Shepherd! You Have One Job, Do it Well!

You had one job pictures

ENGAGE

Ligon Duncan - “Toleration is no longer acceptable. You must celebrate the individual’s choice.”

Kevin DeYoung - "Justification by faith alone is better than anything the world has to offer."

Juan Sanchez - “Pursue Gospel Friendships, Prioritize Gospel Ministry, Train Up Faithful Men, Place Confidence, Not in my strength, but in the Lord Jesus Christ.” "Ministry is hard. We should not do it alone. We need deeply-rooted gospel friendships."

H.B. Charles Jr. - "You cannot faithfully serve the gospel if you do not personally savor the gospel."

Greg Gilbert - “Unity Lives where self-regard dies. Self-regard dies at the foot of the cross. We think too much of ourselves because we think too little about Jesus.”

Bobby Scott - “The gospel message is the primary message because it is the only news worth crying out. Why? It is the only message that saves from the wrath of God.”

Alistair Begg - "The preaching of the cross runs as a bloodline through the entire Scriptures."

David Platt - “The ultimate goal of every christian and every church is to enjoy and exalt God’s glory among the nations.” "May God help us to come together and stay together for the sake of those without the gospel."

Shai Linne - “It is about the person of Jesus Christ. Love for doctrine is not the same thing as love for Jesus.”

John Piper - “The only sin you can conquer is forgiven sin.” “Sin killing is the constant work of the Christian.”

Afshin Ziafat - “We will be canceled when we live for Christ.” “Don’t smell good to the world, be the aroma of Christ.” "Christian, you should, as an overflow of your union with Christ, be emitting the fragrance of Christ."

Christian Lwanda - "The Spirit of God will use the Word of God through the man of God to build the church of God to the glory of God."

Sinclair Ferguson - “You’re not called to the ministry unless you love those to which you will teach the Bible.”

Mark Dever - “Good authority is rooted in the fear of God. Grow in the fear of God, stand for truth, and do not be a respecter of persons.”

Ligon Duncan - “Your God is gloriously great and, at the same time, the greatest example of humility that you have ever seen.”

My resolutions as a result of my time at this conference?

My resolution is found in 1 Peter 5:1-4...

ENCOUNTER

Main Idea - Shepherd! Do Your Job!

Okay, but how?

1. Shepherd! Shepherd Your Flock! (vs. 1-2a)

1 Peter 5:1-2a 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,

Explain -

“Exhort” - Beseech, beg, plead.

“Elders among you” - a plurality of elders. Not just one.

“Elders” - Not just pastor.

1. Elder 2. Pastor 3. Shepherd 4. Overseer 5. Bishop

Peter identifies himself in three ways...

“Fellow Elder” - Peter puts himself on the same level as these elders.

“Witness of the sufferings of Christ” - Peter was there. Can you imagine the memories he had regarding the crucifixion?

“Partaker of glory” - Peter knew what it was to see Christ in all His glory on the mount of the transfiguration. He also knew that they would share in the eternal glory of Christ.

These three identifiers of Peter are the basis of Peter’s exhortation. They are his calling card. They are his credentials.

And what does Peter beg these elders to do?

“Shepherd the flock” - The word poimanate means “to tend.” Besides feeding, it includes caring, leading, guiding, and protecting—all duties and responsibilities a shepherd has for his flock. - Roger M. Raymer, “1 Peter,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary:

“Shepherd the flock that is AMONG YOU!” You shouldn’t shepherd other flocks.

Illustrate - Psalm 23

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Apply - This application is for me, for the current elders of the church and those men who will be elders in the future.

Pray for our growth in our leadership for this church

Pray for our growth in our guiding of this church

Pray for our growth in our protecting of this church

Our focus needs to be solely this congregation that God has entrusted to us!

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Review - Shepherd! Do Your Job!

Shepherd! Shepherd Your Flock!

Transition - Okay, how am I supposed to shepherd?

2. Shepherd! Shepherd Correctly (vs. 2b-3)

1 Peter 5:2b-3 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.

Explain -

“Exercising oversight” - A spiritual and physical guardianship. The shepherd is to watch over the flock.

“Not under compulsion” - The elder/shepherd is to perform this duty out of a heart of joy. It’s not to be done by a guilty conscience.

“Willingly and eagerly” - this is how God wants you to shepherd. - You must be called to this position of eldering.

1 Cor 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

“Not for getting rich” -

“Not for Power” - A guy on a power trip is a dangerous wolf who needs to be removed from any leadership position. The “My way or the highway” approach to leadership is ungodly, unproductive, and is not biblical. Again, this is a powerful argument for the plurality of elders - Men who can shepherd (teaching) and men who can oversee. This is our glorious calling.

Ezekiel 34:1–10 ESV

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. 7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

“Those in your charge” - Elder, future elder, this is not a joke. Eldering is serious business because you are watching out for the souls that God has entrusted to you.

“Examples to the flock” - What happens teaches. And those called to elder in the local church have an even greater responsibility than themselves and their family. They need to be examples to the entire flock that the Lord has entrusted to them.

There is a proper way to shepherd and Peter laid it out clearly for us.

And did you notice all if what Peter talks about is the attitude of the elder?

Do I have an attitude of willingness and eagerness to serve you?

Do I have an attitude that is pleasing the Lord (as God would have you)?

Do I have an attitude of contentment (not for shameful gain)?

Do I have an attitude of humility (not a power munger)?

Do I have an attitude of responsibility (those in your charge)?

Do I have an attitude of caution with my freedoms (being an example)?

Our attitudes make all the difference...

Illustrate - ATTITUDE by Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes”

Apply - I was deeply convicted by the Lord as I went through sermon after sermon this past week. What a blessing to be able to sit under such amazing preaching. However, I will tell you, I felt quite overwhelmed. I felt like I needed to come back to ABC and repent for the way I have pastored you for the last 8 years. I have so much growing to do. Thank you for your patience with me.

However, there will be some changes coming. And honestly, I’m still formulating what these changes look like for me.

One of the changes is something I have already been working on - fearlessness. I must communicate clearly, boldly, strongly, in love. I, along with the other elders must do two things well - Equip You by teaching and preaching the word boldly, powerfully, and unashamedly. Second, we must do our best to protect this flock from heresy. This means the elders of this church, starting with me, must be experts in the Bible. We must know what we believe as a church and why we believe it. And we must train up others to do this important work of this ministry.

Review - Shepherd! Do Your Job!

Shepherd! Shepherd Your Flock!

Shepherd! Shepherd Correctly

Transition - Here is why I and the elders can shepherd well...

3. Shepherd! Jesus is the Ultimate Shepherd (vs. 4)

1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Explain - There is no greater Shepherd that Jesus Christ. He is the Chief Shepherd to whom I am responsible. He is the head of this church and He works through the under-shepherds to teach His Word and Protect His sheep. This is why it is so important that you recognize those men among us that qualify for this exceedingly important role (1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1).

The promise of His coming. He will return. Don’t be naive and think this world will just continue on as it has been. He will return. He will make all things right. He will shepherd his people perfectly for all eternity.

He will rapture us out of here.

1 Thes 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

After this, in heaven, when we are with Jesus and the Great Tribulation is taking place on the earth, two important events will take place with Christ and his church.

The marriage supper of the lamb.

Rev 19:6-9 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

2. Bema Seat Judgment

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Romans 14:10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

This Bema Seat judgement is not for unbelievers, this judgment is for believers. It is a rewards judgment based on how you lived your life as a follower of Jesus! And the interesting promise here is that the faithful shepherd will receive the “unfading crown of glory.”

Can we just reflect on this for a minute?

Jesus did His Job - Explain the gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Jesus is doing His Job Through You! -

Matthew 28:20 “...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Jesus does all the work - Jesus does all the heavy lifting and I get the reward? Grace!

Illustrate - John 10:11-18 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Apply - Whenever I get discouraged and overwhelmed at the enormity of the task I have been called to - shepherding the people of God. I realize that I am not THE shepherd. I am just an under-shepherd. The ULTIMATE Shepherd will get His sheep home. I can trust this good shepherd. I can believe this good shepherd. I can rest in this good shepherd who is the ultimate shepherd.

This good shepherd has given me and the elders of this church written instructions on how to shepherd well. It is my goal to lead by these instructions even if that makes you upset with me.

Review - Shepherd! Do Your Job!

Shepherd! Shepherd Your Flock!

Shepherd! Shepherd Correctly

Shepherd! Jesus is the Ultimate Shepherd

Transition -

EMPOWER

Mark’s resolutions on becoming a better shepherd.

Combination of Exhortation, Animation, and ultimately Application of the preacher’s words to make space for God’s power to flow.

You don’t tell them about a truth: you give an experience of it.

Don’t turn into powerless moralism

In the life of Jesus, those hypotheticals become actuals

Jesus becomes the stories he tells

The message becomes about Jesus

Connection Group Reflection Questions

What quote from the T4G conference was an encouragement to you? Why?

How does 1 Peter 5:1-4 impact what you think about the role of elder in our church?

What role should the qualifications play in discovering elders in our body? When should someone start living by these qualifications?

How can you shepherd those God has placed in your life?

Describe some ways the Lord has shepherded you in this last year.