1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360 I invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:06,200 First Peter. First Peter chapter 5. 3 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:08,800 If you're not quite sure where that is, it's almost at the end 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,400 of the Bible. You can also find it on page 5 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,080 1016 in the red Bibles and the chairs around you. 6 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:18,960 First Peter chapter 5. We're going to be looking at the 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:25,240 1st 5 verses. As you likely know, if you are 8 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:28,320 one of our members or regular attenders, we are launching a 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,040 new elder LED shepherding program. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:36,960 Each of the elders have a group of members of our church that he 11 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,720 has chosen to be in his shepherding group and I've 12 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,400 communicated with you a couple of times in recent months about 13 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,760 the logistics of the shepherding groups. 14 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,760 If you haven't been contacted by your shepherding elder yet, that 15 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,800 will happen very soon, and almost everybody has been 16 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,480 contacted, But if you haven't yet, that should happen within 17 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:58,320 the next week or two, I would imagine. 18 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,120 I'm not going to go back over all of the information that I've 19 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,960 shared in the past couple of months with regard to the 20 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:10,800 shepherding groups, but today and next Sunday, before we jump 21 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,120 back into the book of Isaiah, we're going to take some time to 22 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,000 reflect on this idea of shepherding today. 23 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,000 We're going to think about that from the point of view of the 24 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,560 elders, but there also be application for all of us. 25 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,560 The next Sunday, we're going to think about shepherding from the 26 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,200 point of view of the members of the church with some application 27 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:36,320 for the elders as well. Today, let's look at Peter's 28 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:40,280 words to elders in the church in the 1st century. 29 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,760 Listen, as I read to you from chapter 5, verse one down to 30 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:51,280 verse 5, So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and 31 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,680 a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in 32 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,680 the glory that is going to be revealed. 33 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,960 Shepherd, the flock of God that is among you, exercising 34 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,400 oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have 35 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,919 you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over 36 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,600 those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 37 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,280 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the 38 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,560 unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, 39 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,920 be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, 40 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,080 with humility toward one another. 41 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,800 For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 42 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:38,680 Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for giving 43 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,960 us this portion of your word. And as we look at it today, as 44 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,000 we reflect on it, we pray that you would open our eyes and our 45 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,080 hearts and our minds, that we would see, that we would 46 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,880 understand, that we would believe what you want us to see 47 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,400 and understand and believe. And above all, Father, help us 48 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,560 to see the Chief Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus 49 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,880 Christ, for it's in his name we pray. 50 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:13,000 Amen. There is no such thing as a 51 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:17,560 perfect elder. Now, some of you may have even 52 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,520 experienced that, whether here at Trinity or in a previous 53 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:25,760 church experience. Some of you have come from other 54 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:31,600 church experiences where elders behaved badly and even an 55 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,680 unhealthy way. And some of you have even come 56 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,480 from other church experiences where you experience trauma from 57 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,840 elders. There is no such thing as a 58 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,280 perfect elder. That's always been the case. 59 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,280 As we look at the elders in the Old Testament and as we look at 60 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,240 the elders in the New Testament, there is no perfect elder. 61 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,000 I mean, after all, whose words have we just read? 62 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,760 Peter. Peter was an elder in the 63 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:02,160 church. He was an apostle. 64 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,600 He was a disciple of Jesus. He was one of the inner circle 65 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:10,160 of three around Jesus. And he's also the one that fell 66 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:15,920 asleep on Jesus in one of Jesus darkest moments when he asked 67 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:20,519 Peter to help him. Peter's also the one who denied 68 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:22,520 being a disciple or even knowing Jesus. 69 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:28,240 Not once, not twice, three times, Peter added to the 70 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:34,280 suffering of Jesus. And yet Jesus restored Peter and 71 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,800 had him serve as a fellow elder and apostle of the church, even 72 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,360 a contributor to the Word of God. 73 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:48,960 There is no such thing as a perfect elder, But God in his 74 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,840 Providence has chosen to organize his church with elders. 75 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,320 He raises up men to love and to serve his churches, his people, 76 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,760 and his flock. And so he's given us 77 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:04,080 instructions, instruction in his word for elders. 78 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,800 Let's look and see what Peter tells us about several things, 79 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:14,120 what elders are to do, to whom they are to do it, how they are 80 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,600 to do it, and then lastly, the motivation for doing it. 81 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,400 So first of all, what elders are to do. 82 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:23,320 Now you'll notice right at the beginning of verse one, it 83 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,160 starts with the word. So that's the the Greek word UN, 84 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,720 which can mean so or then or therefore. 85 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,120 And what it tells us is that what Peter is saying here to the 86 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,160 elders is connected with what he's been saying in chapters one 87 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,080 through 4. And Peter has been talking about 88 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,360 the fact that the people that he's writing to are experiencing 89 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:47,040 persecution, experiencing suffering because of their faith 90 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,800 in Jesus. The church was going through a 91 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,320 traumatic time and Peter knew that the leaders of the church 92 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,000 who might experience the greatest persecution and 93 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,200 suffering in this moment needed to lead well. 94 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,920 Notice Peter even connects himself with the elders of this 95 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,360 church. He calls himself a fellow elder, 96 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:11,960 says he's witnessed the sufferings of Jesus and that 97 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:16,560 along with them will partake in glory that will come when Jesus 98 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:18,160 returns. And then he gives them the 99 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,320 exhortation. He tells the elders what they 100 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:23,360 are supposed to be doing. And you can see at the beginning 101 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:29,040 of verse 2 he says shepherd, the flock of God that is among you. 102 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,120 Now our session has taken quite a bit of time to study and to 103 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,240 talk about shepherding over the last 8 or so months. 104 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,200 I'm not going to go back through all of that info today, but at 105 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,840 its foundation, most of us probably have a pretty good idea 106 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:47,520 of what it means to shepherd. It's a biblical image that is 107 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,560 all throughout the Scriptures. God is the chief shepherd and 108 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,160 his elders are the under shepherds, and their flock is 109 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,360 God's people. Every Christian is one of God's 110 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,560 flock. Every one of us is God's sheep, 111 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:07,040 including the elders. And what do we know about real 112 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,920 life sheep? If they don't have someone 113 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,640 looking out for them, guiding them, taking care of them, 114 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,480 showing them where to go, they will literally walk off a Cliff 115 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:24,760 to their death and 1 sheep after another will follow walking off 116 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,760 the Cliff. Real life sheep are not very 117 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,880 intuitive. They need help knowing where to 118 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,960 go. They can be mean. 119 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,880 They can bite. It's kind of a sobering thought 120 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,720 when we realize that sheep is one of the most common images 121 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,160 that God chose to use to talk about his people. 122 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:54,480 This is who we are. We are all sheep, and He is our 123 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,480 great, our good, our chief shepherd. 124 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,160 The Lord has set up elders and his local church to be his under 125 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:06,200 shepherd, shepherds under the call and the guidance of God to 126 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,920 shepherd the sheep among them in that local church. 127 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,120 That means looking after the sheep and caring for them and 128 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,680 leading them, guiding them and protecting them and serving them 129 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,640 and loving them. And our elders here at Trinity 130 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,000 have always sought to shepherd our church family, sought to 131 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,520 serve the church this way, our elders. 132 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:29,960 For our elders, shepherding isn't new. 133 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,440 But the new shepherding groups are simply a tool to help us to 134 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,000 do it better, to make sure that we are shepherding everyone as 135 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,200 best as we can, that no one is falling through the cracks. 136 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:43,520 This is what elders are supposed to do. 137 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,000 They are to shepherd the flock of God that is among them. 138 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,280 But then notice Peter says to whom they are to do it. 139 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,120 Notice at the beginning of verse 2 it's the they are to shepherd 140 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,120 who? The flock of God. 141 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,960 And notice at the beginning of verse 4, Jesus is the chief 142 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:05,840 shepherd. Now that tells us a couple of 143 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,440 important things. Jesus is the chief shepherd. 144 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,920 That means that elders are only shepherds under the authority of 145 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:15,840 the greater and ultimate shepherd, Jesus. 146 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,280 They aren't shepherds in and of themselves because of their own 147 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,520 stature or even their own desire. 148 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:24,480 They're shepherds because Jesus has set them apart. 149 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,400 He has given them their calling and his authority. 150 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,960 That's one of the reasons why Peter is going to speak about 151 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,400 being humble at the end of the passage that we're looking at 152 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:36,920 today. Elders, as shepherds in the 153 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:41,760 local church, have every reason to be and must be humble. 154 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:48,720 They are only under shepherds of the Greater Chief Great 155 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:55,480 Shepherd, Jesus, and secondly, elder shepherd, the flock of 156 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,240 God. It's God's flock, not the 157 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,480 elder's flock. It's God's sheep, not the 158 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,040 elder's sheep. The sheep don't belong to the 159 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,040 elders, they belong to the Lord. And elders are given the 160 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,920 incredible privilege and responsibility of watching over 161 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:16,440 God's sheep, His people. They are to care for and to love 162 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:20,920 and to serve the sheep like Jesus would, because they're his 163 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,040 elders are under shepherds. They are under the chief 164 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:31,160 shepherd, and the sheep they shepherd are the Lords and not 165 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,840 theirs. But then notice Peter goes on to 166 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:36,760 tell them how they are to shepherd. 167 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,600 The first thing he says to them is that the elders are to 168 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,720 exercise oversight in the middle of verse 2. 169 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,760 The Greek word that Peter uses there can mean to give attention 170 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:54,520 to, to look at, to care for, to accept the responsibility for 171 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:58,520 caring for another. That means that they need to 172 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,400 know the sheep that are under their care, to know them better 173 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,960 than just their names and faces, to know how they are doing, how 174 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:11,840 they need to be cared for, how best they can be served, how 175 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:17,400 best to love them. The rest of verse 2 and verse 3 176 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:22,280 Peter gives us 3 contrasts to help flesh out how the elders 177 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,480 are to shepherd. The first one He says they are 178 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,560 to shepherd not under compulsion but willingly. 179 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:34,600 Elders shouldn't be forced into being elders, whether that comes 180 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,320 internally or externally. They shouldn't sign up to be an 181 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:41,600 elder because they feel compelled to for some reason. 182 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,680 I heard a pastor friend of mine tell a story this past week of a 183 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:50,080 church where he served and he had an elder that wasn't a good 184 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,000 elder. It was a bad elder. 185 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:57,200 This elder had a bad attitude and he resisted serving and 186 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:59,400 didn't really want to care for the sheep. 187 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,520 And at one point my pastor friend stopped him and said why 188 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:06,240 did you become an elder? And he explained that he came 189 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,520 from a long line of his family who were elders and it was just 190 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:14,280 expected for him to be an elder. Elders shouldn't serve or 191 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,240 shepherd because they feel compelled to do so. 192 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,240 Peter says no, they should do it willingly. 193 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,640 They should want to shepherd and serve and care, care for and 194 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,920 love God's sheep. The second contrast he mentions 195 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:33,040 thereafter that says not for shameful gain, but eagerly. 196 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,760 It wasn't uncommon in the 1st century for the elders or maybe 197 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:41,520 a particular elder, a main elder, to be compensated for 198 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,320 their service in some way. In fact, as we look, especially 199 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:47,720 in the New Testament and indictment against the false 200 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,040 teachers, the false leaders in the church was that they 201 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:55,520 operated out of a love for money, a desire to get 202 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,960 compensated. And Peter says elders shouldn't 203 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,440 serve and shepherd because they think they're going to get 204 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:05,800 something in return. Shameful gain shouldn't be the 205 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:07,720 motivation for shepherding the sheep. 206 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,960 Instead, he says they should serve eagerly, willingly, 207 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,960 sacrificially. The third contrast he says, 208 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,360 excuse me? The third contrast he says, is 209 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,800 that they should shepherd, not in a domineering way over those 210 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:28,360 that are in their charge, but being examples to the flock, not 211 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:32,440 using the authority that has been given to them by Jesus to 212 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,160 then domineer and oppress and manipulate and abuse the sheep. 213 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,560 This is a particularly hot topic in the Christian world today. 214 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,560 We've all heard stories of well known pastors and elders who 215 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,560 have resigned or been been removed from their churches 216 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:50,600 because they were abusive, domineering, and oppressive and 217 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,000 manipulative. It actually happened to one of 218 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,760 my friends who I went to seminary with, removed from his 219 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,000 church because of his abusiveness of his staff and of 220 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,080 the sheep. Peter knew that that was a 221 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,240 temptation for elders because of the role that they play in the 222 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,480 life of the sheep. And he says rather elders are to 223 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:15,880 live as examples to the flock, live their lives and and serve 224 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,160 the sheep, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit. 225 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,880 The character qualities we find in first Timothy and Titus, 226 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,400 they're to shepherd the sheep the way Jesus wants the sheep to 227 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,280 be shepherded. And notice Peter mentions one 228 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,680 other thing about how elders are to shepherd the flock. 229 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:35,440 You can see it at the end of verse 5. 230 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:40,200 He says clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one 231 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,400 another. For God opposes the proud, but 232 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:48,360 gives grace to the humble. Elders are to shepherd with 233 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,480 humility. They are to in fact clothe 234 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,320 themselves with humility. That means all aspects of their 235 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,840 lives, especially in the ways that they shepherd the sheep. 236 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,480 And notice Paul or excuse me, Peter actually gives that 237 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,160 exhortation not just to the elders. 238 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,840 He says to everyone, all of you, he says be humble in the church. 239 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,000 Why? Well, it's because God opposes 240 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,680 the proud and gives grace to the humble. 241 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,360 Do you want to be proud and arrogant and be opposed by the 242 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:26,120 Lord God Almighty, or humble and be given and experience His 243 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:29,720 grace? One commentary I read this week 244 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:33,840 said that humility is the oil that allows relationships in the 245 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,600 church to run smoothly and lovingly. 246 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:40,880 This is how elders are to shepherd the sheep. 247 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,560 They are to exercise oversight. They are to do it not out of 248 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:48,520 compulsion, but willingly, Not for shameful gain, but eagerly, 249 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,800 not domineering the sheep, but being examples for them. 250 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,120 And all of it is to be clothed with humility. 251 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:03,040 But notice lastly, Peter speaks about the motivation for 252 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,560 shepherding the sheep. You can see it in verse 4. 253 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,480 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the 254 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:15,640 unfading crown of glory. Now crowns like Peter's 255 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,360 referring to here are were common in Peter's day. 256 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,800 They were crowns made out of leaves and flowers and vines 257 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:25,120 that were formed and fashioned. They were given often to the 258 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:29,000 winners of various athletic competitions or a military 259 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,800 conquest. But those crowns faded away. 260 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:41,040 Peter contrasts and says, not this crown for elders who 261 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,640 shepherd the sheep well, faithfully, like Jesus wants 262 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,560 them shepherded. They will receive an unfading 263 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:51,000 crown of glory. Now, it's difficult to know for 264 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,080 sure exactly what Peter is referring to here. 265 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,440 Does he mean the faithful under shepherds will receive some sort 266 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:02,480 of reward or blessing in heaven? Or is he simply referring to 267 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,160 eternal life? In almost every other passage 268 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:10,400 that refers to crowns of glory, it refers to gaining eternal 269 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,680 life and getting into heaven. So maybe Peter is just saying 270 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,520 here that faithful shepherds can have an even greater assurance 271 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,040 and confidence of eternal life. Or maybe he's saying that 272 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,280 there's some sort of reward for being a faithful shepherd. 273 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:25,720 We ultimately don't know for sure. 274 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:27,520 But here's the thing, It doesn't matter. 275 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:34,080 It doesn't matter because these will be crowns of glory, but not 276 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:38,200 glory of the shepherds. It will be the glory of the 277 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:43,920 Chief Shepherd, Jesus's glory, and for any of us to wear a 278 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,360 crown of glory, regardless of whether it is eternal life or 279 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:50,800 some reward in heaven. In order for us to wear any kind 280 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,120 of crown of glory, Jesus had to wear a crown of thorns. 281 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,600 Jesus had to come into this world and live a life of perfect 282 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:04,280 love and obedience to His Father and then offer His life in the 283 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:09,800 place of His sheep. The chief Shepherd had to lay 284 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,400 down his life for the sheep and on the cross that is exactly 285 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,680 what he did, taking our sin upon himself and paying it in full 286 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:22,640 with His blood, crediting His people, his sheep, with His 287 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:26,720 perfect righteousness, put to our account forever. 288 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:31,760 This has to be the greatest motivation for under shepherds. 289 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,760 Jesus has died. He has given his life for the 290 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:41,960 sheep, and not just for the sheep that they are serving, but 291 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,400 for the under shepherds as well. And now the under shepherds get 292 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,080 the privilege of loving and serving the sheep that Jesus has 293 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,920 died for. At the end of John, the Gospel 294 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,000 of John we read about when Jesus reinstated Peter after he had 295 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:02,600 failed so miserably 3 times Jesus asked Peter, Peter, do you 296 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,960 love me? Do you love me Peter? 297 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,600 Do you love me? And three times as Peter 298 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:11,920 answered yes, you know that I do. 299 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,960 Three times Jesus said go take care of my sheep. 300 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:22,680 If you love me, love my sheep. That has to be the greatest 301 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:24,720 motivation for the under shepherds. 302 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,920 Jesus has died and given his life for the sheep that Jesus 303 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,960 died. Jesus has died and given his 304 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,960 life for the sheep that now we have the privilege of serving 305 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:42,600 his cross. His grace must be the greatest 306 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,760 motivation for loving God's sheep, his people, and 307 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:47,800 shepherding them. Well. 308 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,000 Now as we end what? What are some application and 309 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,680 takeaways? Well, first of all, for the 310 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,440 elders, I think it's kind of obvious. 311 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:00,200 Pretty much everything, Peter said. 312 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,400 That's the application for our elders. 313 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,320 They are to shepherd the flock of God that is among us. 314 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,400 They are to exercise godly oversight. 315 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,200 They are not to do it out of compulsion, but they are to do 316 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:12,880 it willingly. They are not to do it for 317 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:14,960 shameful gain, but they are to do it eagerly. 318 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,960 They are not to be domineering over those that are in their 319 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,080 charge, but they are to be examples to the sheep. 320 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,920 And they are to clothe themselves with humility through 321 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,800 it all. And they are to be motivated by 322 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,560 a love for Jesus. Elders, do you love Jesus? 323 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,720 Take care of the sheep, the sheep that Jesus died for, that 324 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,160 gave his life for. But I think there's some 325 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:45,920 application for all of us here as well. 326 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,880 There'll be more of a focus on that next week when we get to a 327 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,800 different passage and we think about this whole idea of 328 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,240 shepherding from the point of view of of our members. 329 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,600 But I do think there's at least a couple applications that we 330 00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:59,120 can take, excuse me, take away from. 331 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:00,840 And the first is the beginning of verse 5. 332 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:06,200 Likewise, Peter says you who are younger be subject to the 333 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,480 elders. Now there's some disagreement 334 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,560 among the commentators about who Peter's referring to here as you 335 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:16,000 who are younger. But I agree with most of the 336 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,960 good commentaries that Peter's referring here to all the other 337 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:23,080 sheep in the congregation. He's he's contrasting the 338 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:27,040 elders, or we could call them the olders with the youngers, 339 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:30,760 the rest of the sheep of the, of the flock of God. 340 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:33,760 The youngers are the lay people in the church. 341 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:39,320 And what does Peter say that they are to do to be subject to 342 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,880 the elders? Now, obviously Peter is saying 343 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,600 that when elders are doing their job biblically, when they're 344 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:47,920 doing their job in accord with God's word, we should be 345 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:51,160 subject, subject to them. Go along with their leading, 346 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,320 follow their teaching and their guidance, Listen to and heed 347 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,760 their instructions and even their admonishments when needed. 348 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,120 But if elders are being abusive, if they're using their authority 349 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,320 to oppress and to damage people, those are not elders that we 350 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,520 subject ourselves to. As long as elders are 351 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,240 shepherding the flock under the chief shepherd, following his 352 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:15,880 way and his calling, the sheep are to be subject to. 353 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:20,080 They're to follow and obey their under shepherds. 354 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,640 I think there is another take away here for lay people as we 355 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:29,440 hear Peter's words about elders. Hearing Peter's words here helps 356 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,640 us to know how we can pray for our elders to know their 357 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,840 callings and their responsibilities, to know what 358 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,760 they're supposed to be doing. To see what Peter says to these 359 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:44,680 elders should motivate us to pray for our elders, to pray for 360 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,640 the calling that God has given to them to serve our flock. 361 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,000 Hearing Peter's words also help us to have a better 362 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,400 understanding of what elders are called to do and so we can 363 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:59,800 empathize with them. And hopefully, hearing Peter's 364 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:04,680 words also helps you to be even more motivated to look for ways 365 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:09,200 to encourage your elders, to help them to be able to serve 366 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:14,000 with joy, which is what we'll look at more deeply next Sunday. 367 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:29,560 Let's pray together. Father, you love your church so 368 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:33,640 much that you sent the Great Shepherd to come and to 369 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,880 purchase, purchase eternal life for the sheep. 370 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:42,120 And you love your church and you raise up men who are serving as 371 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:46,320 under shepherds. And we thank you for the men 372 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,880 that you have raised up at Trinity, not just today, but 373 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:51,960 throughout the life and the history of this church. 374 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:56,320 We give you thanks for them, these men who in so many ways 375 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:59,800 exhibit already what Peter talks about in these verses. 376 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:05,240 We give you thanks for them, and we pray for them as they seek to 377 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:09,120 continue to shepherd the sheep. We pray that you would give them 378 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:14,080 the strength and motivation, the desire, and that they would have 379 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,280 discernment and wisdom, that they would be a great 380 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:22,080 encouragement to the sheep. And we pray, Father, for us all 381 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,600 as sheep, that we would respond well to their leading and 382 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:29,560 guidance as they are following you as we come to your table 383 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:32,160 now, we pray you would feed us and nourish us spiritually 384 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,280 because we need it, because we're sheep, we're prone to 385 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,640 wander, we're prone to go astray. 386 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:41,800 So strengthen our faith as we come to this table. 387 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,800 We pray it in Jesus name, Amen.