A PROFILE OF GOD'S MAN: 1 PETER 5:1-4

Introduction

He is twenty-six years of age and he has been preaching for thirty years. He is tall and he is short. He is thin and he is heavyset. He is handsome. He has one brown eye and one blue. His hair is parted in the middle. The left side is blonde and straight and the right is brown and wavy. He has a burning desire to work with the singles and spends all his time with the senior adults. He spends all his time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him dedicated to his work. He makes fifteen calls a day on church members, spends all his time evangelizing the lost, and he never leaves the office. He is the perfect pastor.

There is no such thing as the perfect pastor. We are flawed men of God who have been called to preach the Word of God behind the sacred desk of God, filled by the Spirit of God to the people of God for the glory of God. We do this because of the calling God has put on our lives despite the circumstances often associated with it.

That is the situation that Peter is addressing. Peter is wanting to encourage pastors as they seek to lead God’s people through some difficult days. For the last four chapters Peter has been talking to us about our faithfulness during days of great difficulty. Now Peter turns his attention to me and my kind- pastors. He is going to talk to me about my faithfulness during days of great difficulty. Why? Because Peter knows what we all need to understand. There are severe and difficult days ahead for the church before the rapture occurs. Peter knows that the way Satan wants to stop the onward march of the church is through discouragement. He will do this by trying to take down the leader of the church somehow. That is why this message is important for you to understand even though it is directed towards me. [read text]

This morning we want to observe three instructions directed to the eyeballs of the pastor to see.

THE PASTOR’ RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST (5:1)

Warren Wiersbe is correct when he says, “the pastor of the local assembly must be a man who walks with God and who is growing in his spiritual life.” How does this happens? It happens to me the same way it happens to you. God will allow trials and suffering to come upon us so that we are forced to grow and be aware of new opportunities to serve Him.

I once heard of a man who kept praying that God would give him the opportunities to serve in His work. Another man said, “You need to stop praying that prayer. God is not going to give you more opportunities until you are obedient to the opportunities he has already given you. AMEN!

In the Greek New Testament there is a little word at the beginning of verse one. It is the word “oun.” It means “therefore.” This ties this verse and the verses that follow to the final verses of chapter four. [read verses 17-19]

There is a judgment coming upon the church of God that will be used to purify His church. However, this judgment is going to impact the pastors of the churches first and with greater intensity. Folks, whatever you go through because of Christ your pastor will go through it first and with an intensity most cannot understand. That is why Peter addresses the pastors. He turns his attention to them to encourage them because of the difficult days that are getting ready to hit the church. They will hit the pastors first.

Here is the principle we all need to remember. It is always the spiritual leaders who must bear the brunt of persecution first. Persecution is never an excuse for disobedience.

So Peter does not come to these pastors with the authority of an apostle. He comes to them with great humility. Notice how he designates himself. First, he addresses himself as a fellow elder. He says, “Guys, I am one of you. I understand your hearts like no one else can, outside of Christ Himself. I am not going to be exempt from the coming days of trouble.”

Second, Peter addresses himself as a witness to the sufferings of Christ. This recalls to Peter’s mind the lowest part of Peter’s life. This was his denial of Jesus when He was arrested. He later would go through the further pain of restoration (John 21:15-17). This reference to Christ’s sufferings on another level is a reminder to the pastors that since Christ took the leadership to suffer for them, they should also be willing to suffer for the sake of those in their churches.

Third, Peter identifies himself as a partaker of the coming glory that will be revealed. This is a reference to the second coming (parousia) of Jesus Christ. Peter says that he will share with fellow pastors the glory of Christ’s return, just as they share together in suffering for the name of Christ now.

All of this speaks of the necessity of a pastor’s healthy and growing relationship with Jesus Christ, even in the context of suffering.

THE PASTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO THE CONGREGATION (5:2-3)

Peter moves from the pastor’s primary relationship to Jesus Christ to his subsequent relationship with those Christ has called him to. [read verse 2]

Notice that he did not say entertain the goats, walk the dogs, and slop the hogs. He did not say to put on the biggest show in town. By the way, that is exactly what most churches get these days. The command is to shepherd God’s people. The word shepherd is a Greek verb which means “to behave as a shepherd.” What does a shepherd do?

First, a shepherd is responsible for presiding over the birth of new lambs. If there are not new lambs being born there will eventually be no flock to be shepherd over. In other words, the first priority of the shepherd to the flock is evangelism. Both by example and by teaching and preaching, the pastor is to keep the kingdom focus of evangelism before the people.

Second, a shepherd is responsible for leading the sheep to food and water. Without the fresh sustaining growth of spiritual food of God’s Word, they will perish without its nutrients. The pastor is to preach the Word of God, not pop-psychology.

Third, a good shepherd understands there are predators out there. The good shepherd will protect his sheep. Again, the main way this is done is through the preaching of God’s Word. You need to understand John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1, and Philippians 2 as well as all the counsel of God. That is why I preach through books of the Bible. That is why I preach those things you “Amen” to as well as those things that you say “Oh me” to.

Part of the function of shepherding the flock of God is “exercising oversight.” This speaks of the God-given authority of the pastor to fulfill the leadership that God has given to him. The term combines two Greek words: “skopos” which means “to see” and “epi” which means “over.” Thus, the pastor is to literally, “see over” which is the verb equivalent of the noun “overseer.” The pastor is the overseer of the church. It is not the deacons or any committee. However, there are three areas where the pastor is warned in the exercise of that leadership.

Warning #1: It is to be done willingly (2).

It is not to be done by compulsion. It is not something you can be forced into doing. It is the very passion of your heart and the very thought of your mind. Let me ask a question of you. What is it that you think of when you first get out of bed? What is it that is on your mind before your day gets started? The first thing that is on my mind when I wake up every morning is you. The first thought in my mind as a pastor is the welfare, especially the spiritual welfare of people. I do not do what I do because I have to. I do it because I want to.

Warning #2: It is to be done eagerly (2).

This means that a pastor’s primary motive is not for money. It means that he does not have dollar signs on his eyeballs. The word eager in this verse means “to have an eager mind.” It refers to an eagerness to serve because of a readiness and in eagerness already living in the heart. It is the same word Paul used in Romans 1:15: “So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.”

Warning #3: It is done by providing a proper example (3).

Being a pastor brings with it a tension that is part of the calling. The only way to solve that problem is to understand what a pastor is. The tension is that a pastor is one who is both “among” the sheep and at the same time one who is “over” the sheep. The solution is being an example to the sheep among you whom you are over.

There are four things that Scripture says a pastor is to give to the people.

A pastor is willing to feed. Just as the shepherd is willing to lead his sheep to the luscious green grass, I lead you to spiritual nourishment through the pages of the written Word and seek to lead youto fall in love with the living Word. By the way fathers, this is your role and responsibility before God to your families. It is not mama’s job. It is your job. You have a little congregation and it is your job to be the spiritual leader in your home.

A pastor is willing to lead. This means to give guidance. It means to give direction. That is why I keep a kingdom focus on evangelizing, connecting to people in our community, and a missions focus. This is not just to be the pastor’s passion, it must be the passion of every member of this church. My dream and passion is that we would have the spiritual gusto to want to win people for the kingdom here and all around the world. Further, I will be as bold to say that a church that does not have a burden and a concern for lost people to the point of speaking to them of salvation is not a biblical church.

A pastor is willing to bleed. There is coming a day, because of the growing godlessness in our culture, that I will be censured, fined and even incarcerated. It is coming and it is already here in some places. That is the reality. However, I will never back down from the gospel. Our culture is trying to force down our throats a lifestyle that the Bible clearly calls an abomination. I have to be willing to preach the truth no matter what. That is my calling and that is my responsibility.

A pastor is willing to intercede. This is one-third of the responsibilities that the Bible states in its job description for a pastor. The other two are preparation and study and the proclamation of the Word of God to you. God has given the three P’s for what I am to do- praying, preparing, and preaching.

Harvey McKay, author of the book, Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive, wrote an article about the founder of the Pillsbury Milling Company, Philip Pillsbury. How many have ever heard of the Pillsbury Dough Boy? What happens when you poke him in the tummy? That’s right, he giggles. Philip Pillsbury had a reputation among those he worked with of bring the “roll up your sleeves and get in there and work” kind of guy. So much was this the case that three fingers on one hand had been cut off. He accidently put his fingers in a milling grain roller and it took his fingers off. He was quoted as saying, “The higher you go the more important it is to stay in touch with your customers and your employees. You don’t have to put your hands in a grain roller, but you should walk your plant every day.”

Philip Pillsbury was always seen working with his people. That is what you do. When you are among the people, you leave an imprint upon their lives.

Question: If everyone took on your energy, temperament, and example in the work for the kingdom, how healthy would that work be? What kind of mark would you have left on this community? What kind of imprint are you leaving on people’s lives?

Pastors have a responsibility to the people God has set that man over.

THE PASTOR’S REWARD THAT IS COMING (5:4)

The book of 1 Peter is the epistle of hope. Peter gives the promise of hope in that Christ is going to return. Peter refers to Christ here is the Chief Shepherd. As such, Christ is the only one who can truly mark the measure of a man. He is the only one who can give an accurate assessment of a pastor’s calling. Thus, there are rewards that will be given for faithful service. When Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd returns, his pastors will receive that crown of glory that will never fade away.

In Peter’s day there were several types of crowns. The one referenced here was the “stephenos” or athlete’s crown. It was usually made from a garland of leaves or flowers. The problem with such items is that they would quickly fade. The glory of the moment would soon pass. Yet, the faithful pastor’s crown is the crown of glory rather than a crown of greenery.

Do not labor for today’s rewards. I am grateful for the ones that have come my way. I pray that I have thanked God for each one as they have come. I have come to realize that if I labor for today’s rewards, today’s rewards will be gone tomorrow. When will my reward come? When will your reward come? When the Chief Shepherd appears, that’s when. This is what we are to be looking forward to. Whatever the Chief Shepherd brings with Him, including my own crown of unfading glory, I promise you, nobody is going to take it away. It will be yours and it will be mine to keep for eternity.

Conclusion

In a very real sense, this sermon has been directed to me as Christ has given to me three reminders, three instructions to encourage me as your pastor. He is to be a man with a vital personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is to be a man who has a loving concern for you. He is to be a man who has a genuine desire to please Jesus Christ as he awaits the rewards of faithful service to Him.

Wait a minute! Are not these the same things you are instructed to do as well? To love and follow Christ means that we all fulfill these instructions. Yet, in this relationship between pastor and congregation there are some differing application points that I want to encourage us all with.

Application: Since the church is a big deal to Jesus, the church ought to be a big deal to all those who love Jesus. This means that the greatest leaders will be the greatest servants. Some are looking for those big doors of opportunity to swing open wide and are not taking advantage of all the “little” opportunities that are passing us by.

Application: God works through the rivers of authority in your life. What does this mean? This means that not only does God honor faithful pastors, He also honors those who honor their pastors. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. What does that mean? It means that God will bless you as you bless His man. This is the principle of the blessing of obedience. You are ultimately blessing and obeying God as you bless the man of God and the authority He has given to him. That is why Hebrews 13:17 declares, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

Robert Murray M’Cheyne was a pastor in the Church of Scotland. Speaking a word of encouragement to pastors he said:

“Do not forget the culture of the inner man. Remember you are God’s sword. You are his instrument. And I trust you are a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talent that God blesses so much as great likeness unto Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”

Folks, I am a soldier. I have come off the front lines as I labor in the gospel. Today I bring you the Word of God. I come here to tell you the truth. I come here today to encourage you with His truth. I come here today in a spirit of prayer. I want you to know that I am praying for you. I come here today to tell you that I care for you and what is going on in your lives. I come here to tell you that I love you. I’m not perfect, but I am here. I want you to realize that the Chief Shepherd knows all about what you will endure and the best thing is that He is here too.