SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: Well, last week, um, if you were back in the building, you heard about judgment.
SPEAKER_00: And today we're talking about shepherding.
SPEAKER_00: Uh spiritually, of course, we're talking about the shepherding of souls.
SPEAKER_00: But in that topic, we're going to be hitting on authority.
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that's another crowd pleaser after hearing about judgment last week.
SPEAKER_00: I know how much we all love to hear about authority, you know, and I'm including myself, by the way.
SPEAKER_00: We were away last week, uh, my family and I, we missed you all, uh, but we were away at a family reunion.
SPEAKER_00: But I did listen to Dan's message on judgment, and it was excellent.
SPEAKER_00: Some of the best messages are the ones that you don't want to hear.
SPEAKER_00: We're not up here playing the hits, you know.
SPEAKER_00: We're not avoiding the hard topics.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we believe the Bible is true when it says that all scripture is profitable.
SPEAKER_00: Alistair Begg said, and I don't know if he was quoting someone else or not, but I heard him say it.
SPEAKER_00: He said that it takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe that.
SPEAKER_00: So now uh here today I'm talking about shepherding and authority by extension.
SPEAKER_00: You may find this funny, I do a little bit, but we got together months ago and decided who would be preaching on which passage of Scripture as we move through 1 Peter.
SPEAKER_00: The original plan was that I would preach on judgment and that Dan would preach on shepherding.
SPEAKER_00: But when we saw how the passages fell on the different dates, we realized that I would be away when I was supposed to preach on judgment, and here this week the Cudmores aren't here, they're away.
SPEAKER_00: So we swapped assignments.
SPEAKER_00: And I actually think that it was fortuitous because Dan really knocked it out of the park last week.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it was it was a great sermon.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna knock it up No, I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, I I think it best that a message about shepherding not come from the head pastor, the head human authority in this church.
SPEAKER_00: Of course, Jesus is the head authority, but Dan is the head human authority here, and as such, we have certain responsibilities to him.
SPEAKER_00: A lead pastor could preach the word and tell you what those responsibilities are, but you can see why one might be reticent to do so.
SPEAKER_00: I have no such reservations.
SPEAKER_00: Let me make this last point before we look to our passage this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I both have some measure of authority here and am under authority, and there are many such cases of this.
SPEAKER_00: And even Dan, who has the most human authority in our body, is also under human authority.
SPEAKER_00: We have a leadership team that is informed and involved in steering this body toward the Lord, and that's a great thing.
SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, our authority is Christ Jesus, who is the head of the church.
SPEAKER_00: Amen?
SPEAKER_00: Let's read first Peter verses uh or chapter five verses one through four.
SPEAKER_00: First Peter five, one through four says, 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.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father, we thank you for your word to us this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We know that it is uh alive, it's it's living and active, and uh.
SPEAKER_00: We just pray that you would make it alive in our hearts, in our lives, that you would change us by what we hear and what we learn this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We ask it in the name of your Son Jesus, our Savior.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest blessings that Christ gives his church is faithful spiritual leadership.
SPEAKER_00: Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly compares his people with sheep.
SPEAKER_00: My father-in-law, when he was still with us, had a unique perspective on our relationship with God.
SPEAKER_00: He was a husband, and we know that Jesus is a husband to the church.
SPEAKER_00: He was a father, and we know that God is our heavenly father.
SPEAKER_00: But in his later years he also became a shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: I can still remember the conversation we had when I brought this up to him.
SPEAKER_00: I knew that being a husband and father myself informed my understanding of how God relates to us.
SPEAKER_00: So I asked him about what wisdom he had gleaned from being a shepherd as it relates to us and God.
SPEAKER_00: Some of the things that he mentioned were that sheep are dependent animals, that they wander easily, they cannot defend themselves, not well at all, and they require constant care.
SPEAKER_00: Left of themselves, they become vulnerable to predators and danger.
SPEAKER_00: Now, that imagery is not designed to insult us, but rather it reminds us how deeply we need the guidance, the protection, and the provision of our shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Isaiah confessed that all we like sheep have gone astray.
SPEAKER_00: We know well that David said, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus himself identified as the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Christ is the good shepherd, but in his wisdom he also appoints under shepherds, pastors and elders, to care for his flock until he returns.
SPEAKER_00: These leaders, and pay special attention to this list of qualities here, these shepherds are not owners, they're stewards, they're managers.
SPEAKER_00: They're not celebrities, but rather servants.
SPEAKER_00: Their authority is not rooted in personal charisma, or as Dan likes to say, good looks and charm.
SPEAKER_00: But they're rooted in the Word of God and in the example of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: By the time Peter writes this book, these words, he has been involved in ministry for decades.
SPEAKER_00: He has known both triumph and failure.
SPEAKER_00: He preached at Pentecost, he healed the lame, he suffered imprisonment, and he watched the church spread across the Roman Empire.
SPEAKER_00: Tradition tells us that he would eventually be crucified for his faith.
SPEAKER_00: As he writes, persecution is intensifying, and he knows that the churches will need faithful shepherds now more than ever.
SPEAKER_00: Notice that Peter does not begin by discussing church growth strategies, organizational structures, uh, ministry techniques.
SPEAKER_00: He begins with the heart of a shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Before God is concerned about what leaders accomplish, he is concerned about who they are.
SPEAKER_00: As John MacArthur wrote, the church is never stronger than its leadership.
SPEAKER_00: Likewise, Charles Spurgeon observed, the pulpit is the thermometer of the church.
SPEAKER_00: Those statements remind us that healthy churches are ordinarily led by healthy shepherds.
SPEAKER_00: Here are four things we're going to see as we take a deeper look at our verses this morning the humility of the shepherd, the responsibility of the shepherd, the heart of the shepherd, and the hope of the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so the shepherd's humility, responsibility, heart, and hope.
SPEAKER_00: We'll look at these one by one, starting with humility.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter begins here in verse 1 as we begin to take a deeper look.
SPEAKER_00: So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder.
SPEAKER_00: The word uh so or therefore connects this passage with the preceding verses.
SPEAKER_00: Peter has just reminded believers that suffering and judgment are part of God's refining work.
SPEAKER_00: In especially difficult times, churches need especially faithful leadership.
SPEAKER_00: It's noteworthy here that Peter does not appeal to his apostleship.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he calls himself a fellow elder.
SPEAKER_00: What humility.
SPEAKER_00: Peter could have reminded the people he was writing to, he could have reminded them that he had walked on water, that he witnessed the transfiguration, that he preached at Pentecost, you know.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know how many decisions we got that day?
SPEAKER_00: He could have said, right?
SPEAKER_00: No, he doesn't do that.
SPEAKER_00: He identifies himself simply as one shepherd, speaking to fellow shepherds.
SPEAKER_00: This reflects the lesson that Jesus taught him years earlier.
SPEAKER_00: When the disciples argued about greatness, Jesus said, Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.
SPEAKER_00: Christian leadership begins with humility.
SPEAKER_00: It was Augustine who wrote, Should you ask me what is the first thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus Christ, I shall answer.
SPEAKER_00: First, humility.
SPEAKER_00: Second, humility.
SPEAKER_00: Third, humility.
SPEAKER_00: Sorry.
SPEAKER_00: That applies nowhere more than in pastoral ministry.
SPEAKER_00: Peter next reminds them that he witnessed Christ's sufferings.
SPEAKER_00: At the end of verse 1, there.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as the partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.
SPEAKER_00: He watched Jesus arrested.
SPEAKER_00: He saw him mocked.
SPEAKER_00: He then denied knowing him.
SPEAKER_00: He heard the rooster crow.
SPEAKER_00: He wept bitterly.
SPEAKER_00: And later he met the risen Christ who restored him by the Sea of Galilee.
SPEAKER_00: That restoration forever shaped Peter's ministry.
SPEAKER_00: Broken men often become compassionate shepherds.
SPEAKER_00: Those who have experienced God's grace become better equipped to both extend grace to and explain the grace of God to others.
SPEAKER_00: Paul echoes this principle in 2 Corinthians 1, 3 and 4.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to read that real quick.
SPEAKER_00: 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3 and 4 says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
SPEAKER_00: God comforts us so that we may comfort others.
SPEAKER_00: You're probably well aware of this.
SPEAKER_00: You know, you've helped someone through something that you have gone through.
SPEAKER_00: So the greatest pastors are really those who have avoided suffering, but those whom Christ has transformed through it.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter balances suffering here with hope.
SPEAKER_00: He speaks of the glory that is going to be revealed.
SPEAKER_00: In Romans, Paul shares the same truth.
SPEAKER_00: Chapter 8, verse 18, says, The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed.
SPEAKER_00: Faithful shepherds live with eternity in view.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so that's the humility of the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to look now in verse 2 at the responsibility of the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Chapter 5, verse 2 says, 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.
SPEAKER_00: Shepherd the flock of God that is among you.
SPEAKER_00: This is the central command of this passage.
SPEAKER_00: It encompasses feeding, protecting, guiding, healing, seeking, and nurturing.
SPEAKER_00: Peter deliberately says the flock of God.
SPEAKER_00: The church does not belong to the pastor.
SPEAKER_00: It does not belong to the elders.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't belong to the denomination.
SPEAKER_00: It belongs to Christ alone.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible tells us that God purchased the church with his own blood.
SPEAKER_00: Think of the staggering implication.
SPEAKER_00: Every believer has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: How carefully should shepherds treat those whom Christ loved enough to die for?
SPEAKER_00: J.C.
SPEAKER_00: Ryle wrote that the souls of men are the most valuable things in all creation.
SPEAKER_00: Pastoral ministry is therefore sacred stewardship.
SPEAKER_00: When Peter was restored, Jesus' command to him was remarkably simple.
SPEAKER_00: Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.
SPEAKER_00: Three things, but it's one command.
SPEAKER_00: Everything else in ministry flows from that.
SPEAKER_00: Programs may entertain us, events may attract us, technology we can use to assist us, but it is only the word of God that nourishes souls.
SPEAKER_00: Paul therefore commands Timothy, preach the word in season and out of season.
SPEAKER_00: That's in 2 Timothy 4.2.
SPEAKER_00: What does that mean in season and out of season?
SPEAKER_00: It's a curious phrase.
SPEAKER_00: I take it to mean two things.
SPEAKER_00: A first is to stay ready to preach the gospel, which our personal conduct has a lot to do with.
SPEAKER_00: For time's sake, I won't say more than that, but if you don't understand what I mean, you can ask me after.
SPEAKER_00: But the second way I understand this is that we don't save anybody, and we don't know when somebody will or won't respond to the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: They could be in season or out of season.
SPEAKER_00: Also, in planting the seed of the gospel, it may take another coming along and watering it before any growth occurs, and before that seed bears any fruit.
SPEAKER_00: I had, I'll tell you, I had a brief interaction online this week, and I don't do hardly anything with social media, but I happened to cross someone that asked a question about a person who was a miserable sinner for 80 years and then got saved right before the end of their life, versus someone who didn't believe in Christ but lived an ethical life.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: It's a fair question.
SPEAKER_00: But of course the answer is that nobody's good, and other people had pointed that out.
SPEAKER_00: What I added to the conversation was that I was somebody who most people would have considered a good person before I got saved.
SPEAKER_00: I also pointed out that there was no way I could begin to count the multitude of my sins.
SPEAKER_00: I explained that when we place our faith in Christ, God sees his righteousness when he looks at us.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: The questioner responded saying that it seemed like I was making a biblical bait and switch and that I was hiding behind Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: I said it would be a biblical bait and switch if I claimed anything else.
SPEAKER_00: And she could call it hiding if she wanted, but that truly following Jesus and letting him into the deepest recesses of our hearts takes a lot of courage, actually.
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like when people call religion a crutch.
SPEAKER_00: You can call it a crutch if you want.
SPEAKER_00: I was a lame man.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I left it at that.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I planted the seed, and maybe down the line uh she'll understand, or maybe someone else will come along and see it, and God will use that.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: I will say that others came in and mocked and reviled me.
SPEAKER_00: Um we've spent enough time in this book hearing about being persecuted for righteousness' sake.
SPEAKER_00: Part of my flesh, I'll admit, wanted to hit back with some snark, but I didn't.
SPEAKER_00: And if you engage in stuff like this, you shouldn't either.
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, that's what I mean.
SPEAKER_00: It bel that's what I believe it means to preach the word in season and out.
SPEAKER_00: Well, why should we do it?
SPEAKER_00: Martin Luther once observed that the word did everything.
SPEAKER_00: God's word convicts, okay?
SPEAKER_00: God's word converts, God's word strengthens, and God's word sanctifies.
SPEAKER_00: Healthy sheep require healthy food.
unknown: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: So that's the responsibility of the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to look now at the heart of the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: And that I read part of this at verse 2.
SPEAKER_00: I'll start again in the middle of verse 2 and verse 3.
SPEAKER_00: Uh exercise oversight not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you.
SPEAKER_00: Not for shameful gain, but eagerly.
SPEAKER_00: Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
SPEAKER_00: I like how he's contrast comparing and contrasting there.
SPEAKER_00: I like how Peter's doing that.
SPEAKER_00: He gives those three contrasts.
SPEAKER_00: And each of the contrasts reveals the inner motives of spiritual leadership.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: You have willingly and not under compulsion.
SPEAKER_00: Ministry is never merely a job, it's a calling.
SPEAKER_00: A man shouldn't shepherd because no other career is available to him, or because he thinks I don't want a real job.
SPEAKER_00: And if you're a pastor here, hi Stan, if you're a pastor here, you probably chuckle to yourself because you know how much work pastoring is.
SPEAKER_00: But people do have that perception.
SPEAKER_00: But a man shepherds because Christ has called him.
SPEAKER_00: Jeremiah declared in Jeremiah 20 that his word is in my heart like a burning fire.
SPEAKER_00: That holy compulsion produces willing service.
SPEAKER_00: And John Calvin wrote that those who undertake the government of the church ought to be constrained by love.
SPEAKER_00: This is important, because love sustains ministry long after enthusiasm may fade.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, next we have eagerly and not for shameful gain.
SPEAKER_00: Peter's warning here against greed.
SPEAKER_00: Throughout Scripture, false teachers are frequently marked by financial exploitation.
SPEAKER_00: Paul warned the Ephesian elders that wolves would arise from within the church.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter similarly warns in 2 Peter 2, verse 3, that false teachers exploit others in their greed.
SPEAKER_00: Money is a horrible master.
SPEAKER_00: We know, of course, that the Bible tells us the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
SPEAKER_00: Faithful pastors absolutely deserve financial support.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so pastors definitely deserve financial support.
SPEAKER_00: But they must never view ministry as a means to wealth.
SPEAKER_00: Charles Spurgeon warned his students, do not enter the ministry if you can help it.
SPEAKER_00: What he meant by that is that unless a man is irresistibly called by God, the hardships of ministry are going to overwhelm him.
SPEAKER_00: This was some time ago, but I thought I had an out biblically.
SPEAKER_00: Because the word says that we shouldn't presume to be teachers, because teachers are judged more harshly.
SPEAKER_00: So I took that as an out for a while that I didn't have to teach.
SPEAKER_00: But I came to grips with the fact that this is who God made me to be.
SPEAKER_00: I love worshiping God and being up here and helping lead the congregation in worship.
SPEAKER_00: That is a tremendous honor for me.
SPEAKER_00: But I don't have to do it.
SPEAKER_00: Teaching God's word, I have to do.
SPEAKER_00: I know that I won't experience the fullness of his joy if I hide from it.
SPEAKER_00: I had to yield my will to his.
SPEAKER_00: Only love for Christ can sustain lifelong shepherding.
SPEAKER_00: And third, he contrasts by Christ's example, leading by example and not domination.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, Peter's forbidding authoritarian leadership.
SPEAKER_00: Easy for me to say.
SPEAKER_00: The church is not a dictatorship, neither is it a popularity contest.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.
SPEAKER_00: It shall not be so among you.
SPEAKER_00: Authority in Christ's kingdom is exercised through sacrificial service.
SPEAKER_00: Paul repeatedly urged believers, be imitators of me as I am of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: People follow what they see more readily than what they hear.
SPEAKER_00: No amount of gifted preaching compensates for ungodly living.
SPEAKER_00: You have to understand, and I and I think I've said this before, but when we're up here preaching the word, we've already been preaching it to ourselves beforehand.
SPEAKER_00: All week I've been preaching this message to myself, and it's the same for Dan, it's the same for anybody who comes up here.
SPEAKER_00: It is most definitely not a rules for thee but not for me situation.
SPEAKER_00: So what does faithful shepherding actually look like?
SPEAKER_00: Shepherds feed, okay?
SPEAKER_00: They faithfully teach scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Not merely uh favorite topics or cultural trends, but they teach the whole council of God.
SPEAKER_00: Expository preaching allows God's agenda, not the preacher's agenda, to shape the church.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Shepherds protect.
SPEAKER_00: Paul warned of wolves.
SPEAKER_00: Every generation faces new false teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes error comes in through uh cults that arise, sometimes it's through prosperity theology, sometimes it's through moral compromise.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's it's a very subtle distortion of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Very subtle.
SPEAKER_00: And faithful shepherds lovingly guard doctrinal purity.
SPEAKER_00: Titus 1 9 says that elders must be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
SPEAKER_00: It says that we hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught.
SPEAKER_00: Shepherds feed, they protect, they also lead.
SPEAKER_00: Shepherds help God's people discern direction.
SPEAKER_00: Leadership includes wisdom, prayer, and dependence upon Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Moses led Israel, David led Israel, shepherded Israel.
SPEAKER_00: Paul established churches, and faithful pastors continue that ministry today.
SPEAKER_00: And shepherds also care.
SPEAKER_00: James instructs the elders to pray over the sick.
SPEAKER_00: Paul wept with and over believers.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to make a quick aside here.
SPEAKER_00: I've been I've referenced a bunch of different scriptures.
SPEAKER_00: Some of them I've given you the references for, some of them I haven't.
SPEAKER_00: We're here in the park, and thank God for the rain stopping.
SPEAKER_00: Turned out to be a nice day.
SPEAKER_00: But without the screens that we normally have in the building, I mostly have just kept it moving.
SPEAKER_00: With that said, I've referenced Acts chapter 20 uh a couple Multiple times, and I would greatly commend that to your reading this week.
SPEAKER_00: Acts chapter twenty.
SPEAKER_00: True shepherding includes counseling, visitation, encouragement, correction, discipleship, and compassion.
SPEAKER_00: People are not projects.
SPEAKER_00: Remodeling and updating bathrooms, that's a project.
SPEAKER_00: People are not projects, they are precious souls.
SPEAKER_00: Peter concludes by lifting our eyes to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And we're moving on to the hope of the shepherd now in verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: When the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
SPEAKER_00: Every earthly shepherd is temporary.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus alone is eternal.
SPEAKER_00: Scripture presents Christ in three beautiful ways.
SPEAKER_00: He in John 10 is the good shepherd who died for the sheep.
SPEAKER_00: In Hebrews 13, he is the great shepherd who rose again.
SPEAKER_00: And here in our passage this morning, he is the chief shepherd who will return.
SPEAKER_00: Everything in pastoral ministry points to him.
SPEAKER_00: Pastors save no one.
SPEAKER_00: Christ alone saves.
SPEAKER_00: Pastors don't forgive sins.
SPEAKER_00: Christ forgives.
SPEAKER_00: Pastors don't build an eternal kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Christ builds his church.
SPEAKER_00: He promised that in Matthew 16.
SPEAKER_00: So Peter here promises, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
SPEAKER_00: In the ancient Olympic Games, victors received wreaths woven from leaves.
SPEAKER_00: You can imagine within days they faded and decayed.
SPEAKER_00: Peter intentionally contrasts that fading wreath with an eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: Paul writes similarly in 1 Corinthians, they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
SPEAKER_00: Faithful service is never unnoticed by God.
SPEAKER_00: Most pastors labor in obscurity.
SPEAKER_00: Some shepherd tiny congregations.
SPEAKER_00: Some preach to dozens rather than thousands.
SPEAKER_00: I actually know a pastor in a resort town.
SPEAKER_00: When it's the off season there, his congregation shrinks from over a hundred to under twelve.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that remarkable?
SPEAKER_00: But there he is, faithfully bringing the word of God each week, whether to many or just a few.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because even just a few still need it.
SPEAKER_00: Many pastors receive little recognition in this life.
SPEAKER_00: If all you knew of what church was what you could see on services on television, you'd be right to be skeptical, but that represents such a minuscule percentage of pastors in this country.
SPEAKER_00: Most aren't there for recognition or fame, which is a good thing because it's not coming anyway.
SPEAKER_00: We do things for God and not man.
SPEAKER_00: And Christ sees every unseen sacrifice, every hospital visit, every late night prayer, every tear shed over wandering sheep, every faithful sermon, nothing escapes the chief shepherd's notice.
SPEAKER_00: As Hebrews assures us, 6.10, God is not unjust so as to overlook your work.
SPEAKER_00: So how does this apply for us?
SPEAKER_00: Peter's words here are not only for pastors, they challenge every believer.
SPEAKER_00: First, pray consistently for your spiritual leaders.
SPEAKER_00: Ministry places men on the front lines of spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_00: Paul repeatedly asked churches to pray for him.
SPEAKER_00: Second, encourage faithful shepherds.
SPEAKER_00: I've given some criteria here for shepherds.
SPEAKER_00: We talked about a shepherd's humility, we talked about a shepherd's responsibility, we looked at a shepherd's heart, and we saw a shepherd's hope.
SPEAKER_00: How does Dan especially, but also the rest of the leadership, do in these areas, recognizing that we are all works in progress and there is always room for growth?
SPEAKER_00: I think he does good to great in every area.
SPEAKER_00: Frankly, I wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case.
SPEAKER_00: And if you if you agree, remember that I said at the beginning that we had some responsibilities to him.
SPEAKER_00: We talked about praying for leaders, and we're talking now about encouraging them.
SPEAKER_00: Galatians 6, 6 says, Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
SPEAKER_00: Not some good things, all.
SPEAKER_00: Bless them in every way you can think of.
SPEAKER_00: If you are putting what you are taught into practice and God is changing you, tell us about it.
SPEAKER_00: Not for our glory, that's God's, of course, but for our edification.
SPEAKER_00: We overcome the evil one with the word of our testimony.
SPEAKER_00: If God puts it on your heart, get a small Tim Hortons gift card or just a greeting card that lets him know you appreciate his service to us, that you're praying for him and his family.
SPEAKER_00: Take them out or have them over for dinner.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever you can think of.
SPEAKER_00: One time God laid it on my heart to buy him clothes, buy Dan Clothes.
SPEAKER_00: It was really kind of a random thing, but I did it.
SPEAKER_00: A sincere word of gratitude can strengthen a weary servant of God.
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews chapter 13.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to read verses 7 and 8, and then 17 and 18.
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 13, 7 and 8, and then 17 and 18 says, Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
SPEAKER_00: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.
SPEAKER_00: Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
SPEAKER_00: Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
SPEAKER_00: I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
SPEAKER_00: Dan doesn't claim authority.
SPEAKER_00: He's been given it.
SPEAKER_00: By God.
SPEAKER_00: If he tells you to join a life group or to seek to get involved in serving in some capacity, do everything you can to obey him.
SPEAKER_00: The word commands it.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not to bolster some attendance number or anything superficial.
SPEAKER_00: It's because we grow in service and in community, and he cares about the health of your soul.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: So pray for your leaders, encourage them.
SPEAKER_00: Third, evaluate leaders biblically.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we've done that here this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Charisma, popularity, or administrative skill, those are not primary qualifications of leadership.
SPEAKER_00: You look for humility, for sound doctrine, for godly character, and for sacrificial love.
SPEAKER_00: Fourth, remember that no earthly shepherd is perfect.
SPEAKER_00: Even Peter denied Christ.
SPEAKER_00: The church's ultimate confidence must always rest in Jesus, not in any human leader.
SPEAKER_00: And finally, if you are not a pastor, embrace Peter's call by being a faithful disciple.
SPEAKER_00: Parents shepherd their children.
SPEAKER_00: Mature believers mentor younger Christians.
SPEAKER_00: Every follower of Christ has the opportunities to reflect the compassion of our chief shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Peter knew what it meant to fail.
SPEAKER_00: He also knew what it meant to be restored.
SPEAKER_00: That's why his exhortation carries such weight.
SPEAKER_00: He writes not as a man who has always succeeded, but as a man who was transformed by grace.
SPEAKER_00: The same Savior who restored Peter continues to restore sinners today.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you have wandered like a sheep.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you have grown cold.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps disappointment, suffering, or sin has left you feeling distant from God.
SPEAKER_00: Hear again this morning the invitation of the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: He still seeks the lost, he still carries the weak, he still forgives the repentant.
SPEAKER_00: He still calls his sheep by name.
SPEAKER_00: One day the heavens will open, and the chief shepherd will appear in glory.
SPEAKER_00: On that day, every faithful shepherd will gladly lay down his crown before the throne of Christ, confessing that every victory, every converted soul, every act of perseverance, and every blessing came from him alone.
SPEAKER_00: Until that day, may our pastors and leaders shepherd willingly, eagerly, and humbly.
SPEAKER_00: May churches love, support, and pray for those who watch over their souls.
SPEAKER_00: And may every believer keep his eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the good shepherd who died for us, the great shepherd who lives for us, and the chief shepherd who is coming again.
SPEAKER_00: In the words of Charles Spurgeon, our chief desire is that the sheep should be fed, and that the chief shepherd should be glorified.
SPEAKER_00: May that be the prayer of every church, every pastor, every elder, and every follower of Christ, until faith becomes sight, and we stand in the presence of our glorious shepherd forever.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.