1 Peter 5:1-15 Shepherds and Flocks

Welcome to the podcast of Recast Church in Madawan, Michigan. This is a message from Pastor Don Filsack from the series Ready for the Storm on 1st Peter. If you'd like more information on Recast Church, please visit us on the web at www .recastchurch .com.

Here's Pastor Don.

The End of 1 Peter and Why This Text Matters for Everyone

Diving back into 1st Peter again this morning and we're coming to close to the end of it.

And.

As we as we're here and and wrapping things up. We come to a text that I probably would not have chose just naturally to preach on in this setting. So that's one of the things that preaching through a book of the Bible does for us as it brings to light things that wouldn't Be my hobby horse.

It wouldn't be something that I would naturally just pull out and go. Okay. Here we go church. Let's talk about Pastors let's talk about elders. Let's I mean maybe for a pastor's conference or something like that.

As a matter of fact, I've been to a couple of times at pastor's conferences. This is the text that they pull out to talk to pastors about so at first glance it may look like I'm primarily going to be preaching to myself as we read this text together this morning and.

That you get to listen in as I preach to myself and Rob and Zach and all the potential elders out there. Because Peter spends the majority of our text this morning exhorting the elders of churches the leadership of the church.

Some of you come to church and you've had a bit of a tough week, right? There's different things that have gone on for you. And I want you as I list these things your tendency could be to think oh who fits into what category but thinking about your own Life the issues that you faced health issues relationship issues work issues.

Financial issues all kinds of problems that all of us face each and every week. And so you come to church hoping and praying that something might make things better. Don Give me some word from God that just might make my circumstances snap into focus and everything go better and Then I get up here and preach on the responsibility of pastors, right and you go, okay.

You may be tempted to see a disconnect. But Peter thought that we all ought to be in the loop on these things he saw fit. To take a pen in his hand and use up precious scroll and parchment. To say these things to us.

Not only that God himself saw fit to declare these words to the church. That it would be in his self revelation given to us down through the ages.

We.

All have something to gain as we study this text on God's plan for order and structure within the church. What we see in these five verses are very wise words of leadership and Wise words of followership.

How many of you in the in the room have ever read a book on leadership? How many of you have ever read a book on how to follow well? And that's the problem in our culture, we're a culture of leaders and I would dare say that if we're all leading then we ought to look, you know, look behind us and see is anybody Following and.

That is.

This text is going to talk about leadership. But it's also going to talk about followership as well. And these are principles that can be applied in parenting. The principles that are laid out in this text can be applied in the workplace.

There's a lot of other Applications to a lot of areas of our lives. As we talk about leading right as we talk about as God addresses the leaders in the church. But this is not merely a leadership conference kind of text in the end.

What we see in this text is the heart of God in the midst of a fallen world. We serve a God who singles out some to join in his ministry. Not my ministry not our ministry, but his ministry of caring for his church.

He understands by the way the pull of humanity towards sinful leadership styles. We've all either been at times guilty of poor leadership styles or Equally we have been the recipients of a poor leadership style.

He's gonna wrap up the entire text with a central call for all of us to clothe ourselves in humility. Whether a leader or a follower in the church. Whether an elder or a younger as this text designates we are all to be covered in Humility, so let's open our Bibles to first Peter chapter 5 the last chapter of this text first Peter 5 and we're gonna just take the first five verses if you don't have a Bible and on your lap or available to you on you.

Know in.

Some digital format or whatever if you were would be willing to either just you can either just get up on your own and go Back there at the table or you can raise your hand. And these guys will bring you a Bible and we do want everybody to have a copy of the Word of God and you'll find it Beneficial as I walk through the text as you see my style of preaching after we worship God and singing.

It'll be good for you to have that Bible in your hand. But you can follow along as I read first Peter 5 1 through 5 here. This is God's Word to us this morning. Recast church.

So I.

Exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a Partaker and the glory that is going to be revealed. 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.

And When the chief Shepherd appears you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise you who are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves all of you with humility towards one another for God opposes the proud But gives grace to the humble.

Let's pray as the band comes to lead us in worship this morning. Father we get another opportunity here this week to settle our hearts and our thoughts before you father. There's so many things that could be racing through our minds so many Tasks that need to be accomplished this next week so many things that we would do over again.

Differently if we could just even from the past few days. Father I pray that you would quiet our souls before you here this morning. As we have an opportunity to lift up our voices in song before you in recognition of how awesome and glorious you are.

Father let this be a time each week and particularly today of Reflecting on your glory and most importantly the glory of your son who died on the cross for our sins. Father I pray that you would be Pleased with our worship that it would come out of hearts without pride.

We certainly don't want you to oppose us as proud people, but we hunger for your grace and I Pray for humility even as we come before you in worship this morning in Jesus name by his grace. By his grace alone.

Church Leadership, Suffering, and the Need for Humble Elders

Encourage you to keep your Bibles open or get your Bibles back open so first Peter 5 1 through 5 if you lost your place there, that's where we're gonna be and Again, just like every week that text is my outline.

And so we're gonna be following and walking right through those five verses over the next half an hour or so and digging in and remember that if any if at any time you need to get more coffee or or juice or donuts those are available for you and then the restrooms are out the doors to the end of the hallway to the right if You need to use those or if your seat gets uncomfortable and you need to get up in the back and stretch out Whatever it takes to keep your focus.

It's word for this next period of time here. But there's a clear change in topic as we've been working through this This series here at the start of chapter 5 we ended chapter 4 and we were talking about suffering and then we start out chapter 5 talking about church leadership and you kind of go is that enough that seems feels a bit like an abrupt shift like there's a Big transition or change that's happened there.

But I don't think that these two concepts of church suffering. And in church leadership are completely unrelated. I believe that as as the church endures Difficulty as the church being the people remember a lot of times we use that word in English in a strange way.

We talk about the church being the building, but the church is the people and that's why we can be a church. Without a building right we can be a church. That's meeting in a location at a given time because we are the people that are the people of God here.

But as a church that is the individuals within a body endures suffering healthy strong humble and honest leadership is Essential to holding the church together for the church to be built up and strengthened and God has organized it that way.

So in light of this persecution of fiery trials that have come upon these churches that were all spread throughout Asia Minor modern-day Turkey.

Peter exhorts the elders.

Among them he says among you. Notice that all of this is clearly addressed to the church at large. He doesn't say hey church. Take a few minutes. Stretch out use the restroom. Connection time. While I have a little meeting over here with the leadership.

And I'm gonna just have a little meter little leadership conference over here. You guys sit this out. No, he says. I want to address this to you and the elders that are among.

You.

Okay, so he's talking to the church. He wants you to be involved in this discussion.

In other words.

He wants you all to be knowledgeable about what God wants of me as a leader. He wants you in on this discussion. He he didn't just write this to Pastor Donner to Rob or Zack or those of you that God may be leading into leadership and might be considering and thinking through Eldership as we've made that announcement that we desire to bring a handful of guys.

More guys on to the the the board here and that announcement was made several weeks ago. And that's something that's in the in the works and certainly the church will be aware of that as things come and if you're sitting there Listening, maybe God would use this very message to pique some of your interest and go.

Yeah, I'd like to talk more about that. I'd like to know what does that look like and that would be like sitting down with me for coffee or breakfast or something and Just talking through like if you say I think God might be pulling me in that direction.

We'd love to have that conversation we'd like to see our board by the way move from. The three guys that are on the board with one going to the mission field do the math real quick. And a church our size we need we need some more leadership in our church.

Our board hasn't grown in conjunction with or in what's the word that I'm looking for there? Proportion. Thank you. You guys got it. Is it hasn't grown in proportion to the size of the church and so we need we need to make some changes there and We believe that God has the leadership out among you.

That is is what we need. Peter uses a word here though that I'm guessing that you didn't use this week if you ever use it at all. It's probably not a routine word in your vocabulary.

The word exhort.

You use that word on a regular basis. Do you exhort people all the time you go around? Exhort thee to do you know. And now you don't really use that word. We're and I want to point this out that this is a unique word.

There's a reason that this isn't just strongly encouraged or something like that. We didn't just water that word down because it's a unique in a different word. We are not a culture in America of.

Exhortation in.

America we encourage people in our more Direct ways of interacting with people. We may command someone from time to time. How many of you received a command from your boss before you've been told what to do and you like, okay I'll do that, you know and it's their will being exerted on you.

And so you're doing it because of their will not necessarily because of yours, but you're commanded. We may plead with people or urge them to do something right. Sometimes in America We plead or we may suggest a course of action.

But to exhort someone is a strong urging that in its very definition implies the knowledge of the right course. Do you hear how un-american that just became to suggest to you that I know what you should do.

Okay. Do you see how all of a sudden that's something hit like, uh, we don't do that a whole lot in our culture. Right, like I'm I know what's right and I know what you ought to do and our culture really pushes back.

Maybe even in your heart own hearts as I say that you're like, ah, that sounds uncomfortable. You are exhorting someone when you know the right course of action but want them to come to that action on their own of Their own will.

You are giving the freedom for them to say?

No.

I don't want to do that. So a command is like takes it takes exhortation to the next level and says you'll do it because I told you to. If you Position of authority or something somebody says do this and you're in that authority position then you do it because of their will but exhortation just draws that back just peels it back.

What dials it back. One tick and says I Want. I know what you ought to do. I know what you should do. I know what the right course of action is, but I want you to come there yourself. I want you to do these things on your own because of your will.

Recognizes that this is the right course of action. The main reason I'm even highlighting this is the reality that we stand out in our culture.

When we exhort others.

Peter Writing this would stand out in our and ought to stand out in our culture when he uses this word exhort. We can exhort because we have absolute truth because we have a faithful guide to tell us what is the right course and.

So Peter has a source that he's drawing from which is the Spirit of God telling him. What is and isn't right behavior for leadership? You cannot exhort someone if you do not have a clear understanding of right and wrong.

Peter's not ashamed to tell the leadership of Churches that there is a right in a wrong way to lead. He addresses the leadership of the churches and is and it's clear in Scripture that. That the word elder by the way in this text.

It might be kind of confused elder younger, you know, and I'll get I'll get to the word younger when we get there. But It's very clear that he's talking to church leadership. Not just to old people in the church.

It's a title for a leader within this short verse. We actually see all three synonyms for The office of pastor elder or overseer all three of those words actually occur. Within just these first two verses you see the word elder there in the text in verse one the title of the office Pastor and you look at it and you go.

I don't see it in there. But in verse two, it's right there I know you know is the word pastor is a direct translation in Latin of the word shepherd. So shepherd if you were speaking Latin, you would use the word pastor for the guy who stands out with the sheep.

That's what that word means. And so it's a Latin word that we've just taken straight from that and then the word overseer is used in its verbal form. See in verse in verse to shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising Oversight that is the word that we get the the title or the for the office of elder overseer.

All three I believe clearly speaking of one office in the church one body or one group of people. But but with that title elder shepherd pastor Overseer, all of those are interchangeable words in the text.

I want to be clear that age is utilized as an operational metaphor here. So it actually has a metaphorical sense to it. But there's some nuanced truth to the idea of older elders in a church older leaders.

Age by the way is never listed in the qualifications. It's not like well, you've got to be over 50. You've got to be over 40 or there's no have you ever noticed that in Scripture? There's no designation for how old you have to be, you know, you have to be 35.

I think is it 35 to be president of the United States? I think to be 35 and born an American citizen and all that and there's nothing like that in the church as far as an age Limit or anything like that as a matter of fact, we know that in the letters that Paul wrote to Timothy he said don't Timothy was given a significant position in the church of actually Appointing elders and actually going around and and and leading groups of churches and and he says to Paul writing to Timothy says don't let people look down their noses on you because of your age.

Don't let people criticize you because you're younger. Okay, so it's very obvious that Timothy had that Significant position of leadership and was told don't let people despise you because of your age because you're younger.

We also know if you take Old Testament examples of some of the kings who rose to power in the in Israel at very young age Josiah an example being eight years old when he gained the throne over the nation of Israel.

God is not opposed specifically to young leadership. I mean if you just take the example of his own son Jesus Christ who began his earthly ministry at the young age of 30. So don't get too hung up on the word elder as meaning aged.

But we also know that proverbially speaking. There's a that's why I call it an operational metaphor. Is it proverbially speaking? Usually. Usually wisdom Congregates a little bit more around those who are more aged.

Usually not always right but most often and we could at least say this Experience goes to the more aged right? They've had more life experience. So that's that's reality. But in verse 1 Peter sets out to explain his own credentials.

Why does he have the authority? Why does Peter get to go and tell all the churches and all the church leaders how to Respond in leadership how to act in the church. So he he lists his own His own resume if you will and he says first of all, I'm a fellow elder.

I'm with you guys. I get this. And I want to point out that is that is that all that he could say there? He in the way that he is Laying out his credentials Demonstrates and models humility for us. Could he say more than I'm a fellow elder Peter?

We're talking about Peter the Apostle. What other things could Peter list on his resume? But he says I'm one of you. I'm with you guys. Do you see how he's in it in the writing to leadership modeling good leadership?

He's showing us humility in the way that he responds to people. He could pull rank. He could throw his weight around. I was right there with Jesus from the beginning. I was there on the shores of Galilee.

He came to me the master himself came and said you're worth it. I want you on my team, you know, and he could Get a big head and and tell everybody his and instead he said I'm one of you. He doesn't come to him and say I'm a super elder.

I'm an apostle. I was one of the twelve he dignifies their office by saying I'm with you. I'm one of you. I am equal with you. Further he goes on to say I was a witness. I was a witness and instead of saying I was a witness to the glory of the transfiguration I was a witness of glorious things.

I was there at the feeding of the 5 ,000 matter of fact. It was my hands that held the baskets that fed the people. What was he a witness to?

I.

Saw the pain of the master. I was there when he suffered for us. Peter may not by the way historically speaking and through the Gospels. It's unclear whether he was actually present at the crucifixion.

It seems like not. But he was indeed a witness to much of the suffering of Jesus. He need not have been there at the moment that Jesus died to have seen the suffering of the Messiah. He observed firsthand the growing animosity of the crowds against Jesus.

He observed the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. He was there in the garden when Jesus suffered the night through prayer. He was there during the violent trials when Jesus was.

Beaten.

So he says I I indeed was a witness to the suffering of the Messiah. Peter also identifies himself finally the last reason he has the authority to speak to the leaders of the church in the way that He does to exhort them strongly and to indicate the course of action that we should take.

He identifies himself as a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. I Love the not yet complete nature of this final Identification by Peter says I'm a partaker of something that hasn't happened yet.

How do you do that? I'm a current partaker and something that hasn't come to pass and This is the nature of the Christian life. This is a glory that is coming and we currently have just the smallest taste of it on our tongue.

But we are a people who are a future people we are a people of a future grace a future glory a future hope and a Future kingdom that is coming for us a future King who will return and set things, right?

It's not in my notes, but I just want to point out this resource guys. There's a book by John Piper and you've heard anything or read anything by John Piper it's called future grace. It's one of the first books that he that I that I read that he wrote.

You could read half the book and get the point because he just keeps John Piper the way that he writes just pounds the point home and just keeps pounding and by that time you get halfway through you. Like I get it.

I get it, dude. I get it but it's an awesome book because it's all about it really radically changed the way that I view sanctification the way that we take steps in the Christian life. And it gave me a new motivation.

A Motivation that isn't rooted in the present. Just making my family happy or making things making people around me is life easier or things like that. But a motivation of living life with a future grace in mind.

That I've been purchased and there is a hope in the future that is out there. That is true and solid and the hope that I'm going to be made righteous right now. I got to walk in that now because I've got this hope out there that I've been redeemed and that Heaven is indeed and the new earth is indeed mine as a result of the work of Jesus Christ.

We are a future people who know that the present Doesn't define us as much as a future revelation of what we will be when Christ comes back for us. The glorious and beautiful reality. How many of you get mired down from time to time in the daily grind of life?

Any of you a Couple of us. I think probably all of us at times if we get to the point where it's just like oh Can I take another step? Can I live another minute with this weight on my shoulders? And there's this awesome glory.

That we are now partakers of something that is yet to be revealed that is going to finish it. Wrap it all up. In this beautiful reality of a new kingdom that God is bringing. Peter says I'm a partaker of that I've got some something to bring to you something that I can share with you because I'm there.

So Peter says I strongly urge you elders I exhort you because I am a fellow elder because I was a witness of the sufferings of Jesus and because I'm currently all in with the hope of glory. And Then he gives the command for the exhortation.

I should call it a command. Shepherd the flock of God exercising oversight. These are two parallel responsibilities of those who are called out to be elders or leaders within the church. Shepherding the flock and exercising oversight are not two separate duties.

We need to define those two separately and try to figure out what a shepherd is shepherding the flock look like and what is? Exercising authority look like. How does an elder shepherd the flock by exercising authority?

How do the exercise authority by shepherding the flock and this is obviously an agricultural? Illustration that Peter is using here. And the metaphor could be taken too far, right? I mean we look at it and go well.

In what likeness does a leader in the church? In what way are they like a shepherd of a flock? Am I supposed to find shelter for you?

Literally.

Am I supposed to give you food? Am I supposed to make sure your fridge is full and that you've got an ample water supply in your house and filter that stuff and. You what what am I literally supposed to do?

But I would suggest to you that the way that a shepherd was all about his sheep a Pastor is to be all about his congregation. He is to be concerned for their spiritual needs. He's a protector. And he is to lead them.

And notice that the flock is not the elders flock. This is not my flock. This is whose flock. Odds the flock of God. Who does the church belong to. Who does recast church belong to? Lord Jesus Christ who bought you.

Shepherding Without Compulsion, Greed, or Domination

In verses 2 through 3 2 and 3 Peter sets out to clarify three temptations that often come along with leadership. The first one is an issue of motivation in the heart. Really the first two are about motivation to some degree.

Ironically there's a tendency among those who lead To fulfill a role without their heart engaged in it. Those called the pastoral ministry can easily fall into a rut of going through the motions. It's possible to just merely do what I do out of compulsion as the text says.

I'm not supposed to another way of saying this is that ministry is never to be just a job or a list of tasks. To accomplish for the week but rather the elder is to willingly serve with their heart engaged and Peter tax this little phrase on as God would have you.

Yeah, you know it. You know how God wants you to serve right? You know that in here He wants you to serve with your heart. Not just your hands not just your mouths. But he wants us to serve with our hearts as God would have us.

As you've personally developed in your relationship with God. I hope that you've come to the place Where you recognize that he wants your heart and he wants your heart more than he wants your conformity.

He doesn't just want you to avoid murder. Which is good. I suggest it if that's if that's all the only place you can start. That's not a horrible place, but but he doesn't just want you to avoid murder, but he wants you to love.

Do you hear how those two are kind of like one is a little bit more positive than the other? It's not just don't murder. Oh, okay. That's good. I've done my duty for the day. I didn't murder anyone. I want you to do kindness to others.

He wants you to love him with all your heart soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. So many think of the Christian life as one of compulsion. I have to do these things. But instead the Christian life is to be one of willing loving hard engaged obedience.

Willing obedience. This realization had a radical transformation. I just one area of my life about ten years ago. It was the specific area of the consistency of my time with God each day in the word. Close to ten years ago I was hit or miss with my reading the Bible and praying each day and I was in full-time Christian ministry.

I wasn't I wasn't yet a pastor at that time but I knew that God might be laying that on my on my heart and in preparing me for that and I wasn't having a Consistent time and I just couldn't seem to buckle down and get consistent.

Anybody relate to what I'm talking about. I mean, you know, I just I think that it's it's a really common problem. It's something that I struggled with. And I would feel so guilty.

And.

Then preachers and pastors would get up and talk with me about having a you know Let's take a two by four club club club get read your Bible pray every day, you know. And a lot of pastors I could be guilty of it myself.

You know just beating up the flock with the read your Bible more stick, right? And so I'd feel guilty and so I would try harder or try to come up with gimmicky methods to get me into the word more. Checklists and all kinds of things or reading plans try a new plan or do something and I'm not.

I'm not against all that. I mean, I recognize that that might be what it takes. Whatever it takes to kind of get you to a place where you recognize what it took in my life to realize. But for me, it was through the preaching of a man at a men's retreat.

Man's name is Tom Harmon. Have you ever any of you ever heard Tom Harmon preach? I think a handful of you have he spoke it. He's spoken at several the men's retreats that we've gone up to but for whatever reason God used him particularly in the messages that he was sharing and part of it for me was just seeing this Man's passion and love for the Word of God.

He knew it. He memorized it he it was obvious that it was just it was he was saturated in it and It was obvious that he loved God's Word. It wasn't a duty. It wasn't compulsion. It wasn't like well, I could not ever imagine this guy like just getting up in the morning and going I guess I have to read the Bible.

He's just like giddy about the Word of God just Enthusiastic to the core and I for whatever reason God used him to kind of rub that off on me. And and I flipped in my thinking I Don't need to read the Bible out of compulsion.

But it boils down to a question of relationship and love for God. I Get to read the Bible not I have to. That's the difference. That was the shift in my thinking that helped me. I've since then grown in my love for God and I found a deeper consistency.

That checklist and the gimmicks and the compulsion could never accomplish. I Am motivated by love for God and a hunger for relationship with him.

That doesn't mean that.

Every day I get up and check a box and have a quiet time with God. There are days that I miss there are days that I that I don't but I come back to it because it is a place Of relationship with God for me and I see it as essential and vital in my love relationship with my father.

And that's changed. Elders are not to serve the flock. With cold compassion. I mean cold cold compulsion. But with a willing love yeah cold compassion either. I don't know how you do that. So don't don't don't try that either.

But with a willing love. With that kind of relationship that I've learned with my heavenly father over time that it's it's a it's a connection and a love. For each other in a desire for the best outcome.

The second thing is a leader in the church is not to be motivated by shameful gain. It's obvious as shepherds early on in the text of Scripture early on in the early church. We're receiving some form of compensation for their work.

And it would be easy for leaders in those early churches to fall into the trap of the love of money. They could travel around From church to church and kind of a speaking circuit and get to the place where they were making some good money.

It was an expectation in Roman culture that philosophers would make their money by standing on the corner and kind of like kind of like the the guy playing the violin or the or playing the saxophone at the corner in Chicago.

And he's got his hat out and you're dumping money in. It was an expectation that these philosophers could go out and preach and speak Publicly and then money would be given to them as a result of if you if you like their words.

Then you gave them money and stuff like that and so it was obvious that in the early church There was this risk involved in leadership that you could get sucked into this love for money today, by the way.

There's no lack of that. You can read stories of pastors and priests. Embezzling money any of you read any of those there was. I mean it's happened even locally here in the Matawan area and not too long ago.

But I'm not convinced that Peter is strictly concerned with those types of sins. So our mind goes immediately to the most dramatic, you know pastors aren't supposed to embezzle money as long as I'm not embezzling.

Am I okay regarding money? Is that though? Is that the standard kind of like don't murder? Don't it don't steal. Okay, is that all that he wants of the leadership in regards to finances? I don't think so I don't think that the bar is set that low.

Well, however, you however you word it. I Think a pastor is to be a man without the calculator out tabulating. I Certainly didn't get into ministry as a way to get rich. But but also nobody enters ministry hoping to starve their family either, right?

Money ought not to be the reason for any ministry in the church. Anybody's ministry should not be motivated because of money. Eagerness combats shameful gain by usurping the motivation. Let me say that again eagerness in the text combats shameful gain by overcoming the issues of motivation.