave with no intention of coming back… Jesus left, sent the Holy Spirit (third Person of the trinity, the Eternal Holy Spirit) to dwell in believers to comfort and justify, to sanctify to disciple, to convict of sin. To prepare you for the day you die or when Jesus comes back whichever comes first.
Jesus next coming will not be like His first coming.
He is coming in glory…
2 Shepherd God’s flock among you,
Shepherd- feed, tend, care for
28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
There is likely another even on Peter’s mind as he tells these fellow elders their imperative role to do… He commands them to Shepherd.
After Peter denies Jesus three times and they have the moment when they lock eye and it breaks Peter. He leaves weeping.
Peter and his brother Andrew go back to fishing.
James and John go back to fishing too.
Peter, James, and John are considered the 3 closest aposltes to Jesus because they are often the three that go with Jesus alone the most, they talk to most in the gospel accounts. Andrew is sometimes mentioned and sometimes not, he is probably in this group, but not always.
They fish and they catch nothing, some man from the shore yells throw your nets on the otherside, they begrudgingly do and they catch so many fish the net starts to break, then John says that man yelling at us is Jesus.
When Jesus first called Peter, Andrew, James, and John a very similar thing happened, they had a long night of casting but not catching. They are tired and defeated and Jesus says try the other side. They catch so many fish they need another baot to help them! Peter recognizes this man is holy and He begs him to have mercy on him because he is a sinner.
Jesus is reminding Peter, Andrew, James, and John of how He called them from a life of fishing to a life of fishing for men.
Peter dives in the water with all his clothes on (leaves the other guys to get to fish and to boat docked)
Jesus says this to Peter in John 21:15-19
15 When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him.
16 A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.” “Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.
17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.
18 “Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”
19 He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”
Three Times Jesus asks Peter do you love me...
How many times does Peter, James and John fall asleep in the garden instead of praying?
How many times did Peter deny Jesus?
How many days was Jesus in the tomb?
Jesus tells Peter twice to feed my sheep and once the Shepherd them.
It’s hard to think Peter doesn’t have that in mind here when he imperatively tells the Elders of these suffering churches, Shepherd this flock of God among you.
To Shepherd means you tend to the sheep.
This includes feeding, sheering, watching them, tending to wounds, making sure the youngest get the milk they need to grow, making sure they are growing in such a way that they get off of milk at the right time. This means carrying the wounded, going after those who run away, this means understanding who is a sheep in this flock and who is not. This means understanding that wolves has a taste for sheep, keeping wolves out of the pens, and also keeping sheep from wandering to wolves. This is inredicly hard with this new invention called the internet. Wolves tend to know how to be seen an innocent, and look like sheep. This means that sometimes you have to shoot a wolf.
Pastoring in not an easy profession: It’s absolutlely a calling.
There are lots of things that make it difficult, for me the hardest is sometimes when you are shepherding the sheep bite and it hurts.
The Call is to Shepherd the Flock of God among you, and the reality that you and I both know is that this means it requires an insane amount of trust.
It’s something I don’t take lightly, but also know that I am a human, I am an undershepherd, I am shepherding here alone deacon are great, but they are not shepherds, they are not elders, they are not overseers they are servants. Differnent ordained position in this church, but a vital one.
So there are things we do, there are things that I do, that I know sometimes you don’t like and you get frustrated with.
There are some, if I can be honest with you, that I may be your pastor your shepherd in title, but in practice you do not trust me. You’ll keep me at a distance. My commitment to you is in the end we are all sheep following after Jesus the Cheif Shepherd, I am here for the long haul.
I am playing the long game. Trust is earned its not given and it is easily lost and it’s hard to gain.
So my commitment is to be honest with you as kindly but clearly as I can be.
Sunday Morning gatherings are the most important time of the week for us as a church.
It’s here we take the Lord’s Supper, not on Wednesdays.
It’s here we are most fully gathers, all the generations of believers in one room, all the unblievers we bring with us here too.
It’s here where the Word is preached, book by book, verse by verse. This has a cumulitive impact on you and me. You may not be able to remember any one sermon I have preached, but if you sit year after year under this type of preaching then slowly but certainly the Word of God santifies you.
My goal is not to entertain, my goal is not to coddle you, my goal is not to please the highest donor, my goal is to be faithful the the chief shepherd. THis means sometimes the Word convicts sometimes the word encourages, but always the Word points to the good news of Jesus.
Please hear me… I am not going to do this perfectly. I can’t. I’ll try but I am a sinner too. So when I fail I rest in the Gospel of Jesus Christ too. I understand what this means, I am a teacher and preaching it means there will be a strict judgement coming for me in the end, where I will have to give an account of every word that I have said… I try to keep that in mind every time I teach and preach it’s a heavy burden, but it’s one that it a joy to bear.
Among you- that is in your charge, entrusted to you, under your care
Peter makes a point to say… there are people who are your sheep and there are people who are not. Your calling your responsibility is to Shepherd those who are yours.
So here we have a problem… our church has a list of nearly 350 people who are “members” here. Just under 300 of those people have never even attended a Sunday Morning service since I have been here 4.5 years.
How can I be an under shepherd to them if they won’t even come?
The reality is they might be members on paper, but they are not actually members.
The most loving thing we can do is try to chase them down, and say listen I want to shepherd you like God has called me to, but that means you need to be in the pins come gather with us and grow with us.
If they have a different shepherd and herd, praise God and lets get them off our list.
If they don’t have a different shepherd and a different herd they simply are not coming and will not start coming am I their under-shepherd? Not really. Sheep hear the voice of their chief Shepherd Jesus, Jesus knows them, and Jesus gives them under-shepherds to tend to them and care for them.
If they will not come to the pins, and be tended to and cared for, and be the church with us together. You cannot be the church alone… it’s a group of people.
If they will not covenant with us, or keep the covenant with us… the most loving thing we can do is say we love you, we care for you, but you are not one of us… we want you to be but that means you must keep the covenant.
Because Pastor’s are called to Shepherd the flock AMONG THEM.
I am not going to other churches recruiting disgruntled church members trying to steal them. That’s what wolves do. We are not in a contest with other church, our enemy is Satan, Worldly Flesh, Sin, and Death. We are going to be Ira Baptist Church, how God has led us to be.
Shepherd is the imperative verb: What does Peter have in mind, how do we Shepherd?
Shepherd Willingly
Shepherd Willingly
not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly;
Overseeing- exercising oversight, watching over them
Out of compulsion- by constraint, because you must, grudgingly
Out of greed for money- for shameful gain, filthy lucre, sordid gain, pursuing dishonest gain, It’s hard, but it’s a joy genuinely.
It’s not 9-5, its all day everyday.
There are times it’s hard, but also times when I get to experience things others just don’t.
There is no one forcing me to do this… now I know guys in the ministry who do nothing but complain about their churches, so they leave after a year or two and then they complain about those churches too.
Being a Shepherd, Pastors means your Shepherd the flock among your willingly. Not because well if I don’t then who will. Not because you get to be on a stage and people look at you and if you tell a few jokes, have a few anecdotes, sprinkle in a lot of Bible Verses make people feel good. I know guys, that this is the goal.
Give the people what they want. It’s a drag every single Sunday… they don’t want to be with their sheep.
They are in it for the prestige or for the money.
Be weary of Pastors who get famous and get rich in the ministry.
They are more dangerous that politicans who get rich while in office.
This doesn’t mean that you should not pay a pastor.
17 The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
18 For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, The worker is worthy of his wages.
But this also does not mean that you have to pay a pastor either.
For those in the ministry it means fame and fortune are not the motivating factors. Faithfulness to God is.
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
lording it over- domineering over
entrusted to you- in your charge, heritage, alloted to your charge, assigned to your care
There is such things as pastoral authority.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
In a few verses down from our current text Peter says:
5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
But as with the case of authority and any human beings… it is abused.
It’s meant to be used for the growth of the church that God has given you… not a different body of believers.
You don’t lord, domineer this authority over those entrusted to you… but you also don’t get walked all over and have no authority in the church either.
It comes back to trust… you can be a pastor in title but not a pastor in practice. This takes time to develop. Especially now a days when the tenure of Pastors is shorter and shorter, and the vehicle makes it so easy to simple move to the next church when something happens that you don’t like.
Lording, domineering authority over people looks like a pastor says do you know who I am? I am a man of god how dare you not like something that I said. I love that Peter says be an example to the flock as the opposite of domoneering.
Yelling to commanding to do something is really just wasted breath. We, brothers and sisters, are in the ministry togethter. I am a sheep too. Christ is my ultimate Shepherd, and our goal is to follow him better together and to pick up some new sheep and help them follow the shepherd better too along the way.
I know pastors that will not serve. Listen God has made it so that pastors live in a fish bowl. This is hardest on my wife and my kids. But just as much as being a pastor is my calling, being a pastors wife is Morgan’s and being Pastor’s Kids (PKs) is my kids. PK’s have a reputaiton typically. Again my commitment is to be faithful, and I am not going to be fake.
I pray that who I am up here is the same person I am at my house when the doors are closed.
I’m not perfect, but I am who you have. You are not perfect, but you are who I have.
4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
When King Jesus, when the chief Shepherd appears, I want him to look at me and say well done good an faithful servant.
The crown of glory is not a kings crown… it’s the crown of someone who competed in an event.
Panther Ribbons.
5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.
Be subject- Submit, accept authority
Peter returns to this submission idea.
Submit to Every human authority.
Use your “freedom” for the glory of God.
Wives submit to your own husbands.
Use your “spouse” for the glory of God.
Slaves submit to your masters.
Use your “career” for the glory of God.
Submit to the elders.
You who are younger does this mean once you reach a certain age you no longer need to be submit to those pastors over you? what is that age? it’s probably younger than you are right?
The idea Peter is saying is that in these church, and in most of the churches in the New Testament, you did not have lone pastors leading the church. You had a plurality of elders, multiple pastors.
They together shephered their churches.
I’ve said before my hope and prayer is that the Lord might be working is some of you men, placing a calling in some of you to be pastors.
5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town.
All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Resists- opposes
Pride is the Sin of sins.
Grace comes to thpse who need it, and know they need it.
It’s not about being tough it’s about understanding who we are and the role God has placed us in.
Gospel-
proud don’t get saved.
Proud don’t share the Gospel.
Get Saved.
Be a Disciples… make disciples
Serve.
Ask Questions.
Read the text before you come.
Pray before you come.
If you have an issue, come and talk to me.
Membership Class.
Covenant.
Purpose.
Easter is coming who is your One?