Well, tonight we'll be turning to 1 Peter and chapter 5. So we continue our way through this great letter of the Apostle Peter and we come this evening to chapter 5 and we'll read verses 1 through 4. So the Apostle Peter, what is he doing here with this letter? He is exhorting these believers, these persecuted, suffering Christians. And he is urging them to hold fast to who they are as elect exiles. to persevere in the path of their pilgrimage as they make their way to their heavenly inheritance. And what is He doing? He is urging them to cling. What do you do as a pilgrim people? A pilgrim people hold fast to who they are despite opposition, despite suffering, despite persecution. They hold on despite. It's not due to their surroundings that they hold on. It is despite. And you and I live in the midst of a culture that is, frankly, quite hostile to the things that we love and we cherish. And so how is it that you and I, how are we to hold fast to our identity as a pilgrim people, as elect exiles? How do you do it? Well, you build the bulwark of your homes near the truth It's near the walls of the truth that there is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That's how He opened this letter. He opened it referring to the foreknowledge of God the Father, the sprinkling of the Son, the sanctifying of the Holy Spirit. He urges them to cling by pointing to their heavenly inheritance that is undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for them. And He's urged them in the midst of a Gentile world, in the midst of a hostile world, He wants them to live lives of beauty and dignity and good works. And so we read that in chapter 2, that they are to glorify, they are to bring glory to their God as the Gentiles watch. People are watching the way you live. They are watching your demeanor. They are listening to your speech. They're paying attention. And he urges them to live lives of beauty and dignity. And here, as he begins to close his letter, This is a public letter. It's not a private communication. This is a public letter. It's intended to be read to the whole congregation, and part of his exhortation is very specific. He is addressing a specific exhortation to the elders. It's not a private message to the elders. Very public. Everyone is hearing it. And so as we read this text together, chapter 5 and verses 1-4, we carry ourselves back to that first century group of believers. And we hear the voice of the Son of God speaking through the Scriptures. How are these families going to be taken care of spiritually? How are they going to be guarded from the wiles of the devil and from the assaults of the world? How are they going to be culturally distinct and protected in the midst of that hostile society? How is it going to happen? Well, we're going to read these words, chapter 5 and verses 1 through 4, where He says, So, as a result of all that's been said, So, I exhort The elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in 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. Well, so here is Peter and he is addressing this public letter to this group of persecuted, suffering believers. And as we think about this text together tonight and the imagery that's used, I want you to think with me, what word pictures, what metaphors did the Holy Spirit use in the inspiration of the Scriptures What word pictures were used to describe or to illustrate what the church is? How would you illustrate? What parallels could you find? How does the Holy Spirit illustrate or describe the church? If you look in different parts of the Bible, you'll see that the church is compared to a field. And so in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul says, you are God's field. But what happens in a field? Well, seeds are sown, weeds are uprooted, those seeds are diligently cared for and watered, they are nurtured, great attention is paid to the quality of the soil, And after a waiting period, there is a harvest of produce. You, the Lord's church, you are compared on the one hand to a field. And so the Apostle Paul describes himself in 1 Corinthians 3 as God's co-laborer in that field. Okay, so that's one image that we could find in the Scriptures. There's another image that you could think of from the Scriptures, and that is that of a household. And so this morning, thinking about the Apostle Paul as a nursing mother. He was gentle among them as a nursing mother, that he had exhorted them as a faithful father. He tells Timothy, the church, the household of God. Okay, so on the other hand, the church is compared to a household, to a family. that you and I are adopted into this household. And there are ways of living in this household. There are distinct customs and traditions. We have our own songs, our own stories. There is a distinct tradition in that household. Okay, so the church is compared in the Scriptures to a field. Where can you find parallels? You find parallels in A field. You find parallels in a household. And then you also, you think about the Apostle Paul's description of the armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6. The church is compared to an army. He's addressing there the Ephesians as a whole. He's addressing them second person plural. Kids, you all remember the difference between second person singular and second person plural? Second person singular is how many? One, right? Second person plural is how many? Two or more. Okay, so he preaches to the Ephesians, second person plural, for them to put on the armor of God. The church is compared to a militant regiment on its way to battle. So here is the Lord's church. She is a field. She is a household. There is military imagery that's used. And here, what do you see? In this section we just read, what's the imagery that you saw? What's the image of a flock? Specifically, a flock of sheep. Now we sing of this flock in Psalm 95 when we describe ourselves as we sing that we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. We sing of this in Psalm 23, that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Okay, so you have the image of a flock. Now verse 2, shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Okay, so who is he addressing? He's addressing the congregation. It's a very public letter intended to be read with everyone listening, and here there's a specific exhortation to the elders. Who are the elders? Well, the elders are the men who are chosen to shepherd the sheep. Men who are selected to lead the flock. The way Paul puts it in 1 Timothy 5.17, there are different types of elders. And he makes a distinction. There are some elders who are intended to rule primarily. And then he also says in 1 Timothy 5.17, some elders are set apart for the work of ruling and teaching. And so the way we make that distinction in our own tradition, we say, well, There are ruling elders and there are teaching elders. He's addressing both types here. He's not just addressing pastors and He's not just addressing ruling elders. He is addressing elders Period. And they're the same office. They have slightly different functions, but they are the same office. The elders, he's saying, their task, their job description, what they are selected by the people to do. They are selected in order to shepherd, in order to feed, in order to guard, in order to guide the flock. And you notice what he said in verse 1? So, I exhort. He knows that these elders would be willing to receive an exhortation. They had the spiritual maturity to receive an exhortation publicly. I exhort the elders among you And notice what he says, as a fellow elder. So here's the apostle Paul. Think about what his job description was. He's an apostle. He was a witness of the resurrected Jesus. And at the same time, what does he call himself? He calls himself an elder. It's a fascinating statement that he makes here. Okay. A fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as, notice what he does here, he's looking ahead. He is a fellow partaker in the glory. He's looking ahead to the day when the Lord Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, shall return. He's looking ahead to a day of light, a day of joy, a day of reward, a day of glory. He says, we will be partakers of this. And it's all for the sake of His honor and the good of these souls here that He's addressing. So what do you see here? You see, verse 1, it's an exhortation concerning the shepherds, the elders of the flock. And what does He want? He wants them to do. That's the point of an exhortation. You exhort in order that people would do. Okay, so what is the exhortation? The exhortation is that the elders would shepherd for His glory. That is what these persecuted, suffering Christians would need. That is what your own soul and your own spiritual gauntlet, that is what your own soul needs. What do you need as a believer? If you're a Christian tonight, what is it that you need? Is this not precisely what you and I so achingly, desperately need that we must have? shepherding, that we must have spiritual leadership. Leadership is in scant supply today. Most people, the way they lead, I'm borrowing this image, didn't come up with it, but most people who lead today, they lead by checking the temperature. And then they move based on what the temperature is. Harry Reader is the one who came up with, the one I heard this illustration from. He's the pastor of Briarwood, a Presbyterian. And he calls on leaders in the church to be thermostat. leaders rather than thermometer type believers. You don't lead by checking the temperature, you lead by setting the thermostat. And he's saying to the elders here, set the thermostat of the church. Shepherd the flock of God for His glory. Alright, there are three things I want you to see. As they shepherd for His glory, Looking ahead to the glory that's to be revealed, how are they going to do it? First of all, they're going to feed the flock. Now, the word you have there in the ESV, the word shepherd, it's the same word we would use for feed. So, you shepherd or you feed. It works well, doesn't it? How do you shepherd? How would elders shepherd the flock of God? Well, they would feed. They would feed people's souls because there are souls that must be nourished. What happens if you're malnourished? Disease sets in. You get the wrong kind of nourishment in your physical system and bad things happen. Same thing happens in your spiritual system. You get the bad sort of Teaching. The bad sort of leading in your soul. And what happens? Bad spiritual malnourishment. And so what do you see? He wants them to look at verse 2, "...shepherd the flock of God that is among you." Souls have got to be nourished. Go back to the image from this morning about the nursing mother and the exhorting father. What do those parents do for their children first thing in the morning? The children walk in. And they're hungry. And what do they do? They feed. They feed the household. Elders, what is our task as elders? Ruling elders, teaching elders, it doesn't matter. What is our task? Our task is to feed the flock of God. And how do you do that? You do that by feeding truth to the soul. How is the soul nourished? How is your soul fed? Is this not why we're here tonight? That your soul is fed by the Word. Is this not why we long for spiritual conversation? That we long to be fed? We long for those nuggets, those seeds, those morsels, those portions of truth, for our taste buds to ache and to long, to have an appetite for truth. That is where Souls are nourished. That is where you're fed. And so He's saying, shepherd for His glory by feeding the flock. How are souls going to be nourished? They're going to be nourished by means of the Word. By means of the Scriptures. By whom? Who is to do the feeding? Who is He addressing? It's the elders. This helps us have a vision for the church, doesn't it? And fellow elders tonight, this helps us have a vision for expectations for ourselves. What should we expect for ourselves? We should expect for ourselves, this is where we ought to set the bar, for ourselves, that we are going to feed the flock by means of the Word. And it's feeding them by the Word, by means of more than a theological conviction. It's got to be more than an intellectual conviction that you have. Yes, we believe in the Word. We believe that the Word is central, that the Word is going to be vital, the Word. We want to read the Bible, preach the Bible, pray the Bible, sing the Bible. Okay, that's what we agree with. Now, how are you going to practice it? How are you going to take those convictions? How are you going to take those truths and lead and run with them? That's what we want to do in our homes, right? That's what we want to do with our families. That's what we want to do. We want to take not only the things we believe, and urge people to believe them. We want our children to practice these things, to walk in these things. So we're going to feed the flock, souls to be nourished by means of the Word. The second thing I want you to see is that we shepherd for His glory not only by feeding the flock, you see secondly in verse 2, He exhorts them to take oversight. Verse 2, "...shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight." Okay, so what would it mean to exercise oversight? Well, it means they would be the bishops. It's the same word. Elders are shepherds, are pastors, are bishops. It's the same concept. Exercising oversight. They are to be the overseers. They are to bishop the people. Now what does that mean? Does that mean that they walk around exercising their own authority, showing other people how important they are? Plenty of folks drive that way. Young drivers, you've got to watch out. A lot of people show how important they are by the way they drive. You've just got to watch it. But he's saying to the elders, look at this, look at verse 2. Exercising oversight, how? Not under compulsion, but willingly. Okay, so what are they going to do? They're going to seize the initiative. It's what great military leaders have done throughout history. They win their battles. Great military leaders win their battles. That's what the church is. We're the Lord's army. The army of the Lord of hosts. Great military leaders win their battles by making use of what they have and seizing the initiative. Look at this. Look at verse 2. Out of love for the flock. Remember how the Apostle Paul cared for the Thessalonians. He was affectionately desirous of these people. He loved these souls. It was a love of souls. The love of Christ constrained him. The love of souls drove him. Okay, not under compulsion, but willingly. As God would have you. This is for His glory. Not your own. It's for His great name. Not your own. Not unto us, O Lord. Not unto us, but unto Your name give the glory for the sake of Your steadfast love and faithfulness. And so, shepherding takes place by exercising oversight, not so that people know how important these men are, but in obedience to God as God would have you, and not for shameful gain, but eagerly. I don't care what your station in life is. Elder? Parent? Grandparent? Son? Daughter? Does this not stir your soul? Does this not inspire you to serve this God with willingness? Not out of compulsion. This has all sorts of applications to the way you live. You serve this God as God would have you. Not because you have to. Not out of compulsion, but willingly. He makes you willing in the day of His power. And not for shameful gain, verse 2, but eagerly. So taking oversight willingly, readily, humbly. Did you see this in verse 3? Not domineering over those in your charge. Oh, it's been quoted so many times, hasn't it? That power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. You see someone's character when they're placed in leadership. And what he's saying here is you've got to lead in such a way that is not domineering. And that's got to be expressed in your words, that your words have got to be gentle. That's got to be expressed in your very look. There are so many parallels between this text and the one we saw this morning. In the Lord's providence, how many lines of connection are there? with affection, with love for souls, not domineering, not lording it over, not speaking with harshness, guarding your language. Oh, the Lord Jesus, He is the Chief Shepherd and He sets the standard, doesn't He? He is the one who shows us what this looks like, what it means to exercise authority graciously. with a forbearing hand. So we separate for His glory by feeding the flock, by taking oversight over people. What should we expect from our mentors? Do you know what I got to experience this afternoon? A friend from several years ago, our former pastor from years ago, he called me up, just called me this afternoon to see how I was and how our family was doing. Met the absolute world. And that's what we do. That's what we ought to long for. Shepherding by seizing the initiative. Asking how people are doing. Jesus knows His sheep. And may we know them as well. Lastly, I want you to see we shepherd for His glory by feeding. We shepherd for His glory also by taking oversight, by watching for souls, watching out for people. And the last thing I want you to see is that we ought to long for shepherding that sets the pattern. Shepherding that sets the standard. You know, when you play horse, you take the basketball and you play horse, one person shoots it. If they make it, the other person has to make that same shot. If they miss it, you're an H. And you go all the way through, H-O-R-S-E. Well, the way we call it in our family is when someone is making the shot that has to be made, we say they are setting the standard. And if you're going to be really rude about it, you make a long shot from way out. You set the standard way out. Elders are to set the standard. They shepherd for God's glory by setting the pattern. So you see this in verse 3, not domineering over those in your charge. What's the opposite? What is the opposite to arrogant leadership? What's the opposite of that? Well, the opposite is, look at verse 3, being examples to the flock. I'm being examples of character. I'm being examples of godliness. What does godliness look like? Do you know how difficult it is to find godly character in this society? Oh, we ought to be pleading with Christ, the King and Head of the Church, that He raise up leaders in every congregation, that He raise up people, that He raise up elders, that He raise up shepherds who look and speak and walk and lead like Christ, the Chief Shepherd. And that's not setting the bar too high. Because that's exactly what Peter tells them to do. Look at verse 3, being examples to the flock. Being examples in speech, being an example in their attitude toward other people. Do you know how many lessons I learn about how to interact with people through second hand lessons? The pastor who called me this afternoon, he used to use that term a lot, second-hand lessons. You need to learn second-hand lessons where you watch. You watch the way others act. You watch the way others deal with people, deal with difficult situations. Learn second-hand lessons. What is he saying here? He's saying to the elders, be examples and give second-hand lessons to the flock. Show them what it means to walk in godliness and humility with virtue and character. So what you see here, He's exhorting the elders in this beautiful public letter, and He wants these people that He's addressing, He wants them to be well tended, well fed, well cared for, and He gives them an incentive. Don't you love how the Bible gives you incentives? The Bible sets before you a crown. It sets before you a reward. There are rewards to look ahead to. Look at this. Look at verse 4. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, when the Lord Jesus Christ appears, when He returns at His second coming, that glory that we will partake of, look at this, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown. of glory." Well, indirectly, what is He doing here? He is exhorting these elders who shepherd these people, these persecuted believers. He's exhorting them to learn shepherding from the Chief Shepherd. Learn from Christ how to feed the flock with the Word. Learn from Christ what it means to exercise oversight. And you learn from Christ what it means to set the pattern, to set the pace, to set the standard. And as you do so, you'll meet with opposition. Elders who lead this way, you'll meet with opposition and you'll meet resistance. You'll meet voices of criticism. And so then what do you do? You've got to listen to the right voices. When you meet that criticism, you've got to listen to the right voices. And what Peter is urging you to do is to listen to the voice of the chief shepherd who will appear and give to you the crown of glory, which is unfading. Well, this stirs you to love the church. This stirs you to love the mission, the vision, the purpose of the church. What's the purpose of the church? Is it not that souls would be separated? Is it not that souls would be fed? Is it not that they would have Godly leadership? Is that not why the church exists? And all for His glory? Why should people be well tended, well shepherded? Is it not all for His glory? It's all for His name, so that He would receive the praise, and the honor, and the reflected beauty. So we pray, Lord would you raise up men across our land who will shepherd not for their own sake, not for their own name, not for their own reputation, not to tell their own story, but that He would raise up men who seek nothing less than the glory by feeding the flock, taking oversight, and setting the pattern. What a glorious vision. What a beautiful, wonderful standard to strive for and to long for. Something only the hand of the Holy Spirit can provide you. Something only the loving hand of Christ can do. And oh, that He would do it. That He would extend His hand across our land. That He would revive His church and reform His church. And what would revival look like? It would look like elders. Teaching elders, ruling elders, doesn't matter. It would look like elders who love to shepherd for His glory by feeding souls the Word, by exercising gracious authority, and by setting the pattern of holiness and godliness. Amen. Would you pray with me? Our gracious God, this is the longing of our soul, that You would glorify Yourself, that You would bring honor to Your Son, and that You would do this through shepherding the flock of God. Oh Lord, would You give us to repent as leaders in every field. Lord, leaders in our business, leaders in our home, Lord, leaders in the church, Lord, leaders in our community. Lord, give us to repent for seeking first our own glory and our own kingdom. And Lord, would You correct our vision by giving us eyes that see the King in all His beauty, And Lord, give us hearts that long for nothing less than for Him to be honored and glorified. And this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.