The Humble Shepherd

You know, As we come to the end of our time in 1 peter. I was studying and i came to the passage that we’re in in 1 Peter 5.

Vs. Two says: “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you”

And I’ll be Honest… When i thought about my flock… You guys. This is the first thing that played in my mind

Play “Goats and Sheep Making Funny Noises” Video

The second though that I had was a little more serious. I asked myself the question, Why does God always use a flock of Sheep and a Shepherd to make His example.

While i was pondering this, I ran Across this article,

In 2019, a ewe took a tumble off a cliff in Wales. She was unhurt, but the animal became trapped on the rocks. A Canadian tourist arrived at the cove in Pembrokeshire and noticed the sheep down below. The unnamed man’s decision to attempt a rescue was photographed by Andrea Williams, a walker who noticed the unfolding drama.

Remarkably, the ewe stayed calm and even allowed the man to haul her back up the cliff by the scruff of her neck. When the photos hit Williams’s Facebook account, people quickly applauded the man’s actions as kind and heroic.

The RSPCA was not so fond of the Canadian, whom they said had performed a “dangerous stunt.” The Coastguard agreed, and both organizations called for people to contact trained professionals in the future.

And While, I am all about Safety, I think this example leads well into our conversation for the night.

1 Peter 5:1–7 ESV

1 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: 2 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; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Peter has just finished talking about how everyone in the world will go through times of suffering, and that the difference is that we have Hope that it will pass.

1 Peter 4:12–13 ESV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

So you may say, “Pastor Matt, what does this have to do with Sheep?”

Well, I’m glad you asked.

You see most nights we talk about all of us as Christians. We talk about how we as a whole are to Act, How we are to Grow closer to God, and How we can Live forever by surrendering our Lives to Jesus, right? (The Sheep that we see in the Bible refer to the Christian)

Well, tonight Peter is talking to me.

You see, the word Elder here in our world today means “Overseer” or as we more commonly refer, “Pastor”. (Shepherd)

You may not know this, but the Bible has a lot to say about what i do, and How i am to do it.

The Bible even says that I will be Judged more severely than other people.

James 3:1 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

There are actually two places in which there are strict qualifications for the Role of Pastor.

in the books of 1 timothy and Titus

1 Timothy 3:1–7 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

So I our Passage tonight, Peter is showing me a few things, and I hope that you will see them as well.

The Pastor must Lead by example

1 Peter 5:5–7 ESV

5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

There’s an old preacher saying, “That we all live in a Glass House.” Basically, this means that the Pastor and his family always have eyes on them. That the community is often watching to see us fail, as opposed to rooting for us to succeed.

You see, I have and will continue to make mistakes. It’s about me owning those mistakes, doing everything that i can to correct those mistakes, and move forward.

The Pastor must Protect His Flock

1 Peter 5:2–4 ESV

2 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; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

you see, To be a shepherd was an extremely dangerous role. We think about men in robes with curbed sticks, But i see men who’s job was to keep 10’s 20’s sometimes 100’s of animals safe from vicious predators. That was awake when the flock were asleep. That would have to go toe to toe with packs of wolves, and any other predators that decided that it was dinner time.

Y'all may not realize this, but the world we live in is not a safe place. It’s full of things that want to eat us. To drag us away from our families. To make us do things that we never thought we would do.

I Love going to battle for my flock! It’s a weird thing, but it’s true.

When Dealing with all that we’ve dealt with over the past few weeks, i found myself talking to another local Pastor in the Library at LHS. And He dropped a nugget on me that shook me to the core. He said, “You know, there are thousands of people out there who want to help. But yet we are the ones who get to be here in this room.”

I hate seeing anyone suffer, but for some reason, God designs us all differently doesn’t he. And He has designed me to find joy in being able to walk through those tough situations with His people.

The Pastor must Follow the Lead of His Shepherd

In this observation, I want us to take a closer look at vs. 2

“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;”

“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you”...“As God would have you;”

The Lord has taken a dumb country boy off of sand mountain, and for 12 years, has used me to pour in to the lives of teenagers.

I have always tried my best to do “as God would have” me. to do. To allow him to guide, even when it is difficult or uncomfortable. And now is no different.

A few Years Ago, I had the privilege of starting a discipleship group with a few of our senior high guys. We met weekly, and we really had a great time and grew closer to the lord!

Fast forward to this past year, We started a number of Discipleship groups across our church, one of which i led. I started a group with 6 young men who ranged from 22-33, and from those groups we have seen more spiritual growth than i could’ve ever imagined!

The life change was so evident that Pastor Jeremy came to me and told me all of the awesome testimonies that he was told, and about how intentional discipleship changed their lives.

So that brings us to where we’ve been headed. To our destination. To the difficult, emotional, but exciting news.

In January, I will become the Pastor of Discipleship and Missions here at EBC. This means that my focus will widen from discipling primarily our students, to designing and overseeing the discipleship of our entire church.

This does mean however, that i will no longer be the Youth Pastor. I will still be here, and still plan to be a huge part in each of your lives, but it means that we will have the Blessing of a new Youth Pastor that will also pour into, and be a part of your lives!!

I know that you all have questions, We will take time to answer as many as possible, and if you have others later, i will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

But before we do that, Know that I love you dearly. I look forward to watching each of you grow! And I ask you to do a favor for me. Do not become discouraged, and fall out of this ministry. The Lord has great things in store for you! The Lord is going to place someone in this position that is His man for the Job in this season, and if we will trust him! He won’t let us down!!

Pray