WEBVTT 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:13.519 A 2016 article in the Harvard Business Review was entitled, Don't Take Your Work Stress Home With You. 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:22.800 The last paragraph of that article declared that, quote, work stress can be a challenge for home life. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:35.679 Learning to manage stress by working to cope and by keeping some of your professional stress out of the house can contribute to better relationships and better physical and mental health. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:53.759 Apparently, Harvard couldn't do what they thought they were doing because in 2017, the next year, Forbes magazine printed an article entitled, How to Leave Your Stress at Work So You Don't Take Out Your Frustration on Your Family. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:01:03.359 One paragraph stated, Research confirms people who are mistreated at work are likely to mistreat people at home. 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:11.599 If you've been insulted, criticized, or belittled, you're at a higher risk of doing the same to your loved ones at the end of the day. 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:12.959 End quote. 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:16.239 I think most of us have experienced that, right? 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:31.920 Well, Harvard couldn't fix it, and Forbes couldn't fix it, and so we are left with being insulted, criticized, and belittled and being left at a higher risk to do the same to our loved ones at the end of the day. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:46.319 Maybe that's why just this last week yet another article appeared telling us the very same truth. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:54.079 We are left taking stress home and taking it out on our loved ones. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:58.400 Did you know the same is true with the church? 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:01.599 The same is true with the church. 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:15.520 Much of our struggle to love one another the way Jesus loved us, that depth of love that we've sung about this morning, is because we carry the pains of living in a sin-cursed world into this building. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:19.039 And even out of this building in our relationships with one another. 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:27.199 And those impact us and they begin to frustrate us and hurt us. 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:32.400 And before we know it, we're doing the same thing to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:34.240 It just happens. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:44.400 As we've been working our way through the book of 1 Peter, I think we can see how that could happen. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:56.719 Again and again and again, Peter has shown to us that we are children of the living God, living in a world that, well, doesn't like us because it doesn't like our Savior. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:05.360 It's bound to mistreat us, it's bound to criticize us, it's bound to irritate us, it's bound even to persecute us. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:18.400 And before we know it, what we're facing as Christians in our world comes into our gatherings as a church and impacting and spreading amongst one another. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:22.639 We've all experienced it. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:25.599 Maybe not to the extent that it could be. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:36.719 We were hearing from our Nepalese brother this morning in our fellowship time about how in Nepal they have recently passed a law that is a non-conversion law. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.879 That is, you can't work to convert people to Christianity. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:45.039 So soon believers in Christ may be going to jail. 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:49.199 We haven't experienced that in the United States of America as of yet. 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:51.840 How will that impact us? 00:03:53.680 --> 00:04:13.360 Because we are people who take what happens to us and we internalize it, and then it comes out in our relationships to one another, and before you know it, the church is disintegrating because we're at each other's hearts, we're at each other's souls, we're nitpicking at one another. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:19.600 Well, this morning we are beginning the last chapter of the New Testament book of 1 Peter in chapter 5. 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:26.000 And if you have a Bible or a device, I encourage you to go to that text in 1 Peter chapter 5. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:40.480 After the Apostle Paul concluded writing about Christians living in a world that doesn't readily accept us, he moves to talk to us as family. 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:55.439 Family who is seeking desperately to entrust ourselves to a faithful creator while doing good in a world that doesn't accept us, that doesn't like us, that doesn't enjoy who we are. 00:04:56.639 --> 00:04:59.839 And so this is sort of a family text. 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.839 Perfect for a family gathering on a Sunday morning, isn't it? 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:12.800 And as happens in a family gathering, the Apostle Peter begins to talk to some specific groups within the family. 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:24.000 He begins in the first part of chapter 5 with elders in the church, not the elder Lee necessarily, but elders as a leadership group. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.160 And then he moves in the rest of the chapter to talk about everybody. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:35.680 Our attention this morning is on the first five verses, speaking directly to the elders of the church. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:37.680 Here's what Peter says. 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:47.040 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. 00:05:47.360 --> 00:06:03.120 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. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:08.399 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.879 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:21.680 The Apostle Peter spoke directly to the elders serving the local church. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:25.839 He included the rest of the church in this directive, though. 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:28.720 So think about that. 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.040 Think about this for a minute. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.879 You know those times when you've had a family gathering. 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:49.199 Maybe remember the times when you were a child, and your parents had a family gathering and they were talking to the family as a whole, but their attention was directed to your brother or your sister. 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.800 And you were sitting there thinking, I'm glad they're not talking to me. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:02.319 Because all the attention was directed at your sibling, what they were doing or saying. 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:06.720 That's the picture and the feeling that we get here. 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:17.759 Peter is calling a family gathering and he's talking specifically to the elders, and the rest of the family gets to watch and gets to hear what God has to say. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:26.000 Being the one, though, who is the subject of the attention can be a little uncomfortable. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:36.160 So if you are sitting this morning next to one of our elders and they start to get a little shifty, you know why. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:44.480 In this case, the church is watching Peter speak to the elders. 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:47.839 But that was the Lord's intention. 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:51.680 Well, this is directed to the elders of the church. 00:07:51.920 --> 00:08:01.759 The rest of the church is hearing what is being said because this is attached right to the rest of the letter that would have been read in the context of a church gathering. 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:09.279 And the rest of the church must hear and know what God says to the elders of the local church. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:16.079 It could be that the Lord is preparing one of you men here this morning to serve in that capacity at some point. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:29.920 But beyond that, the congregation affirms the appointment of elders to serve the church, so you need to know what an elder is to look like, what they are to sound like, what they are to be like. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:37.600 You need to know what God expects of your leaders so that you can humbly hold them to what God expects. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:42.320 But also be able to follow what they say, as verse 5 indicates. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:55.200 But perhaps even more importantly, this passage of Scripture, if you are hearing it and you are not serving as an elder, you need it because you need to know how to pray for your elders. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:58.000 Because they desperately need your prayer. 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:00.799 And this will help guide it. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:08.399 Now there's some history that serves as an important background to this passage, and that's found in Israel's history in the Old Testament. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:13.519 So I'd like to point out a couple of passages that really help us understand some background. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.320 The first is Jeremiah chapter 23. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:25.360 In Jeremiah 23, God is speaking through the prophet to the leaders, to the elders of his people. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:34.799 And he says to them, Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares Yahweh. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:40.159 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people. 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:45.279 You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:50.559 Behold, I will attend to your evil deeds, declares Yahweh. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:59.840 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.600 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:09.600 And they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be dismissing, declares the Lord. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:17.759 A little bit later in verse 11, we see a little bit more specifically, God says, Both prophet and priest are ungodly. 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:21.039 Even in my house I have found their evil. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:30.720 It's as if God is having a family meeting, and he said, You leaders, you shepherds, you elders, you are being ungodly in my own house, underneath my own roof. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.799 It continues in the book of Ezekiel. 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:37.200 In Ezekiel chapter 34. 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.080 We read some astounding words. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.720 Ezekiel 34, the word of Yahweh came to me. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.720 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:59.279 Prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord Yahweh. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:04.960 Ah, shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding yourselves. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:08.559 Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:16.080 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:28.720 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. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:33.200 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:36.799 And they became food for all the wild beasts. 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:46.559 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill, my sheep were scattered over the face of the earth, with none to search for them or seek for them. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.600 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:12:06.879 As I live, declares the Lord Yahweh, surely because my sheep have become prey and my sheep have become food for 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 not my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh. 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:11.279 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold, I am against the shepherds. 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:17.600 And I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:24.240 No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves, I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:30.480 For thus says the Lord Yahweh, behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:41.840 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so I will seek them out, and I will rescue them from where they've been scattered. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:44.720 We can go on. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:51.440 Matthew chapter 15. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:18.559 In Matthew 15, beginning in verse 7, Jesus said, You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:24.720 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:26.559 We could go on. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:37.679 In Matthew 23, Jesus gives a picture of the spiritual leaders of Israel, saying that they preach, but they do not practice. 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:48.159 And then beginning in chapter 23 of Matthew and verse 13, Jesus pronounced judgment on those leaders with seven consecutive woes. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:57.200 Woe to you, woe to you, woe to you, seven times. 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:09.519 So as you trace the history, it becomes clear that church leadership in New Testament times grew out of the pattern of Israel's leadership. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:17.519 The concept of elders leading a group of people goes as far back as Moses in the desert with the people of Israel. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:22.159 So that pattern has approval by God himself. 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:28.639 But over the course of history, those serving as elders often acted godless and selfish. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:39.759 So much of what we see in 1 Peter chapter 5 is the opposite of what has been demonstrated throughout the pages of Scripture. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:47.519 You might say that what Peter is seeking to do is provide the antidote to ungodly shepherds. 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:53.840 This is what God intended to fulfill the promise of godly shepherds. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:15:07.840 Not only, though, is it an antidote to ungodly shepherds, it is God's guiding and protective hand for his church, living in a world that opposes what they stand for. 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:16.240 This is part of God's purpose in moving you to entrust your soul to the one who is your anchor. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:25.200 This is part of God's way of keeping the outside from impacting the inside, the family. 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.240 There are three basic parts to this passage. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:33.120 The first verse shows us the ground upon which Peter stands. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:41.759 He can write to the elders and tell them to lead a certain way because he himself is an elder in the church. 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:49.279 He doesn't write ignorantly, but from experience, and his experience is based, of course, in his apostleship. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.080 Peter walked with Jesus. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:53.600 He talked with Jesus. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:55.360 He learned from Jesus. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:58.399 He saw what Jesus endured. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.960 And like all of us, he longs to be a part of the return of Christ. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:08.399 And so that motivated Peter to give a command to the elders of the Lord's church. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:10.399 Shepherd. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:12.960 Shepherd. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:15.840 And he explains what that looks like. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:23.200 At the end, in verse 4, Peter points to a reward that will be given to elders who lead properly. 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:26.159 That's the basic structure of the passage. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:33.039 But I want us to notice more carefully here what Peter says about elders. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:39.279 We've read about the terrible ungodliness of the leaders of Israel's past. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:43.440 We've read about God's promise to send godly shepherds. 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:46.000 So what does a godly shepherd look like? 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:58.320 Well, this passage doesn't tell us everything that's included in Scripture, but we do get a glimpse at the heart of a shepherd who is obedient to God's call to be a shepherd. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:02.240 In fact, we can identify six characteristics, I think, of a godly elder. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:06.720 The first characteristic is that he must willingly work with others. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.759 He must willingly work with others. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:13.440 Peter identified himself here as a fellow elder. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.759 Speaking to the elders, he says, I am your fellow elder. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:24.400 In fact, the Greek grammar here carries over to the next statement as well: that Peter is a fellow witness. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:28.400 He is a fellow elder and a fellow witness of Christ. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:36.000 He then says that he is a partaker or a sharer in the glory that's going to be revealed. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:41.920 That word, partaker, is a form of the word fellowship, which means to share. 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:46.799 So the idea of being a fellow is emphasized by repetition. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.680 An elder is a fellow elder. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:18:01.200 Now, on the one hand, that points the Roman Catholic belief that Peter was above all the other pastors and elders, and everyone else was underneath of him. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:07.759 To the contrary, it's clear here that Peter considered himself merely one among many. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:13.599 And that speaks to the plurality of elders in a local church. 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:22.319 Now there may be times, such as in a church plant, where you don't have enough qualified men to serve as elders and someone has to serve alone for a time. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:32.079 But the New Testament pattern is to have multiple elders serving a local church, telling us that a lone wolf should not serve as an elder. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:49.680 Someone who desires to work entirely alone or desires to be the one calling all the shots, someone who resists input from others and despises being part of a team should not serve as an elder. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:56.400 God designed the position of an elder to be filled by more than one man. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:03.920 They serve together, they lead together, they shepherd together, they are fellow elders. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:09.920 And there's safety in numbers, especially safety from pride. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:17.279 As you continue reading in this text, you will see that Peter makes a transition into an emphasis on humility. 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:23.119 Humility is fostered when elders work and serve together. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.160 Working alone fosters pride and power. 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:35.359 And as we know, the British historian Lord Acton said, all power tends to corrupt, but absolute power corrupts absolutely. 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:45.039 Therefore, a group of equals working together with their eyes on Christ is more likely to resist pride and pursue humility. 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:48.720 And we know that needs to be addressed, don't we? 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:54.319 Pride has dwelt in the human heart since the days of the Garden of Eden. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:03.519 We spend our lives either feeding our pride, or by the grace of God, seeking to drive it out. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:10.799 If we're honest, we all want our own way and think our way is best, don't we? 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:15.599 And that's one of the reasons why fellowship is so important. 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:32.640 As we come together, as we walk with Christ together, as we serve together, we are a body made up of different parts being joined together by the Spirit of God, and as we come together, we are fellow believers, and together we are moved towards humility and less towards pride. 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:35.119 Granted, that's not always the case. 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.880 There are some of us who are especially stubborn in our pride, right? 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:51.839 It's not always the case, but if, like our Savior, we are seeking to make others more significant than ourselves, then we are well on our way to battling pride. 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:55.759 So too a man who would serve as an elder. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:06.559 He must take on the mind of Christ so that he is driven to serve with other elders for the benefit of others. 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:20.640 If there are indications that a man cannot do that, either he should not be appointed to serve until he can, or if he's already serving, he should step down and be removed from serving. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:24.000 There's a warning here. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:33.920 For those who are serving as elders to keep on fighting pride and pursuing humility by working together. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:40.000 The shepherds must work well with others. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:43.359 They must also care for the flock. 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:50.960 When Peter says to shepherd the flock of God, he means all that's involved in caring for sheep. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:54.640 That's the main verb of this sentence. 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:56.079 This is Peter's command. 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:58.559 Elders are to shepherd. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.519 That's their work. 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:04.400 But they are not the shepherd, are they? 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:06.880 They're not the shepherd. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.240 That role belongs to Jesus. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.039 We saw back in chapter 2, verse 25. 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:16.400 For you were straying like sheep, but have now turned to the definite word. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:20.000 The shepherd of your souls. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:22.799 Jesus serves that position. 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:24.559 Jesus is the shepherd. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:28.000 Jesus is the overseer, which is another word for elder. 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:34.079 That's why in verse 4, Peter refers to Jesus as the chief shepherd. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:38.720 Elders, in other words, are underlings. 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:46.799 And when shepherds, when elders do the work of shepherding, they're not caring for their own sheep. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:51.359 They're not the owners of the sheep, but the caretakers of the sheep. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:59.359 The flock does not belong to them, therefore they must follow the instruction given to them by the one chief shepherd. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:02.640 So what does it look like to shepherd people? 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:05.440 Well, let me tell you, sometimes it's rough. 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.920 Sometimes it's great. 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:09.680 But what does that mean? 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:12.079 What does it look like to shepherd people? 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:19.599 Well, much of what we glean about shepherding from the Bible is actually through negative examples. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:22.079 It's through negative examples. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:25.119 Some of them are positive, for example. 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:36.880 We learn from Psalm 78, verse 2, that shepherds guide their sheep with skill and with wisdom. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:43.440 It says, with upright heart, he shepherded them and guided them with a skillful hand. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:46.880 See, sheep are not prone to being driven. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:51.200 You can't push them from behind and make them go a certain way. 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:56.000 You need to be out in front leading them, and that's how you guide them to the right paths. 00:23:56.319 --> 00:24:02.240 Additionally, in Psalm 80, verse 1, we see that they are to function as leaders of people. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:07.440 Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:09.440 Shepherds are leaders. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:20.000 They are out in front, setting the pace, setting the tone, guiding, directing all along the way, and they do so, according to Isaiah 40, with love and care and gentleness. 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:23.599 It says there, he will tend his flock like a shepherd. 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:30.880 He will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:44.000 In other words, he has a softness in his heart, a gentleness to be out in front and to lead, but to lead with care and gentleness and insight into who needs that care. 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:56.559 Additionally, in Jeremiah chapter 2, verse 8, shepherds handle the word of God, specifically rejecting other things that are worthless. 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:01.839 Jeremiah says, The priests did not say, Where is the Lord? 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:06.480 Those who handle the law did not know me. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:10.559 The shepherds transgressed against me. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:16.400 The prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:20.960 A shepherd must understand what is profitable and pursue it. 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:24.240 What is profitable, the word of the living God. 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:38.400 They must be able to discern what is worthwhile and what is worthless, and handle it properly before God's sheep, because that is how they feed God's sheep. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:45.440 Shepherds are to feed the sheep so that they know and understand the true shepherd in his word. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:53.119 Jeremiah says, I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:59.279 Of course, that means that shepherds themselves have knowledge and understanding. 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:09.680 And in that knowledge and understanding and insight, they know how important it is to continually seek Christ. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:16.480 Jeremiah 10 says, the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of Yahweh. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:20.240 Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:27.759 Elders shepherd the flock by continually seeking Christ. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:35.920 That is their pursuit continually, always, again and again and again. 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:38.319 That doesn't mean they're perfect, they will falter. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:45.519 Just like everyone else does, they will falter, they will trip, they will fall, and then they get back up and they pursue Christ again. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:50.799 Because they know that as shepherds, they must lead the sheep down the right path. 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:55.680 Jeremiah chapter 50, verse 6 says, My people have been lost sheep. 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:59.599 Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:03.680 From mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:17.279 Elders as shepherds must lead the sheep down the right path, always being able to discern which path is wrong, so that they can go down the right path. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:22.400 Could go on and on and on. 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:24.160 So many passages of scripture. 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:25.599 Let me just give you three more. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:27.680 Amos chapter 3. 00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:32.240 They will do whatever is necessary to protect the sheep from an enemy. 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:41.599 Thus says the Lord, as the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued. 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:44.079 And that's not the greatest picture there. 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:55.839 See, the people of Samaria were not wholly following God, and so they had been taken as though it were by a lion or a bear. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:58.559 That was part of God's judgment. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:00.559 But the shepherds go after them. 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:07.599 The shepherds go after them to rescue them, to protect them, to keep them safe. 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:13.759 Which is why I think the greatest example is the Lord Jesus in John chapter 10. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:16.319 I am the good shepherd. 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:20.720 And the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:28.319 We see this later in Philippians chapter 2. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:36.400 In these words, considering others more significant than yourself. 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:50.480 As Jesus, the good shepherd, lays down his life for the sheep, under shepherds consider others more significant than themselves, and maybe even lay down their life for the sheep. 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:56.480 And that means in John chapter 10, verse 12, they stand firm in dangerous times. 00:28:57.119 --> 00:29:06.880 He who is a hired hand, Jesus says, 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. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:13.680 Good shepherds who follow the example of the good shepherd stand firm in dangerous times. 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:22.000 That's a tremendous amount of responsibility. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:25.680 And that's the duty of an elder. 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:31.359 Thankfully, elders are not responsible for the universal church. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:37.200 The extent of their responsibility is limited, and it's determined by God Himself. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:44.960 Peter says to the elders of the local church in verse 2, Shepherd the flock of God that is among you. 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:58.640 Reminding us that the church, the whole flock is large, it is huge, it is massive, but it's divided by the chief shepherd into many locations. 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.880 The Lord Himself divides them. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:11.440 There is one flock divided among many locations, and the good shepherd himself gives specific groups of sheep particular elders, and vice versa. 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:18.160 So the responsibility is limited to the group of sheep God places in their care. 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:22.799 They are to shepherd the flock. 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:28.240 The third characteristic of sheep that Peter mentions is that of leading. 00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:34.720 Elders are to exercise oversight over their allotted group of sheep. 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:40.799 Exercising oversight here describes the elders' work of leading. 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:49.279 They have a responsibility and the authority to oversee their part of the flock and to lead and to care for them. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:58.480 Thinking again of chapter 2 and verse 25, it says you have now turned to the shepherd and the overseer of your souls. 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:05.519 Jesus is the one who oversees, and he delegates responsibility to under-overseers. 00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:16.160 He delegates the local personal responsibility of oversight of the sheep to those whom he has appointed as elders. 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:22.480 And that's exactly what the Apostle Paul told the elders of the Church of Ephesus in Acts 20, 28. 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:37.680 He said to them, his last time seeing them, he said, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he has obtained with his own blood. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:40.240 Pay careful attention to them. 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:55.519 In their book, Elders in the Life of the Church, authors Phil Newton and Mark, Matt Schmucker write, and I quote, as those who shepherd, elders give pastoral oversight. 00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:59.599 A shepherd knows his sheep, he watches out for dangers. 00:31:59.920 --> 00:32:07.920 He ensures they are well fed and watered, he applies healing balm to their wounds, and he occasionally disciplines them to return to the fold. 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:12.960 In other words, shepherds watch over the souls of those under their charge. 00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:18.160 They understand their needs, they apply God's word to them with precision. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:25.599 They regularly feed them with the truth of Scripture by unfolding the doctrines of the word and helping them stand firmly in the faith. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:26.960 They continue on. 00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:37.279 They set the example for Christian living. 00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:42.319 The early elders were admonished to guard the flock from false teachers. 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:51.039 Elders were to ensure that the church maintained solid doctrinal footing and that the members were equipped to resist the influence of false teachers. 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:58.400 Well-fed and well-cared for sheep have less reason to wander from the fold and into danger. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:18.480 Now, as most know and many have experienced, that kind of responsibility and that kind of authority can and will be abused and exercised inappropriately. 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:21.759 It's going to happen when God uses sinful people. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:25.119 And Peter knows that as well. 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:26.960 He's not discounting that. 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:33.440 So he gives three contrasts to show yet another characteristic of a shepherd of God's sheep. 00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:36.960 And that is that he must possess the proper heart. 00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:44.960 Three times God recorded not this, but this. 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:50.400 Don't be like this, but instead be like this. 00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:55.759 Not this kind of attitude and heart, but this kind of attitude and heart. 00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:03.599 It's right and appropriate to feel the weight and the responsibility to be an elder. 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:06.960 Guys, if you are shaking where you sit, it's good. 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:09.679 It's good for us to do that. 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:17.280 The rest of you, please pray for us. 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:21.519 Sometimes it can be frightening. 00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:28.480 It's right and appropriate to feel the weight of the responsibility to be an elder. 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:31.920 It can be a joy and a trial. 00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:37.920 There are times when it is a light burden, and there are times when it can be overwhelming. 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:43.440 Therefore, an elder should not simply serve because others think he should. 00:34:44.639 --> 00:34:53.360 The man should not take on the position of an elder unless there is a willingness and an eagerness to step into that place by the call of God. 00:34:54.639 --> 00:35:03.760 Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you. 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:10.800 Some might desire to serve as an elder, and that's that can be a good thing if it is a righteous desire. 00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:19.360 Others might not desire it, but yet serve willingly and eagerly because they love the Lord and his people. 00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:33.599 But the concern that Peter has here is that someone who serves out of compulsion and without willingness is not likely to care for the sheep as much as someone who is willing. 00:35:34.719 --> 00:35:38.719 He might be less likely to endure under the pressures. 00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:46.079 He might seek the easy way instead of the right way in his leadership. 00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:52.719 He might seek to make his service time a little more comfortable instead of standing firm. 00:35:54.320 --> 00:36:00.559 Additionally, in the second negative, an elder should not serve for shameful gain. 00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:08.159 Now the scriptures say that an elder is worthy of his pay if a congregation pays them. 00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:10.079 But that's not what this is about. 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:18.639 Surely it includes money, finances, but what is at the core of this statement is the heart of an elder. 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:26.639 Does he serve or is he likely to serve for what he can get out of it? 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:31.920 Especially if it comes at the expense of someone else. 00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:48.159 Now, if you think about it, that can apply to money, but it can also apply to power, influence, position, all of which have sinful motivations and can turn into wretched abuse of the sheep. 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:59.679 Instead, elders are to serve as an under-shepherd with eagerness, not because of what comes to them in this life, but out of love for Christ and his church. 00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:04.000 Now, the third aspect of the shepherd's heart relates to his authority. 00:37:04.239 --> 00:37:09.360 He should not serve in a domineering way, but in an exemplary way. 00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:17.920 Jesus told his disciples that the way of the world is the domineering way. 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:32.960 He said in Matthew 20, verse 25, calling all of his disciples to him as a little family meeting, you know, he said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:34.639 He said, You know that. 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:37.199 You don't have to look far to see that. 00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:40.559 But that is not the way of the Lord's people. 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:44.719 They don't domineer, they lead by example. 00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:50.320 Elders do not lead by lording it over others as a master because there's only one master. 00:37:51.760 --> 00:37:57.199 An elder must lead and exercise oversight through humble obedience to Jesus. 00:37:57.440 --> 00:38:03.519 And when that happens, when elders lead properly, they make it easier for the sheep to follow. 00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:09.840 They make it clearer in their example for what the sheep are to do. 00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:15.039 Sheep can even submit to their leadership, as verse 5 says. 00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:23.599 Acts 20 and 28 says that elders are appointed by the Holy Spirit to lead. 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:26.639 And that is affirmed by the congregation. 00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:29.679 Even to exercise authority. 00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:33.440 They are to keep watch over your souls. 00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:40.639 And Hebrews 13 says that in response they should be obeyed. 00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:44.800 That only happens if all are functioning in humility. 00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:48.000 But that's next week's sermon. 00:38:50.639 --> 00:38:54.960 That can and should be the proper functioning of the local church. 00:38:55.280 --> 00:39:11.039 But when we bring in those outside pressures, when we bring the frustrations and the pains and the problems of life home to a Sunday morning, problems can result. 00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:20.159 A proper functioning of leading and following in the church only happens when all are living in humility. 00:39:20.400 --> 00:39:22.079 And that's where Peter goes next. 00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:25.760 But before we get there, let's notice the final characteristic of a shepherd. 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:32.639 A shepherd must submit to the chief shepherd and look forward to his return. 00:39:34.400 --> 00:39:44.159 You know, as young people, it's often difficult to process life in the light of future results. 00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:48.719 You young people, I'm not speaking down to you. 00:39:49.199 --> 00:39:50.159 I've been there. 00:39:50.320 --> 00:39:52.559 I'm talking by experience. 00:39:52.880 --> 00:40:00.480 It's hard to see why you should do something now because of something that will happen months or years down the road. 00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:05.119 Because when we're young, we can't see very far down the road. 00:40:06.400 --> 00:40:17.039 The joy of the present seems far greater than any discipline from mom or dad that might come tomorrow or the next day, but you never know, mom or dad might never find out. 00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:20.000 Yes, they will. 00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:21.599 They will. 00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:33.119 But as we mature, shouldn't we be able to see further down the road and be able to make decisions for today based on what might happen down the road? 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:37.280 We should be able to live life today in light of next week. 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:48.239 For example, we should be able to endure a little bit less weekly income now in order to set aside some funds for a vacation next summer. 00:40:49.119 --> 00:40:53.039 We should be able to look ahead and say, I want that vacation. 00:40:53.760 --> 00:40:59.679 I can see it a year down the road, and so I can go through the struggles now to get to that place. 00:41:01.280 --> 00:41:03.199 Elders are no different. 00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:15.360 Whether you are serving as an elder, have served as an elder, or will serve as an elder, or if you follow the elder's lead, you must look forward to the coming of the chief shepherd. 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:23.440 He is coming and he will demand a report for your shepherding. 00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:27.280 And he will demand a report for your following. 00:41:29.280 --> 00:41:37.920 Every elder will answer for his leading of the shepherd's sheep, and that must impact their shepherding today. 00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:41.519 Must look forward to that. 00:41:41.840 --> 00:41:45.039 Everyone else will answer for how they follow under shepherds. 00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:49.840 All of us respond to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:59.199 Now, up until this point, we've felt the weight of the chief shepherd's eyes on the elders. 00:42:00.159 --> 00:42:01.119 We've seen that. 00:42:01.360 --> 00:42:08.239 And it can sound and feel as though the demands and the expectations of leadership are not worth it. 00:42:08.800 --> 00:42:10.320 Why would anybody do that? 00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:12.480 Why would anybody desire that? 00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:19.119 But Jesus says it is worth it because those who lead well will receive a crown. 00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:24.480 They will receive a reward of glory with Jesus. 00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:28.079 And that reward is going to be unfading. 00:42:29.280 --> 00:42:39.840 Just like everybody else's inheritance, as we studied in chapter one, an unfading inheritance, referring to a flower of that time that was believed to never fade. 00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:42.960 It never goes away. 00:42:43.280 --> 00:42:58.159 Elders must keep their eyes on eternity to endure the struggles of leadership now, in the same way that all of us are to keep our eyes focused on our promised inheritance with Jesus when he returns so that we can endure the struggles of today. 00:42:59.920 --> 00:43:04.480 Being a Christian is sometimes like having a difficult job. 00:43:05.360 --> 00:43:11.599 It comes with frustration, it comes with pain, insults, criticism. 00:43:13.280 --> 00:43:17.840 We shouldn't bring that into our family gatherings as a church. 00:43:18.719 --> 00:43:25.760 The first step in accomplishing that is by having elders who shepherd like Jesus. 00:43:27.280 --> 00:43:33.519 The next step is following the elder's lead by all of us together being humble. 00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:38.480 I'd like to leave you with this one last thought. 00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:47.360 These are not unusual characteristics applied to a special group of people. 00:43:48.480 --> 00:43:49.840 I mean, they are here. 00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:52.719 But they're not that unusual. 00:43:53.599 --> 00:43:56.960 These are the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:43:57.519 --> 00:44:05.280 And they are characteristics that every single follower of the Lord is to have and to display and to further develop. 00:44:06.159 --> 00:44:07.840 It's not just elders. 00:44:09.920 --> 00:44:16.320