Untitled Sermon (38)

Scripture Introduction:

We’re going to begin a little series on shepherding, pastors, elders, deacons, church structure, etc. because we are going to have a couple things on our calendar coming up.

On April 28th we’re going to have a special called business meeting. Our constitution team has done a phenomenal job for the past year or so working on what it would mean for our church to transition to having both elders and deacons.

Those terms might be a little confusing. There might be some questions. What does that mean? What does that even look like? Why are we doing this?

And so what we’ll do is for the next couple of weeks I’m going to preach on the topic AND on April 21st we’re going to have a little family discussion. A time for us to gather and ask any questions. Our goal is to do that on the 21st and then have a very short meeting on the 28th where we pretty much just vote. You’ll have copies of the new constitution given to you. It will be emailed in pdf format. And we can also print them if you need them…just swing by the church office.

This was something that many folks were talking about when we were called here 5 years ago. So, that’s what we’re looking at doing here.

Today, if I had to title the sermon it’d be something like. “What is Pastoral Ministry?” Or “What is the Nature of Pastoral Ministry?”

But here’s the problem with that…I bet some of y’all thought one of two things. Some of you might be excited because that topic makes you confident you’ll get in a great nap today. Others might be excited because you’re kind of a nerd like me. Some of you, however, and this is my biggest concern…might have come here broken, hurting, needing fed…just hungry for Jesus. And so we gather together and just talk about shepherds instead of doing the actual work of shepherding, of feeding hungry souls.

Here is my promise to you. If you stick with us…follow along here…I will do my absolute best to feed you. This, I believe, will be an answer to that brokenness. And maybe…just maybe…some of that might be alleviated by what we’re hoping to do here.

Normally what I do is try to give a scripture introduction…try to set us in the text. Here is what is going on…etc....but I’m going to do it a little different today. Kind of like one of those episodes of a television show where you see an ending point and then flash back to 6 hours before, or 2 months before…we’re going to do that here.

Let’s start then at 1 Peter 5:1-4

1 Peter 5:1–4 ESV

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Sermon Introduction:

That is Peter…one who has been a shepherd, a pastor, an elder now for a while. And he’s addressing those who are elders at this local church…(Not the plurality there). He’s outlining for them…here is WHAT a pastor is...

Now let’s flash back. But let me ask you a question. Jesus is saying to your group…hey, something really massive is about to go down. They are going to take me away. I’m going to die. And in all of this…every single one of you is going to abandon me....

Okay here is the question. Would you want as your pastor a guy who says, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away”?

That’s good right…super dedicated. Faithful even when others aren’t faithful...

But let’s think about this for just a second…what kind of pastor would Peter have been before his betrayal…before his restoration…before he becomes an absolutely broken man?

I tell you what he’d have been. He’d have been the kind of pastor who lops off the ear of an enemy. (And sadly, maybe some today would want that for their pastor—gotta kick those enemies in the teeth).

He’d have been the kind of pastor who doesn’t turn back and pick up those who have fallen…but keeps marching ahead…super spiritual…I’m dedicated, these guys aren’t, I’m better. I’m Peter. I’m the Rock.

Peter was about Peter. He was about his success. His accomplishments. Peter tended to point to Peter…Jesus was a means to make him awesome. He loved Jesus, don’t get me wrong. He was dedicated to Jesus. He was a leader. But he hadn’t been broken yet.

Maybe he could have been a megachurch pastor. Maybe he’d have been the talk of the town. He might have had books written about him…went down in history as one of the most dedicated, inspirational, faithful, getting it done pastors in the history of the world.

But I’m not sure that Jesus would have shared that assessment. I want to show you this.

If we go back to Luke 22 we get the same story of Jesus telling the disciples that they’ll all be betray him. And Peter says the same stuff…but there is a little difference in Luke. Luke 22:31-34

Luke 22:31–34 ESV

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Here Jesus turns to Simon. It’s interesting that he calls him Simon and not Peter. But he says Satan has demanded to have you. Language of Job. Satan marching in, like he owns the place. That’s the picture here. He’s mine. Peter is mine! These disciples…they are mine.

Sift you like wheat. That doesn’t just mean trials and suffering. No it means to sift them so that they don’t remain. Break them. Keep them from persevering. It’s on the heals of what Jesus said in verse 28-29. “You have stayed with me in my trials…I’m giving you the kingdom”.....But Simon, Satan is demanding that this not be the case. He’s demanding that you not inherit the kingdom.

And now watch this. This is where I wish the Bible was written in hillbilly sometimes. If I say “y’all what do I mean”? It’s you-plural. You guys. You uns. All y’all. So I’m going to read this in hillbilly—every time there is a you plural I’m going to say y’all. See if you can catch what is happening.

Simon, Satan demanded to have y’all, that he might sift y’all like wheat, but I have prayed for YOU, that your faith may not fail.

It’s not just Simon who is going to be sifted, and struggle, and fall, but it’s all of them. But listen to this..

And when you (Simon) have turned again. When you repent. When you betray me but then you turn back…you strengthen your brothers. You build them up. You establish them. Rebuild the supports. Fix the foundation. Make it stronger, Peter. Encourage them.

But Peter doesn’t catch this…he has to hear in this, Jesus telling him that he’s going to fall. But he’ll have none of it. Nope, Even if everyone of these turkeys fall I won’t. (That’s kind of how Mark tells it). I’ll go to prison and even death.

No, Peter. You’re going to deny me three times even before the rooster crows. But this has to happen, Peter. It has to be fulfilled. This is even more explicit in Mark. Jesus quotes Scripture to him. And Peter is like, I’m the exception. No, you aren’t Pete.

Before Peter is a broken man he thinks that his call is to be the best runner…to finish the race first…but the transformed Peter will turn back. Your job isn’t to only make sure you finish the race, Peter. It’s to go back and make sure your brothers and sisters finish the race. That’s what it means to pastor, Peter.

Peter will have to be reshaped. He has to move from “I’ve got this figured out...follow me…you either get on the bus or get run over by the bus” to something entirely different. Peter needs to learn from the ministry of John the Baptist. “He must increase, I must decrease.”

If you do a Google search for “John the Baptist painting” you’ll see something really interesting. In almost every one of them John is doing the same action. He is pointing.

And that’s what Peter has to learn. Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. That’s not flowing from your awesomeness Peter. Don’t forget the lesson of the loaves Peter?

That was in Mark 6:30-44. Decent amount of similarity between that story and 1 Peter 5. The context is similar its all about the presence and provision of Jesus…meeting the needs of exhausted disciples. There is suffering in 1 Peter and suffering in Mark 6.

In Mark 6, they are in a desolate place, they have 5 loaves and 2 fish and Jesus has the audacity to say, “you feed them”.

That’s shepherd talk, right there. You feed them. Feed my lambs, Peter.

Now the disciples are flat out exhausted…that’s how this narrative starts. Jesus actually calls them into the wilderness—the place where there isn’t going to be many resources and it says, “they had no leisure even to eat.”

You been there? You are tapped out. No more resources left. I’m tired. I’m spent. I’ve done all I can do for today, Jesus.

Interestingly, we might even see here that some of these disciples aren’t all that serious perhaps. And yet Jesus still says, “feed them”. That has to be annoying. These people aren’t even serious Jesus. We are starved. What about us, Jesus?

Jesus’ compassion is much bigger than their resources. He wants to feed them…and he feeds them the word…the disciples have to figure out some of their physical needs.

It’s getting late and Jesus’ sermon is getting long and so the disciples look at their watches, hear their hungry bellies, and probably sense the growing hunger in the crowd. And they come up with a solution. They’ve got nothing left to give at this point. Here we are…at the desolate place…it’s late…we’re hungry, so why don’t we just send them away until morning have them go to the local McDonalds grab a bite to eat and we’ll do this thing again tomorrow. “Buy themselves something to eat”. Do you hear that?

We’ve got nothing left to give. Let them take care of themselves. Pass the buck of suffering. Not my problem. We’ve got to worry about putting food in our own stomachs and getting a bit of rest. And then Jesus says it…”You give them something to eat”. What a stab that must have been. How? How can we do this Jesus? We’ve got nothing left to give. What do you want us to do go drop 10 grand and give them something to eat?

He’s dropping this problem right in their lap. Don’t miss this. And put yourself there. You’ve got an issue that fits here don’t you. You look around and all you have are 5 loaves and 2 fish. It ain’t gonna cut it. Your resources just aren’t enough. So what do you do in that moment?

This is the question that lingers over the Garden. It’s the question that lingered over the wilderness. It’s the question that lingers over the disciples? And I’m convinced it’s over us even today. Am I going to trust God to accomplish His purposes with His resources or am I going to trust what I’ve got to bring to the table? Will I trust in my resources or His?

Peter has to understand at this point that he doesn’t have what it takes to accomplish this. It’ll require the pouring out of Peter’s own blood…and it still will not be enough to keep people from hunger. Because the answer to the lesson of the loaves isn’t found inside you. What we have to bring to the table is woefully inadequate.

Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. Do you realize what that means? It means to point.

You can see some of Peter’s transformation in Acts 3. A beggar, who was lame from birth is there begging by the temple. That shouldn’t be. The religious system shouldn’t have a beggar there…if they were following the Law this man would be provided for...

But he’s begging…and asks Peter and John for some change. The beggar spots them…meets there eyes…and asks them for a little help. Now listen to this response:

Acts 3:6 ESV

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

He doesn’t walk away anymore. He doesn’t say…go feed yourself. But also notice he doesn’t say, “I’ve got what it takes to meet your need, bro! Ol’ Pete and John are gonna help you out buddy…here’s a coin to help you…be blessed.”

No he says, “I don’t have what it takes. I don’t have what you’re asking for. I can’t meet your need.” But let me tell you who does…and let me tell you who has the power to get to the very core of the issues...

Oh you came for help paying your light bill…oh you came to get some marriage advice…oh you came to talk theology…oh you came because of grief…oh you came because of all the brokenness and all the weight and because you just aren’t sure you can’t take it anymore…that’s what you’re holding your hand out for...

Let’s fix your legs so you don’t have to beg anymore. Let’s fix the core issue. Let’s get into the deeps here and see the power of Jesus change everything....let’s make all things new!

I don’t have it…but I know who does. Let’s take you to him.

By the time you get to 1 Peter 5:1-4 that’s what you have with Peter as he’s talking to all the other elders.

I tell you all of that about Peter because this is where every God-called elder has started. Brokenness. If he ain’t broke he can’t fix it, because he’ll think he can fix it…when only He can fix it.

Notice a couple things in 1 Peter. Notice first that elder and shepherd are interchangeable. You aren’t going to find the word “pastor” all over the Scriptures. It just isn’t there. You’ll find shepherd…you’ll find elder…you’ll find overseer…and they are all talking about the same office, the same role, the same calling.

All those words are used to describe the same office—person who feeds the sheep the word of God, exercises oversight, and tends the flock through prayer.

I’ll also have you notice that this is PLURAL. A single pastor—single elder model has just about killed many of pastors and has harmed many of churches. But the early churches were led by multiple pastors/elders/shepherds in each local congregation. That is what we are hoping to move towards.

And every one of them…of us…has a similar story to that of Peter. I once was blind but now I see. The Lord rescued me and called me to feed his sheep. But there are temptations along the way which every shepherd will face. And you see these in 1 Peter 5:2.

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you. I could camp out on that phrase for awhile. God has used that in my life several times. Dietrich Bonhoeffer talked about Christian community a good deal and he said one of the things that kills it more than anything is a wish dream. That’s not being blessed and comforted and thankful to God for the community that you HAVE but to become obsessed with the community you want. That’ll suck the life out of any shepherd.

Shepherd the flock that is right there…the one God has given you. Don’t try to shepherd another flock. Bloom where you are planted. Give your life for THESE sheep that God has given you. That’s what he’s saying....and don’t do it under compulsion, but willingly.

I’ll be honest here and say that in some ways this whole series is awkward. It’s awkward because of what I said earlier…a shepherd’s job is to point to Jesus. A shepherd’s job is to go to the weary and the hurting and the vulnerable and the ones who have tripped up and fell and sit with them and point to Jesus.

And so it’s hard to say…hey let’s talk about the finger for just a second. It feels like the opposite of what we’re called to do.

But it’s also vulnerable. It’s vulnerable because you might not feel the weight of these words here....“not under compulsion, but willingly” I’m going to wager that you’ve never felt the weight of “exercising oversight”.

Before I was a pastor, I was like…well yeah of course…what kind of pastor wouldn’t want to be a pastor. But then I became a pastor.

And there is no way to explain this. I don’t know the things you carry, and you don’t know the weight of this. The weight of being responsible for souls. What it’s like to live in a fishbowl. What it’s like to almost never be “off.” When you go to a small group gathering you’re you…but I’m always Pastor Mike.

I think Piper is correct here, though:

It is a fearful and wonderful thing to be an elder in the house of God. If the elders lead the church into strength and glory, they will also lead the church into the refiner's fire of God's purifying judgment. They will not stand above the church or outside the church giving suggestions for how to cope with fire; they will lead the church into the fire.

And you don’t know what that feels like until you feel it. I’m not saying that to complain. Or even to have you say, “I couldn’t do what you do.”

Because the reality is…neither can I. The key here goes all the way back to what we read in Mark 6. t’s the lesson of the loaves. We cannot be elders in our own energy and by our own strength. We don’t have enough. I feel that every Sunday afternoon. I feel that every Monday morning.

The strength here comes from these little words, “shepherd the flock OF GOD”. I’m a steward. This is God’s church. This is God’s sheep…and I’m one of them. I appreciate these words from Jared Wilson:

How we see God on Monday morning will affect whether we oversee his church willingly or under compulsion. How we view the people in our church will affect whether we oversee them willingly or under compulsion. Our omnipresent Savior is waiting for me in the office on Monday morning, ‘Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” he says. I am plum tuckered out on Monday morning. I face ample temptation to wallow. But Jesus promises rest. I may be a shell of a pastor at this time each week, but God is no less God. His might is no less mighty. His gospel is no less power. His reach is no less infinite. His grace is no less everlasting. His lovingkindness is no less enduring.

A grumbling disposition is always a temptation. And I think the next two are actually connected. Because what happens when you stop ministering out of the Lord’s reserves and the Lord’s goodness and start ministering out of your own—is that you become a hireling.

Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Just getting a paycheck. You can’t shepherd for the wool. Likewise being domineering. Barking orders. Leading from a place of power instead of humility.

That is what kind of pastor Peter would have been. Self-absorbed. It’s not about feeding the flock on the word of God. It’s calling folks to do what you aren’t willing to do yourself. That’s why I say what this passage is all about is Peter telling the elders…y’all go first. Lead in suffering. That’s what it means to shepherd. Taste the fire first. And then with those burn marks on your hands…go back and build up.

As we move to elders it is absolutely important and foundational that we understand what it means. Hey, lets find some guys who are good CEO’s, men who know how to call the shots, men who know how to get it done, men who would be just like Peter before the denial, before being broken.

No. We’re asking for broken men. Those who have tasted the fire. Those who have witnessed the sufferings of Christ and have felt it in their own bones.

Those who are pointers. Elders aren’t CEO. Elders are shepherds. Shepherds who feed the lambs…and they feed them Christ.

And now I get to do what I love doing…point.

Every pastor is going to fail you. When we call a group of men to be elders…yes, we’re going to be more effective. Yes, we’re expanded giftedness. Yes, we’re filling in gaps and plugging up holes…making it to where multiple people are shouldering the load, gifted in places where one or two shepherds might not be.

But we’re also multiplying our failures. Your just calling a few other people who will also ultimately let you down.

I don’t say that to be negative. Nor to just say “we are all worms” sorry ‘bout that. No any elder worth their salt doesn’t ever want to let you down. Will spend nights awake. Will worry about things that many don’t even think about. That’s the nature of it.

But we will fail. We will let you down. Every single one of us. But Jesus never will.

I don’t mean that trite. He truly is the good shepherd. He lays down his life for the sheep. He dies for us. He takes our place. Take me instead of them.

And in that He takes away every bit of wrath. He takes the punishment for our sin that we deserve. All the cursings of the law that we read about in Dt. 28…what SHOULD be our lot. He says, “nah, I’ll take it.” Forgive them father, they know not what they do.

And he gives to us everything He has. That’s why that lame man could walk. Because Jesus is making all things new. He’s giving his sheep good pasture. He’s leading us into glory and the promised land. He’s leading us into rest.

All those things that your heart is longing for is found in Christ. Turn to Him.