Love Them, Lead Them, And Feed Them

Love um, Lead um, & Feed um

By Pastor Clinton Browning

John 21: 15 – 18

As we close out October, which happens to be clergy appreciation month. I want to end the month by talking about what a pastor is supposed to as well as what you as members should be able to expect from your pastor.

You all have heard of or may even know all of the Ten Commandments:

Today we’re going to talk about what I refer to as the pastor’s additional 3.

15So when they had (B)finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you (C)love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You " He said to him, "Tend (D)My lambs."

16He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "(E)Shepherd My sheep."

17He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him (F)the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, (G)You know all things; You know that I love You " Jesus said to him, "(H)Tend My sheep.

Love Them

Lead Them

Feed Them

Illustration: A story is told about a pastor who was late for church. He flagged down a taxicab and instructed the cabdriver to do everything within his power to get him to church on time. So the cab sped off and weaved through traffic for about ten blocks. The dangerous driving ended in a fatal accident. Both the cabdriver and the pastor died.

When their spirits arrived at the entrance of Heaven, they met Saint Peter. The Pastor, confident of his entrance into Heaven, allowed the cabdriver to go ahead of him. After chatting with the cabdriver, Saint Peter allowed the cabdriver into Heaven.

Then Saint Peter turned to the Pastor and said, "Pastor, I’m afraid I have bad news for you. You aren’t going into Heaven."

The Pastor, shocked at what he heard, asked, "Why would you let a cabdriver into Heaven and not let one of God’s servant into Heaven?"

To which Peter replied, "Well, whenever the cabdriver drove, people prayed. Whenever you preached, people slept."

I. Love Them:

A. First the pastor must love the Lord & Them Love His Sheep:

i. Matthew 22:37-40 - 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

ii. John 15: 9- 17 - 9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

II. Lead Them:

A. Illustration: There was a pastor from a small rural congregation who visited an old farmer from time to time in an attempt to share the gospel with him. Each time the farmer would tell the pastor, "I believe in God. It is impossible not to when you look around at the beauty of this earth and the way in which life is created. It’s just Jesus I don’t understand. Why would a perfect and all powerful God have to come down as a man, and then die, just to make things right." The pastor was never able to come up with an answer that the pastor found satisfactory.

Then one night, as the farmer was sitting in his living room, he heard a thump on his window. He went to see what it was and outside he saw a group of birds floundering in the snow. They were trying to get into the warmth but they couldn’t figure out how, and so they were dying in the snow. So the farmer went outside and opened his barn doors, and turned on the lights, and tried to herd the birds into the warmth of the barn, because he realized it was their only hope for salvation. But the more he tried to direct them the more they scattered. At that point the farmer thought, if only I could become one of them then I could lead them into the warmth. At that moment, he had an epiphany, and he fell to his knees and accepted Christ as his savior.