Wayfaring Strangers
A study of 1 Peter
Part 19
“The heart of a shepherd”
It seems like months since we last looked at the great book of 1 Peter
As many of you know we are preaching though this book
Verse by verse
Learning to apply Peter’s words to our hearts bit by bit
I need to remind you this book is all about suffering and encouragement
Suffering and encouragement
Suffering and encouragement
And while at first glance today’s passage mat seem out of place
But indeed
Peter in humility
Reminds us
That we are to act
Talk
And live in a certain way
In the midst of the suffering
Today’s passage deals 3 groups of people
Church leaders
Specifically, Elders
But I know that anyone who serves in any type of leadership role can benefit from this teaching
Weather it is a Pastor- Elder- Lay pastor- team leader- team member
Or as the leader of your own household
The principals laid out here are solid
And if followed will make you a better leader
The next group is the younger
This could be interpreted as younger in age
Or younger in spiritual growth
And I believe both apply in this passage
We all fall into this group as well
It is the very rare person indeed that has no
Spiritual elders
Or elders in actual age
So, Peters words here apply to all of us as well
The last group
Is the church in general
Or all believers
Let me read 1 Peter 5:1-5 for you then we will come back
Break it down and apply it to our lives
1 Peter 5:1-5
And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.
5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
In order to set the stage for today’s teaching we need to turn back to curtain of time in the life of Peter
Let me remind you
Peter was a fisherman right up until Jesus said
Come and follow me
He dropped his nets
And follow he did
But
He made lots of mistakes along the path of his growth
And those mistakes are what helped grow him into the man who wrote today’s passage
Remember Peter’s pride
If everyone else leaves you I won’t he claimed
And then did just that
Remember his ready shoot aim attitude
Jumping out of the boat, twice
Asking God to call fire from heaven to destroy the ones who would not believe
Cutting off the ear of a slave
Rebuking Jesus for talking about what must happen
I have no doubt the thought of his denial haunted him
And as he remembered Jesus looking at him as the rooster crowed
He must have cried a million tears
But it is not just Peters failures that shaped him into the man he became
It was also his victories
He allowed himself
In spite of his flaws to be molded into
The Apostle Peter
The Rock Jesus called him
One of the founders of the early church
One of Jesus’ most trusted
But I believe as Peter wrote the words to this part of his book
Neither his failures or his victories were on his mind
I believe Jesus
And his example as a servant were what Peter was thinking about
And I believe
The job he was given by Jesus himself on the shore of the sea of Galilee
Was the focus of his thoughts?
Let’s look first at Jesus’s
Model for us as a shepherd as a leader
John chapter 13:1-17
13 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.[a] 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas,[b] son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet,[c] to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.
Jesus loved by serving
And he instructed us to do the same
I know this was on the mind of Peter as he wrote these words
Another scene that I have great confidence that was on his mind
Was after Jesus’ death
Beat down
Scared
And not knowing what to do
Peter and the other disciples returned to what they knew
Fishing
And it was here on that early morning on the sea of Galilee
That Peter was restored
And where he finally understood his calling
John 21:1-17
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee.[a] This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[b] Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows,[c] have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards[d] from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[e]”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
Peter as he prepared to address the church leaders
Young believers and church as a whole
Had memories of the great example Jesus had set as well as an understanding of our responsibilities
Let’s get back to 1 Peter chapter 5
Verse 1
“And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. “
Peter begins this segment
By addressing the church leaders
And showing a humility that was nonexistent in his early ministry
Notice he says I too am an elder
Which shows us that he thinks of himself as an equal
Not a superior
Peter had walked and talked with Jesus
He had been handpicked as an apostle
And hand trained by Jesus
By he does not puff himself up
He says
Hey- I’m one of you
Then he talks of the suffering he has shared with Christ
Some believe this to mean the things he witnessed Jesu’ go through
Others the suffering Peter himself experienced and would experience
I think both apply
He had witnessed first hand Jesus’ suffering
But had also suffered for his faith in Christ personally
So he gets by the introductions again
Then jumps right into the point of this passage
Verses 1 b-2a
I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you.
In verses 1 and 2 we see 2 biblical principles of effective
Christ centered ministry
Pride of position must be absent
Peter says
I am just a guy used by God
This is the heart of effective Christ like leadership
We are called to shepherd God’s sheep
They are not my sheep
They are not your sheep
They are his sheep
There is no place
No place for pride or ego
Of self-promotion in true ministry
Next the heart of a shepherd must be present
Peter says care for the sheep
Feed the sheep
The heart of a shepherd moves past good teaching
It moves past good preaching
It moves past good resource management
All these are important
But the sheep need to be the focus of our efforts
Listen to me
This includes anyone
That has any type of spiritual influence over anyone
The heart of a shepherd means we care for God’s sheep as he would
Which moves us into verses 2b and 3
2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you.
A Shepard with a heart like Jesus
Will lead like Jesus
This means with a willing attitude
Verse 2b
“Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly”
Remember when Jesus said not my will but yours Father in the garden
Remember when he said please forgive them as he looked at the faces of those who had tortured him
Jesus willingly cared for the flock
He willingly gave his life for the flock
Listen to be if you are in any position of authority and are doing that in a grudging manner
Out of a sense of obligation
Step down
Go to God in prayer
Seek Godly council
And rediscover your willingness to serve
Next, we need to lead with an eager attitude
Verse 2c
“not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God”
Eagerness means this
A strong burning desire to serve God
A passion for the lost
A passion for spiritual growth- yours and the ones you can impact
Not looking for acclaim
Or personal gain
Or even recognition
In my mind eager means
Excited
Enthusiastic
Motivated by service
Next
We need to follow the example of Jesus
The example of Peter
The example of Paul
And lead with an attitude of humility
Meekness
Not weakness
Verse 3
3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care but lead them by your own good example.
Walk the walk if you talk the talk
Practice what you preach
Don’t think your all that and a bag of chips
Listen to me
It is important to know and understand this simply phrase when it comes to authority
Please say this with me
There is a God
And I am not him
Repeat----
Listen
We must be humble and meek in our dealings with God’s people
Just as Jesus was
These attitudes will help us avoid three wrongs in ministry
Wrong motivation
Wrong goals
Wrong methods
Verse 4 touches briefly on rewards
This can be a deep topic and is a topic for another day or whole other series
Verse 4
4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.
We know
Because God’s word teaches us that we are working for rewards in heaven not salvation
Salvation is by grace and grace alone
Works are a result of our salvation and rewards are benefits of salvation
Often times in God’s word rewards are referred to as crowns
There are many rewards/crowns that we can receive in glory
But here is what I want -you to remember
They are for his glory
Not ours
God’s word says we will cast our crowns at his feet and he and he alone will be glorified
Verse 5a addresses followers
5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders
We all fall into this category as well
We all have spiritual elders
We all have actual elders
Peter here tells us to paraphrase and put in common terms
If someone has authority over, you submit to them out of respect for God
I will add
Because the writer of Hebrews states
We should do this willingly
Hebrews 13:17
17 Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
Verse 5b
Shifts back to all of us
The church
And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
Let me quickly recap this passage with some thoughts from Chuck Swindoll’s book” Hope Again”
These words apply to all of us
If you teach you must be teachable
We all need to read- pray- listen- learn- observe
Be ready to change and change when we discover the need
We all need to admit when we are wrong
And stand frim with love when we are right
We must be a good follower if we are to be a good leader
Don’t minimize your importance but don’t exaggerate your role
Stay balanced- we all need times of laughter and times of seriousness
Take God very seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously
As far as leading
Be humble
Have a shepherd’s heart with the attitudes of
Willingness, eagerness and meekness
As far as following
Encourage those who lead
Pray
Let them know you love and care for them
Defend them and when disagreement comes
And it will
Follow God’s word and go to them – face to face and work it out
Close from the heart
Pray
