back to indexWed Bible Study (1 Peter) Lesson 11 ~ 03-29-2017
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Well let us take a moment to turn our Bibles over to 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 1 through 00:00:20.640 |
We'll pray and jump into our study for tonight, okay? 00:00:25.680 |
It says, "Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the 00:00:32.280 |
suffering of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd 00:00:37.640 |
the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily according 00:00:43.800 |
to the will of God, not for sword gain, but with eagerness. 00:00:48.680 |
Nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples 00:00:53.300 |
to the flock, and when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown 00:01:01.340 |
All right, God, we want to ask again, Lord, that you would truly by your Spirit enlighten 00:01:07.160 |
our eyes, that you would move in our hearts so that both our affection, our commitment, 00:01:13.580 |
and our minds would really draw near to your word. 00:01:16.720 |
Father, we are praying that as we talk today about church, the leadership, ministry, I 00:01:24.580 |
ask, Lord, that you grant to us just a great vision of what you are doing, Lord. 00:01:35.780 |
So have you guys seen that TV show, The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, who does an amazing 00:01:41.880 |
job imitating dogs, but he also does an amazing job basically transforming troublesome pets, 00:01:50.580 |
So you've got this wild like chihuahua or whatever who's like, "Brrr." 00:01:54.660 |
And then the owner is so sad, and every time I watch those episodes, you know, owners are 00:01:59.260 |
crying and me not being a pet person, I'm just like, "Why? 00:02:05.340 |
Well, anyway, the owner is all crying and wondering, "Should I let go of my animal 00:02:13.020 |
So Cesar Millan shows up and the dog is all crazy. 00:02:16.420 |
He yarps and yells and barks and all that stuff. 00:02:19.660 |
And the owner is like, "See, I can't handle this anymore." 00:02:23.220 |
And then Cesar Millan comes over and it's like, you know, and the dog is just like, 00:02:28.660 |
and everything's like crazy, like transformation immediately. 00:02:32.180 |
And I think that's the draw of the whole TV show, right? 00:02:35.220 |
Because after you watch one, like every episode is the same. 00:02:38.020 |
But anyway, what ends up happening is there's a moment when Cesar Millan looks at the dog 00:02:43.540 |
and he's like, "Oh, he's just been X, Y, and Z, and he needs to be in this pack." 00:02:48.500 |
And then he goes, "But you have to be a good pack leader," right? 00:02:52.620 |
And he's like, "Why aren't you calm and assertive? 00:02:59.020 |
Well, here's an interesting thing is we've been talking about, you know, congregation, 00:03:05.460 |
Because remember he's addressing flocks in different areas, different regions of Macedonia, 00:03:11.380 |
And he says to these churches, you know, in the midst of your suffering, and he had said 00:03:15.140 |
a lot, and we studied a lot, everything from this is your great gospel you have, this is 00:03:20.580 |
the preciousness of the truth you have, and the great salvation you have. 00:03:24.020 |
You know, this is the high calling of God in the midst of your suffering. 00:03:28.180 |
This is what God is doing, and all this kind of stuff, right? 00:03:31.580 |
But then here in chapter 5, he says, "Therefore," and then he looks at the elders, and he says, 00:03:42.220 |
And here and now we come to this portion where the exhortation of Apostle Peter is very, 00:03:48.780 |
As a matter of fact, in some of your translations it might be a little bit different. 00:03:52.020 |
The first point we're looking at is his exhortation, and the NIV says like, "I appeal to you," 00:03:59.660 |
The NASB, the one I'm studying off of, will say, "I exhort you," you know? 00:04:10.420 |
So this passage was kind of an interesting passage to study, and in many ways as I'm 00:04:14.780 |
studying and I'm preaching at myself, you know? 00:04:17.700 |
But I just want to introduce it by saying there is a time when as Apostle Peter is addressing 00:04:23.100 |
the congregation, here and now it's very clear he's addressing the leadership, right? 00:04:29.100 |
And in so doing, he's going to give various commands, but we could all benefit from learning. 00:04:35.500 |
As he's explaining the task at hand, as he's explaining how they're supposed to lead, we 00:04:42.260 |
actually get an exhortation for all of us that we, as we participate in the ministry 00:04:48.640 |
of God's kingdom, what kind of attitude, you know, what we're buying into, what kind of 00:04:54.540 |
tasks God has given to the church, or maybe even specifically to the leadership of the 00:04:59.780 |
church, that we might not go against it, but that we might be fully engaged into the work 00:05:09.220 |
He says, "Therefore I exhort you, the elders among you, as your fellow elder, witnesses 00:05:14.060 |
of the sufferings of Christ, and partake also of the glory that is revealed, shepherd the 00:05:23.860 |
Now here's one of the questions that I'd asked you to do was to look at the passage and ask, 00:05:31.500 |
"Hmm, what is the characteristic, the character traits of a good shepherd?" 00:05:37.460 |
And actually there's a lot to glean even just from verse 1 and that first little section 00:05:47.100 |
The first element that I observe is this, "A good shepherd must understand," sorry, 00:05:52.780 |
"A good shepherd understands the common witness and hope of all saints, but understands the 00:06:04.220 |
So the first element of a good shepherd that I observed just from verse 1 is that a good 00:06:08.820 |
shepherd understands the common witness and hope of all saints, but understands the weight 00:06:17.340 |
He understands that what has been delegated to him is a great, serious exhortation. 00:06:30.780 |
And the way that you see Apostle Peter talking is in line with this concept that he received 00:06:36.840 |
from Jesus Christ himself when Jesus was resurrected. 00:06:44.420 |
I'm going to just tell the story starting from like verse 14 and forward. 00:06:49.500 |
Jesus, after his resurrection, goes to seek out Apostle Peter specifically. 00:07:03.380 |
So we find in the story that Apostle Peter was going back to fishing. 00:07:08.960 |
And when Jesus appears to him, Jesus asks a sequence of questions that tugs and pulls 00:07:20.880 |
He asks that question three times and Apostle Peter, in response to that question, says, 00:07:29.520 |
And every time I read that passage, I wonder if he's, you know, the first time it's like, 00:07:34.160 |
And then the next time, as sequentially, it gets even stronger and stronger, right? 00:07:39.880 |
And the last time it's like, "Oh, you know I do." 00:07:43.600 |
But Jesus' reply to Apostle Peter after the third time was, "Then feed my sheep. 00:07:58.760 |
But the task at hand for Apostle Peter that was given directly by Jesus was this command 00:08:05.840 |
And so in Apostle Peter's perspective, this is not just like, "Man, you know, I've got 00:08:16.120 |
It's his dedication to shepherd the flock of God. 00:08:19.720 |
Please turn your Bibles over to Acts chapter 20. 00:08:23.260 |
And there is this profound passage where the Apostle Paul, he spent a lot of time at Ephesus. 00:08:31.740 |
And he was ministering to that church well over two years, okay? 00:08:36.740 |
And as he's departing, there's this incredibly emotional scene where Apostle Paul and the 00:08:42.540 |
leaders of Ephesus have this very intimate moment where they're crying over each other. 00:08:47.940 |
But look at the words of Apostle Paul in that same similar kind of that urge, the dedication 00:08:56.580 |
So I'm going to start reading from verse 18, like right smack in the middle of it. 00:09:03.620 |
It says, "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you. 00:09:08.120 |
From the first day I came into the province of Asia, I served the Lord with great humility, 00:09:12.460 |
with tears, although I was severely tested by the plot of the Jews. 00:09:16.720 |
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you, but 00:09:20.900 |
I've taught you publicly and from house to house. 00:09:24.100 |
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have 00:09:30.860 |
And now compelled by the Spirit, I'm going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen 00:09:37.500 |
I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing 00:09:43.260 |
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me. 00:09:46.140 |
If only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the 00:09:51.220 |
task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. 00:09:54.900 |
Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever 00:10:00.140 |
Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have 00:10:04.460 |
not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 00:10:08.900 |
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers." 00:10:18.780 |
So all in all, as you hear the words of Apostle Peter, all in all as you hear the words of 00:10:24.660 |
Apostle Paul, and as you look through the scriptures, this kind of heart sentiment, 00:10:30.720 |
we have an incredible amount of responsibility that God has given to us. 00:10:37.700 |
Not just as a, "It would be nice if you could do this please." 00:10:41.300 |
You know, "Just try and it would be nice if when you have time, when you can find a 00:10:47.140 |
I mean, that's not the kind of sentiment you feel, is it? 00:10:51.180 |
Like there is this burning passion, but there is also this weight of responsibility. 00:10:56.340 |
Apostle Paul is saying, "God, like the Holy Spirit is compelling me and Jesus has given 00:11:00.260 |
me this task and now my one ambition is to complete it." 00:11:04.540 |
And I count my life nothing, all the hurdles, whatever I've been through, they're just 00:11:08.780 |
nothing compared to this one passion and desire to complete what God has given me. 00:11:16.260 |
So that's what I mean when a good shepherd is going to have a holistic perspective where 00:11:23.340 |
he has an accurate view of what he's doing, the weight of it, the responsibility. 00:11:30.700 |
Now moving to element number two, element number two. 00:11:35.660 |
A good shepherd values the flock as Christ does. 00:11:42.260 |
It's one thing to be concerned over task, function, production, and goal success. 00:11:52.180 |
Like there's a perspective and heart where it sees precious the flock of God. 00:11:58.140 |
Especially to have a kind of affection, to exhibit a kind of sensitivity and like softness, 00:12:09.580 |
And so the way that Apostle Peter even describes, "This is the flock of God, you've been 00:12:16.180 |
And remember, you look at the way that Apostle Peter is talking to this group, remember again 00:12:22.460 |
that Apostle Peter knows full well, this is a flock that have been bruised. 00:12:37.100 |
And so you, if you read the kind of the letter in whole and every passage that we're turning 00:12:41.020 |
to, he's doing both, giving encouragement, strengthening them, and there is that affection 00:12:50.900 |
If you guys would turn in your Bibles to John chapter 10, we're going to look at some 00:12:54.260 |
of these passages just because, man, there's so many rich biblical texts talking about 00:13:02.780 |
The attitude behind those who are leaders, behind those who are shepherds, and then here 00:13:08.600 |
in this passage, we see the beautiful heart of the great chief shepherd. 00:13:15.260 |
So please go to John chapter 10, starting from verse 7 and following. 00:13:22.380 |
It says, "Jesus said to them again, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the 00:13:27.860 |
All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 00:13:33.380 |
If anyone enters through me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 00:13:38.660 |
The thieves come only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:13:41.140 |
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:13:46.540 |
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:13:49.540 |
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the 00:13:54.340 |
wolves coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 00:14:00.140 |
He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 00:14:05.460 |
I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and my own know me. 00:14:10.660 |
Even as the father knows me, I know the father, and I lay my life for the sheep. 00:14:15.660 |
A good shepherd, according to Jesus, is one who has ownership and care and says, "Those 00:14:27.860 |
There is an arrogant way to be like, "This congregation is mine." 00:14:32.660 |
But there is a heart filled, there is a deep love of one who attaches himself to the congregation 00:14:39.620 |
and says, "This congregation is mine just like that my family is mine, just like my 00:14:45.300 |
children are mine, just like my wife is mine." 00:14:48.140 |
This kind of bond is actually what really is definitive of a good shepherd. 00:14:58.100 |
There are people who want to work in the church, but what they're hoping to do is just build 00:15:04.540 |
They're good with church models, organizations, which again is not bad, but that alone is 00:15:15.640 |
The right perspective is to make sure that both of these elements are hand in hand, that 00:15:23.020 |
You know, there was this time I remember when a close friend of mine one time asked me, 00:15:28.100 |
"Hey, I'm going to be like out of town for about a week and a half. 00:15:37.600 |
This was a time when I was really into cars and he was talking about his car baby. 00:15:42.180 |
And this was a car that he had souped up, modified, he customized, he spent hours like 00:15:52.700 |
Could you make sure to drive it around a few times, you know, maybe like once every two 00:15:57.780 |
Could you make sure that when you take it out, don't drive it too hard, you know. 00:16:01.620 |
Don't drive it too hard, I know you're tempted and stuff." 00:16:04.300 |
Now to me, as he asked me that, I was just kind of like, "Nah." 00:16:18.580 |
I knew the car was, you know, like if I rode it, it'd be super cool, all that kind of stuff. 00:16:22.740 |
In many ways, I'm relating that example because we can believe the church is precious. 00:16:28.160 |
Jesus sees the church as the temple of God, His holy presence. 00:16:32.020 |
We can believe the church is the bride of Christ that needs to be purified. 00:16:35.960 |
We can believe the church is pivotal to the redemptive plan of God, and yet, stay at a 00:16:41.960 |
distance and say, "But I don't want to be responsible. 00:16:47.220 |
I don't want to be responsible when it goes bad, you know. 00:16:53.780 |
See, the right heart attitude is to feel both this deep affection, "I love this church," 00:17:00.080 |
but then to have this attitude of, "I see the immense responsibility, and I want to 00:17:10.680 |
And so a good shepherd doesn't have one or the other, but rather he has both. 00:17:16.560 |
He has both the idea of weight of responsibility, yet at the same time, he has the idea of that 00:17:22.480 |
attachment and affinity of value of the flock. 00:17:28.800 |
So that's section number one about the elements of a good shepherd. 00:17:36.920 |
Next, we asked a question, "What is the task?" 00:17:51.960 |
Well, we can use the metaphor, and we can just, you know, like think through the various 00:18:10.480 |
That word is a present participle, so it should be reading like exercising, you know, regularly 00:18:19.560 |
So even oversight is like a big term, is a big term. 00:18:23.680 |
So I ask you this question, you know, in the concept of oversight and shepherding, what 00:18:30.280 |
are some of the priority tasks of a good shepherd? 00:19:01.840 |
Making sure that false doctrine is not entering the church, is not spreading, you know. 00:19:11.520 |
In the second book of, second Peter, I don't know how to say that. 00:19:16.120 |
In second Peter, the primary subject is making sure that the church is protected from false 00:19:23.760 |
And Apostle Peter is very strong on that, okay. 00:19:29.320 |
You guys can jot that down, make a list, okay. 00:19:35.800 |
Teach, feeding the flock and making sure that people are taking in, nourishing, like, you 00:19:43.840 |
know, soul-filling truth of God, being challenged, being truly fed. 00:19:53.200 |
I mean, actually, if you think about it, what do the shepherds do? 00:19:56.840 |
They move the sheep along from where to where, pasture to pasture, making sure the sheep 00:20:02.320 |
So a huge element of what shepherds should be doing is feeding. 00:20:09.480 |
So he said, "I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to teach the flock to feed the sheep. 00:20:31.480 |
So he said, you know, "Sheep tend to stray and sheep tend to wander." 00:20:35.800 |
And so there is a corrective, making sure the flock is on track and going the right 00:21:19.600 |
Yeah, shepherds shouldn't, you know, beat the flock or use their staff to, yeah, hurt 00:21:33.000 |
So I want you guys to think about that because earlier I introduced the topic, this passage 00:21:48.480 |
And so, you know, the Greek term is presbytery kind of thing. 00:21:54.320 |
But when you delineate the work of ministry and the task at hand, aside from teaching 00:22:01.040 |
on the pulpit, you do realize there's an element to which we can all buy in to the 00:22:08.800 |
And that's why what's super encouraging to any leader of any church or any organization, 00:22:13.200 |
for all of you who have ever done small group leading, ever done ministry on campus, ever 00:22:17.080 |
done ministry at church, what's sweet to your heart is people connecting together and 00:22:25.040 |
Where there is this constant desire to make sure we're protected from false doctrines. 00:22:31.400 |
Make sure we're doing well so you observe and find out what's going on and you oversee, 00:22:36.800 |
To make sure that you guys are learning together biblical doctrine, to make sure if there's 00:22:42.840 |
And you just realize, yes, the elders are called to shepherd the church at large. 00:22:49.040 |
But the ministry of the church is for every single person. 00:22:53.920 |
And the ministry of the church, we're all going to be essentially, you know, contributing 00:23:03.520 |
I just wanted to make that point as we start listing some of these things that we have. 00:23:09.560 |
You know, there are other things I just kind of mentioned. 00:23:12.860 |
You know, in terms of shepherding from a leadership level, we definitely hope to do equipping, 00:23:18.760 |
Equipping as a, you know, in terms of allowing the church congregation and flock to be able 00:23:29.520 |
Scripture says in Ephesians chapter 4, and that's why the Holy Spirit gave the church 00:23:38.960 |
So there is this maturing and building up and being equipped, right? 00:23:42.840 |
And of course, there's the idea of healing in a sense of encouraging, uplifting the ones 00:23:52.980 |
I don't want to take too much time with that. 00:23:54.360 |
But again, please think on the level of just like, yes, this is directed towards elders. 00:24:00.220 |
But these are all things that you can take initiative to contribute in terms of the work 00:24:10.680 |
Okay, so one of the tasks clearly is overseeing. 00:24:15.080 |
But the Scripture in this section delineates how that overseeing should be done so that 00:24:23.120 |
it's in accordance with the will of God and it pleases the Father. 00:24:28.080 |
I'm going to just rapid fire give it to you because it's straight from the passage, right? 00:24:32.480 |
One, we should be overseeing, the elders of the church should be overseeing not under 00:24:43.720 |
They should be overseeing not for sore gain but with eagerness. 00:24:52.840 |
They should be overseeing not lording it over them but proving to be examples. 00:25:00.280 |
So not lording it over them but proving to be examples. 00:25:09.480 |
Remember, I think I mentioned before that when you see this kind of not this but this, 00:25:15.200 |
you know, Apostle Peter is given an emphatic challenge here in terms of the hard attitude 00:25:28.680 |
At some point or another, there's going to be younger Christians who are looking up to 00:25:35.140 |
This is going to play a huge part into, right? 00:25:38.440 |
So first, not under compulsion but voluntarily. 00:25:46.640 |
He says that there can be circumstances and situations whether you're serving in just 00:25:53.600 |
a lay servant, you know, lay member type role or you're serving at a more official leadership 00:25:59.240 |
role, there can be circumstances where people don't want to be there. 00:26:04.000 |
Where maybe they have in their heart other desires, maybe they're thinking like, "Yeah, 00:26:12.280 |
Whatever it may be, they don't have the internal desire but rather the external stuff is propping 00:26:21.680 |
I know times when people because of like bad run-ins. 00:26:26.400 |
This happens sometimes where you have a bad run-in with one individual and that completely 00:26:30.840 |
like deflates you, you know, and you just kind of feel like, "I don't want to be serving 00:26:37.800 |
Sometimes it's because your own personal motivation is just lost, you know. 00:26:42.840 |
And then once you get to, you're looking for just approval, you're looking just to not 00:26:47.160 |
be ashamed, like whatever it may be, that's happening, okay? 00:26:51.820 |
So on that level, I just wanted to kind of describe what that kind of scenario could 00:26:57.600 |
For me as I was thinking, you know, just truthfully, "Huh, what are the times when, I don't know, 00:27:05.280 |
like I don't want to be doing the work kind of thing?" 00:27:08.500 |
And I was just sitting there and trying to examine my heart, you know, asking the question. 00:27:13.200 |
And then there wasn't anything like, "Oh, epiphany," you know. 00:27:20.800 |
I noticed that when I just flat out get lazy, then everything, everything that I do is because 00:27:32.780 |
And even the way I talk, like someone asks me like, "Hey, how's your day go?" 00:27:37.300 |
And then the next words out of my mouth is what? 00:27:45.080 |
And even the regular mundane things where you're normally naturally expected to do, 00:27:50.200 |
you start talking about it like, "Well, I got to do this," you know. 00:27:53.400 |
"Well, I got to get up and I got to get in my car and I got to drive to work," as if 00:27:58.520 |
like everybody in the world does that, you know. 00:28:02.600 |
But now everything feels like compulsion if there's laziness in your heart, you know. 00:28:09.340 |
And I realized that's a susceptibility for every single person. 00:28:14.280 |
And when your heart is in that condition, whether it's the church asking you to do this, 00:28:19.160 |
whether it's your wife asking you, husband asking you, children asking you, people you 00:28:22.600 |
love asking you, your mom asking you, what does it feel like? 00:28:29.420 |
It feels like something extra has been placed on you. 00:28:34.120 |
I mean, that's the, let's not be like that, you know. 00:28:38.760 |
Describing that fallen sinfulness for us, that's so easy for even anybody, whether it's 00:28:45.560 |
you're high on leadership or you're not on leadership, whatever it may be, you can feel 00:28:49.600 |
like everything you're doing is, "I got to," right? 00:28:58.000 |
Rather do it with a free will of, 'I want to do this,' rather than begrudgingly do it 00:29:06.360 |
That God, knowing that God delights in a cheerful giver, not because of compulsion, not because 00:29:11.960 |
someone twisted your arm, someone looked at you and said, "Come on, pay up," though rather 00:29:16.200 |
from your own volition, you decided, "This is what I'd like to give to God," right? 00:29:25.180 |
And that's what he's talking about with this voluntary action. 00:29:28.400 |
So we can have sometimes discouragement or whatever, but we have to do things voluntarily. 00:29:35.200 |
Can I speak to you guys a little bit on a thinking about leadership thing? 00:29:40.000 |
I remember asking Pastor Peter one time, you know, Pastor Peter, I respect him so much 00:29:52.640 |
And all the fluff and all the different things in life, he's able to like kind of cut through 00:29:59.080 |
And so one time I remember asking him, "When you look at perspective, let's say pastors, 00:30:04.840 |
you know, young men who want to be in leadership, what are the key things you look for?" 00:30:11.280 |
And I remember him saying, "Well, there is this, there's a typical things that you know, 00:30:15.960 |
like he's got to be holy, he's got to be X, Y, and Z, you know, committed to the church, 00:30:22.560 |
But then he says, "There's this intangible, there is this it." 00:30:30.400 |
And he says, "There is this drive in a young man who's going to be a successful pastor 00:30:37.080 |
because he's waiting for no one because there is this desire in his heart where he voluntarily 00:30:42.080 |
wants to worship, pray, evangelize, proclaim, serve, and love on people. 00:30:47.800 |
He's not waiting for someone to give him an opportunity, so he never complains about lack 00:30:52.480 |
He's not waiting for someone to provide an atmosphere. 00:30:54.480 |
He's never talking about lack of space, time, and opportunity. 00:31:01.080 |
But then when young men start to complain, "Oh, church hasn't given me, you know, a 00:31:05.000 |
lens, church hasn't given me a platform, church hasn't given me teaching opportunity," then 00:31:08.440 |
you realize there is a revelation of a desire in his heart perhaps for something else than 00:31:13.840 |
the purity of voluntarily doing what God has designed. 00:31:24.760 |
When a young man can get so easily discouraged because he never got a pulpit opportunity, 00:31:28.840 |
I mean, is that what he was looking for then? 00:31:34.800 |
And that was a really big challenge to my own heart. 00:31:37.600 |
Yeah, like in terms of doing work of ministry, serving the Lord, what am I waiting for? 00:31:42.600 |
I mean, I have to really ask that question, "What is stopping me?" 00:31:48.080 |
And if I really think about it, it's just my perspective, right? 00:31:54.200 |
And so anyway, we're thinking about this challenge to the elders and saying, "Don't do it by 00:31:59.600 |
Don't do it with begrudging, like forced duty. 00:32:03.460 |
It is a duty, but nonetheless, do it with voluntary." 00:32:07.160 |
And you know that God is desiring for us in His will to serve Him wholeheartedly in that 00:32:14.040 |
Next, the next hard attitude that Apostle Peter says to the elders, and he says this, 00:32:20.560 |
"When you're overseeing the flock, do it not for sword gain, but with eagerness, but with 00:32:30.080 |
Here's an interesting idea about sword gain, okay? 00:32:35.320 |
In life, we could have a conflict of interest, right? 00:32:40.240 |
We can be in a situation where we have a conflict of interest, and when there is a greediness 00:32:46.480 |
in the heart, when there was a longing, not just for money. 00:32:49.560 |
I mean, we know the people who long for money. 00:32:53.240 |
You know, I remember very distinctly, I was watching these interviews with one of those 00:32:58.400 |
prosperity gospel people, and that kind of stuff, I mean, it's just so blatant, right? 00:33:06.200 |
He's so blatant, it's not even, you know, some of the other prosperity gospel guys, they'll 00:33:10.160 |
kind of like weasel and say, "Oh, you know, like God is blessing us, and we're still pursuing 00:33:16.200 |
Jakes, I'm just, I'm flat out naming him because I've never met a guy who's so blunt. 00:33:19.640 |
He's getting interviewed by NBC, and he said, "God is the best product out there to sell." 00:33:26.540 |
And he just flat out said, "Jesus sells, and when you've got a good product, you don't 00:33:31.760 |
I mean, he just would say stuff like that, and you're just cringing, like, "Oh my gosh, 00:33:38.420 |
How can, like, he had this event over two weekends, and supposedly 500,000 people went 00:33:46.680 |
Regularly on a Sunday, there's 30,000 people who meet at his church, and you're just thinking, 00:33:55.320 |
But at the same time, you take a moment, you look into your heart, and again, this was 00:33:59.680 |
a tough passage for me, because every time I kind of look back, and I say, "Okay, perhaps 00:34:04.960 |
maybe, maybe, I'm not as blatantly greedy for money." 00:34:12.560 |
I mean, who doesn't want to work and reap the benefits of it? 00:34:16.440 |
Who doesn't want to receive credit for what he's done? 00:34:19.520 |
Who doesn't want to at least receive whatever it may be? 00:34:22.440 |
It doesn't have to be physical, tangible, monetary good, but he can receive other stuff. 00:34:30.240 |
Want more of control, want more of X, Y, and Z, want more of this, want more of that, and 00:34:35.440 |
there can be a greediness in our heart, even when we are serving God. 00:34:43.280 |
But instead, but instead, oh, I forgot this story. 00:34:48.480 |
So Peter, he has words for people who have greediness in their heart, okay? 00:34:57.040 |
This was kind of a real like, "Whoa!" moment in the book of Acts, because apostle Peter 00:35:03.040 |
is going and preaching, and there's a lot of miracles being done and people being saved, 00:35:07.920 |
So you can turn your Bibles to Acts chapter 8. 00:35:09.480 |
I'm going to read a section of it, starting from verse 18, okay? 00:35:12.900 |
But just giving you the backdrop of the story, Philip goes and preaches in Samaria, and 00:35:20.960 |
But at that time, the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit visibly was seen when an apostle 00:35:26.200 |
would come so that they could see that the authority of the apostles is giving this blessing 00:35:33.960 |
So apostle Philip is preaching, people are being converted, and there's this guy named 00:35:44.360 |
It was his trade to get money from the work of something spiritual, you know? 00:35:50.400 |
Well, this guy Simon gets converted, and then apostle Peter comes, and that guy is like 00:36:00.960 |
Apostle Peter just laid hands, and he was blessing people, and there was this miraculous 00:36:04.920 |
like coming down of the Spirit, and people were really being transformed, okay? 00:36:12.160 |
He says, "Now, when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the 00:36:17.040 |
apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this authority to me as well, so 00:36:22.960 |
that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'" 00:36:26.760 |
And then look at this, Peter has some words for him. 00:36:28.840 |
"Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could attain 00:36:35.840 |
You have no part, no portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 00:36:41.640 |
Therefore repent on this wickedness of yours, and pray, O Lord, that if possible the intention 00:36:48.220 |
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in bondage of iniquity.'" 00:36:56.300 |
Apostle Peter has some really strong, harsh words. 00:36:59.360 |
I mean, on the outside appearance, that guy Simon appeared to convert. 00:37:08.040 |
On an outside experience, he wanted to do maybe some work, you know? 00:37:11.480 |
But as soon as he said, "Ooh," he had this greed in his heart and said, "Can I do that 00:37:22.880 |
You have no part in this portion, and you need to repent." 00:37:27.760 |
Very strong words from a man with greediness in his heart. 00:37:30.560 |
And so Apostle Peter encourages them that you need to have an eagerness. 00:37:37.760 |
The opposite of this greedy selfishness is to have a pure, loving intention for others 00:37:46.520 |
An eagerness to offer, eagerness to sacrifice, eagerness to do good to all of those who are 00:37:53.600 |
And that's what Apostle Peter is challenging us to have. 00:37:56.080 |
For the sake of time, I'm going to read to you another passage. 00:37:59.920 |
He says, "And now I commend you to God and the word of His grace, which is able to build 00:38:04.240 |
you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 00:38:08.680 |
I coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes. 00:38:12.640 |
You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to men who were with me. 00:38:18.880 |
In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner, you must help the weak 00:38:23.040 |
and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that He Himself said, 'It is better, or sorry, 00:38:30.680 |
And when He said these things, He knelt down, prayed with all of them. 00:38:33.000 |
He began to weep out loud and embrace Paul and repeatedly kissed them." 00:38:37.800 |
So he says to them, look at the example that I gave to you, Apostle Paul speaking again 00:38:46.680 |
He said, "Remember, my heart and intention was pure with you. 00:38:55.400 |
I worked hard day and night not to be a burden to you. 00:38:59.600 |
Because I show you I'm loving you voluntarily with eagerness to give to you because I believe 00:39:07.680 |
It's the more blessed way to give rather than receive. 00:39:13.120 |
So rather than, you know, these wicked modern day prosperity gospel teachers looking at 00:39:22.680 |
Big old fat membership giving tithe every week. 00:39:28.000 |
Looking at the sheep like something to be squeezed so they can have, you know, things 00:39:32.240 |
Rather, they're looking at the flock with heart and intention to love and to give and 00:39:38.920 |
So that's not for sword gain but with eagerness in their heart. 00:39:44.280 |
And lastly, Apostle Peter says, "The way that we ought to shepherd is not lording over those 00:39:51.560 |
allotted to their care but proving to be examples." 00:39:56.960 |
Not lording over those allotted to their care but proving to be examples. 00:40:02.520 |
You know, from when we're young, we're asked that question. 00:40:10.320 |
And you can just imagine all the kids saying like, "Oh, I want to be..." and then they 00:40:18.720 |
And then there are those kids who are super blunt. 00:40:42.280 |
Feeling like to lead is actually better than to follow. 00:40:47.560 |
Our worldly convention, our worldly perspective and principle is just that. 00:40:53.120 |
It's more blessed to lead and have dominance over people. 00:40:56.400 |
But remember it was Jesus Christ who flipped that all completely upside down. 00:41:05.560 |
Jesus said, "Jesus called them to himself and said, 'You know that the rulers of the 00:41:08.920 |
Gentiles lorded over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 00:41:14.360 |
It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be 00:41:18.640 |
your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. 00:41:24.800 |
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve to give his life a ransom 00:41:32.160 |
So the concept here is just this idea like, in number one, there is an arrogance and pride 00:41:43.760 |
I mean, there are times and moments where maybe that kind of pride was tested. 00:41:48.620 |
Have you ever, you know, have you ever maybe had a small group experience or maybe you 00:41:54.120 |
were a small group leader and the guys in your small group disrespected you? 00:41:59.000 |
Have you ever had a time when you're at work and you have a certain title but someone just 00:42:04.520 |
Just completely dismiss your title, completely dismiss your position, whatever it may be. 00:42:10.200 |
I mean, we know every single one of us wrestles with pride to a certain degree. 00:42:22.420 |
We have a desire to sometimes bully people into doing what we want, where our agenda 00:42:28.260 |
and desire for like, how this thing should be, you know, becomes so strong that if someone 00:42:43.340 |
I want to give this challenge here that Apostle Peter is saying, of the many pitfalls of being 00:42:49.580 |
a leader, one, we go back and just review real quick. 00:42:53.660 |
One, we can do things out of duty and compulsion. 00:43:00.260 |
Three, we can do things out of arrogance and pride. 00:43:04.380 |
Can I remind us, for us as Christians, when we do the work of God, it's not just what 00:43:17.640 |
For us as Christians, why we do what we do matters immensely. 00:43:23.180 |
All three, what we do, how we do it, and why we do it, what motivation for what cause, 00:43:28.500 |
what end, and if at that end, it's for my dominance, my position, and my glory, then 00:43:34.460 |
even if we're the greatest thing on earth, God would look at us and say, "And you thought 00:43:49.940 |
For us as Christians, all of that, in terms of the motivation of the heart, matters intensely, 00:43:56.340 |
where our motivation can stain and completely negate all the good works that we've done. 00:44:04.780 |
And you've experienced it probably before, where an individual who had maybe offered 00:44:09.380 |
you to take you out, an individual who had offered you to do certain things, an individual 00:44:13.740 |
who maybe gave you gifts, an individual who showed you a good time, and all that kind 00:44:17.220 |
of stuff, and then it turns around, and then they start expecting things from you. 00:44:21.260 |
They start trying to bully you and correct you, and now all of a sudden, everything they've 00:44:31.340 |
Likewise, Apostle Peter challenges those who would take the responsibility in church and 00:44:37.940 |
"You shall not exercise your oversight, lording over people, exercising your arrogance more 00:44:47.900 |
And so rather, he says, in contrast to that lording over and dominance over people, he 00:44:56.620 |
You need to have a pattern of godliness that people will desire to follow. 00:45:00.660 |
There is a difference between a man who's skilled and can perform versus a man who is 00:45:07.540 |
a model Christian, godly at heart, and every aspect of his life is exemplary as they follow 00:45:23.100 |
And so, as we think about this, Apostle Peter, when he makes that huge challenge, he's the 00:45:27.620 |
one who both encourages and he himself follows that example. 00:45:35.320 |
Going back to verse 1, we see when Apostle Peter says, "Therefore, I exert you, the elders 00:45:43.880 |
"As your fellow elders and as basically your fellow witnesses of the sufferings of Christ 00:45:50.240 |
and the partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed." 00:46:00.320 |
We have a common hope for the glory that's to come, and I'm with you in this experience. 00:46:06.080 |
So he essentially practices what he preaches. 00:46:11.600 |
He wants to be a humble participant in the work of God rather than over them. 00:46:25.360 |
But rather, he puts himself, identifies in that position, and when he does that, you 00:46:31.280 |
realize not only is he saying, "I have the same witness and the same hope as you," he's 00:46:36.500 |
also saying, "Then I'm going through the same danger. 00:46:42.000 |
I'm going through the same pain, and I'm going through the same hurt," right? 00:46:47.200 |
He is willing, more than willing, to walk with them in this rather than lording it over 00:46:55.400 |
There is a difference when a man is willing only to command versus a man who is willing 00:47:06.160 |
And that's why the idea of a shepherd, the metaphor of a shepherd, is good. 00:47:12.920 |
God did not call us in ministry, in encouraging people, in really trying to edify the people 00:47:21.920 |
He didn't call us to be drivers in the back, like, "Here's the whip. 00:47:28.200 |
We're trying to be shepherds, disciples, partakers, fellowship, brothers and sisters. 00:47:36.000 |
And that's the idea, the contrast you see there between those who would lord it over 00:47:40.640 |
versus those who would prove to be an example walking with the flock. 00:47:46.760 |
I want to say, now that we've kind of covered some really important parts here, right? 00:47:51.920 |
We talked about two essential elements of a good shepherd, that he sees the weight of 00:47:56.960 |
responsibility, he sees the value of the flock, and he's going to have these characteristic 00:48:02.080 |
heart issues where he's not, you know, "I can't do it," you know, "these dirty sheep." 00:48:11.960 |
He's not in it for sword gain, but he is eager to give sacrifice and he believes it's better 00:48:18.440 |
And he's not lording it over with arrogance, but he's walking with them, right? 00:48:23.500 |
But all in all, in terms of a characteristic of a good shepherd, in the end it comes down 00:48:28.720 |
to having such a care that would resemble the care of Christ. 00:48:36.200 |
Having such a love that it would resemble the love of Christ. 00:48:42.800 |
Having such an affection that just as Christ would be moved when he looks upon the people, 00:48:48.420 |
and whenever he sees a flock without a shepherd, whenever he sees people who are lost, he's 00:48:53.380 |
broken in his heart, that, that heart attitude, those eyes, that care defines a good shepherd. 00:49:02.980 |
Remember, I remember for me, what brought me into ministry was the Bible. 00:49:10.500 |
I told Pastor Peter, I said, "The Bible is the bomb. 00:49:17.740 |
And I remember the elders sat me down and they were trying to teach me leadership in 00:49:23.660 |
You might think it's like, "Yeah, you're going to study in your office and then you're going 00:49:27.660 |
to like research and you're going to write and you're going to," yeah, there are pastors 00:49:32.940 |
But in terms of the calling of God that he's given us is to love his flock, to love his 00:49:47.660 |
Now I'm just kind of confessing to you early on when I first heard that, I was kind of 00:49:57.980 |
But over the years I realized, I mean, the bulk of all ministry is to make sure that 00:50:03.420 |
you are being attentive to the needs of God's flock, to make sure you care enough to know 00:50:08.700 |
where are people hurting, to understand who they are, to understand what they need. 00:50:15.420 |
And I want to give an exhortation to you again, that does not require the title pastor. 00:50:22.340 |
That requires you just simply to put yourself in the shoes of Christ and to look with his 00:50:27.580 |
eyes and to feel with his heart, to look at people with compassion, to look at people 00:50:32.740 |
with earnest desire to do them good, to humble yourself and say, "I consider your needs 00:50:41.060 |
And that's what Apostle Peter is saying that the leader should do, but that's also what 00:50:45.180 |
the Apostle Peter is saying, "These are the kind of examples you as a church need to follow." 00:50:55.140 |
As we think about that, I'm now relaying to you that the exhortation Apostle Peter gave 00:51:01.580 |
to the elders and said, "You need to shepherd the church." 00:51:05.020 |
There's a responsibility obviously, yes, weighty, incredibly, you know, serious delegated stewardship 00:51:12.820 |
for the elders, but it's also the responsibility of the whole church. 00:51:17.580 |
And now we have as a concluding thought, we all have to account and meet the chief shepherd. 00:51:26.580 |
We all at one point have to meet the chief shepherd and be held accountable for that. 00:51:32.700 |
Earlier I was talking a lot about responsibility. 00:51:42.700 |
Well where there is responsibility, there is going to be somebody who then holds you 00:51:52.140 |
Where there is responsibility, then there is going to be someone who holds you responsible. 00:52:06.940 |
And as I think about that, how am I going to prepare for this? 00:52:09.460 |
How am I going to, you know, answer to Christ and all that kind of stuff? 00:52:13.980 |
Then I recall in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, you can turn there, it's an important passage 00:52:23.420 |
That in light of the sobering truth, what we do in ministry, the labor of love, that 00:52:29.740 |
we're really doing this on the call, on the account of what our chief shepherd has 00:52:35.500 |
designed, then to him we're going to give an answer. 00:52:40.140 |
But the way Apostle Paul sees it, he says this, "Let a man regard us in this manner 00:52:46.500 |
as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 00:52:51.060 |
In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 00:52:57.060 |
But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you or any human court. 00:53:01.460 |
In fact, I do not even examine myself, for I am conscious of nothing against myself. 00:53:06.460 |
Yet I am not by this acquitted, but the one who examines me is the Lord. 00:53:12.860 |
For do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who will 00:53:16.700 |
both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's 00:53:22.180 |
And then each man's praise will come to him from God." 00:53:26.440 |
So as we look at that, the key concept I want to leave you with is, in terms of your desires 00:53:33.980 |
to be engaged in the life of the church and the ministry of the church, and for me in 00:53:38.100 |
terms of my own heart's desire of thinking through, like, man, I really want to be faithful 00:53:43.340 |
to the opportunity, the privilege, right, to be able to work for Him. 00:53:49.260 |
The privilege to be able to serve Him in this fashion. 00:53:52.820 |
The main thing I want to say is, just like Apostle Paul, I want to be found trustworthy. 00:53:59.960 |
If God has so thought it wise to place the flock in the hands of those who would be His 00:54:05.500 |
under shepherds, then my great ambition is that I will be proven to be trustworthy. 00:54:13.180 |
That God would look, that the church would look and say, "This is an individual who is 00:54:18.180 |
trustworthy because they're handling the precious flock of God with the same kind of care and 00:54:30.740 |
Father Lord, we realize, God, that, you know, over the course of studying 1 Peter, you've 00:54:46.020 |
You've called us to be a great nation and possession for you. 00:54:50.140 |
You've called us to proclaim your excellencies. 00:54:53.420 |
What's more, you've called us to be involved in the work of your ministry, making sure 00:55:00.020 |
I ask, Lord, that, you know, God, we just repent of the fact that we live in a generation 00:55:06.620 |
that's truly so selfish and we look out for our own ends. 00:55:10.900 |
But I ask, Lord, that you would give us the humility of Christ and, Lord, that you would 00:55:15.020 |
give us, grant to us the love and heart of Christ, that we would look out and love each 00:55:20.340 |
other truly with sincerity and from the heart. 00:55:24.180 |
And I ask, Lord, that as we do that, God, your work would be done and you would be glorified.