We turn in God's Word this morning to John chapter 21. We will read the whole chapter. The text is verses 15 to 17. John 21. Jesus has died, risen again, appeared to the disciples a couple times already. Now John 21 talks about another appearance of Christ to his disciples. This is God's word. After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee." They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, And now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, for he was naked, and he cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits, dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish lay thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred, and fifty, and three. And for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? Knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh and taketh bread, and giveth them and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. After that, he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, follow me." Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following, which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter, seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die. But if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. So far do we read God's Word. The text is verses 15 to 17. I'll re-read those verses. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. What is the chief qualification for an office bearer? Kids, office bearers are elders, the minister, and deacons. They're the ones who walk through that door every Sunday. What is the chief qualification or characteristic that an office-bearer must have? Scripture gives many qualifications or characteristics for office-bearers. 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 2 list them, and some of those are things like being blameless, being patient, being hospitable, being someone who's not a novice but knowledgeable in the Word. And we would agree with those things. When we vote for elders and deacons and maybe vote for a minister to come, we vote for someone, we say, who's kind. He's patient. This is a man, too, who's trustworthy. He isn't covetous, but this man I'm voting for, he's trustworthy with money. I'm going to vote for him. Or this minister, he's knowledgeable, or he can speak well. I'm voting for him. But there is a most important qualification for office bearers. The chief characteristic that an office bearer must have, indispensable to the office, is love for Jesus. Love for Jesus. In John 21, Jesus is speaking to his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after he had died and arisen. He was soon going to ascend into heaven in his body. So before he did that, he was giving his disciples instructions about their work, how they were to treat the sheep, what they were to do. In front of all these disciples, Jesus directly addressed Peter, the one who had denied him three times right before he died. And in his address of Peter, Jesus showed that the characteristic that Peter needs, that these disciples all need in front of him, and that all office bearers need today, the characteristic is love for him. Having love for him, they will do the work that truly serves to God's glory and to the good of his sheep. But without that characteristic, they will not truly do the work, and they will not be blameless. They will not be patient. They will not be those who are truly knowledgeable. They will not be giving themselves to teach, apt to teach, as 1 Timothy 3 says. Without this characteristic of love for Jesus, those other characteristics fall apart. But with that characteristic of love, the rest of those characteristics fall into place. May Jesus' words here then lead our office bearers and the newly installed ones today, may this word lead them to love Jesus and to grow in that love. May it lead all of us to love Jesus and grow in that love. In that way, the sheep here will be fed for years to come. What a wonderful thing that is. Let's consider the text under the theme, the chief qualification of office bearers. The chief qualification of office bearers. First, what it is. Second, how it is shown. And third, how we respond. First, what it is. What is that chief qualification? To understand that, see that in the text, Jesus restored Peter. to office by asking the question, Lovest thou me? Peter had been suspended from the office of the ministry because he had denied Jesus three times. On Thursday night of the Passion Week, Peter had made a very proud declaration in the presence of Jesus and the other disciples. Jesus was speaking to them at the Mount of Olives and Peter responded by saying, Though all men might be offended by thee, I never will be. He said that right in front of the disciples. He would never deny Him. He would never disown Him. He would never act like they weren't closely associated. Never act like he didn't know Jesus. Well, then that very night, Jesus was captured by Judas Iscariot and that mob, and they took him back to the chief priests of the palace to be tried. While Jesus was being tried in one of those rooms at the chief priest's palace, Peter and John were outside in the courtyard. They had made their way in following that mob, maybe at a distance. And three times in that courtyard, different people said to Peter, Thou wast with Him. Thou dost know Him. You were with Jesus. And likely out of fear of association with Jesus, Peter denied that three times. And even the last time he was angry and he cursed and he swore, I know not the man. and those horrible sin, and Peter knew it. After he denied Jesus Christ the third time, he looked in the direction where Jesus was being tried, and Jesus had come out of that room, and Jesus looked at him, and Peter saw him, and he looked down, and he left, and we read, wept bitterly. Graciously, Jesus made a special appearance to Peter the day that he arose from the dead. We read in Luke chapter 24. And it was likely at that special appearance that Jesus forgave Peter for his terrible sin. But there was still some doubt as to whether he was still in office as a disciple of Jesus and as a minister of the gospel. Peter had renounced his discipleship in front of many people at the Palace of the High Priest saying he was not a follower of Jesus. He didn't even know him. Peter was forgiven, but the question was, did that forgiveness cancel his forfeiture of the office of the ministry? Could he, who in That hour when he was fearing for his life, really out of fear for his life or fear of what would happen to him, could he who did that properly lead sheep now? Who when things got tough said, I don't know him. Could one like that properly lead sheep, the sheep of Jesus Christ? The other disciples certainly must have had questions. There certainly must have been questions in Peter's mind, too. To put it in the terms of the church order then today, Peter was, as it were, suspended from office, office of the ministry. There being questions about his faithfulness, questions about his standing as a disciple and soon to be apostle. Sometime later, Jesus appeared to all the disciples at the Sea of Galilee. He had died and risen again. He appears to them now the third time at the Sea of Galilee. And He reinstated Peter to office using a question. Verse 15, He says, or we read in verse 15, So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? This love that Jesus asks about is the highest form of love in the Greek language. Highest term for it. It's agape love, as you've probably heard that term before. That kind of love is not just a feeling. That's how we sometimes describe love, a feeling. That kind of love is not just a feeling, but it is a matter of the will. That's what the term refers to. It's a purposeful decision. It is, in essence, a purposeful devotion to another. That term agape is the only term that's used in the New Testament when describing God's love. He has this purposeful devotion to himself and to his people. It's not just a feeling that God has towards his people. We know that. It's a purposeful, wholehearted devotion to his people. That's also the word that is used in the commandment that we read this morning in Matthew chapter 22, where Jesus summarizes the law. He says to love God. The word he uses comes from agape. have this purposeful, wholehearted devotion to the Lord, seeking His glory. Jesus asked Simon, Lovest thou me more than these? Simon, do you have this purposeful, wholehearted devotion to me, more than these? And he's talking about his disciples. Peter had, not too long ago, compared himself to those disciples and said, though all might deny thee, I never will. Now Jesus says, Peter, implying you denied me. Do you love me more than these? Peter answered by saying, according to verse 15, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. But understand that Peter used the term in the Greek that is the term for lesser love than agape. Agape is the highest term. The term Peter used is phileo. That term refers to affection. It's the term from which we get the city named Philadelphia, city of brotherly love. It focuses more on the feelings of love. Notice with his answer, Peter wasn't comparing himself to the other disciples anymore. And he doesn't even use the highest term for love to describe his love for Jesus, but he humbly says, Lord thou knowest that I follow thee. In verse 16, we see Jesus didn't just stop after one question here, but he saith to him again the second time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Do you have that agape, wholehearted devotion for me? In verse 16, Peter responds again with the term phileo, saying, Lord, thou knowest that I phileo thee. I have this affection for thee. So then in verse 17, Jesus actually changed and he said, Peter, lovest thou me? And he uses the term there, phileo, now. Do you have affection for me? And Peter was grieved at this point, maybe even seeing a connection between these three questions and his three denials of Jesus, and grieved maybe that Peter, Jesus, was asking him if he even had phileo love. But Peter answers again, humbly, Lord, thou knowest that I have this affection for thee." The point of these questions was really this, that to be reinstated to office, Peter must love Jesus. If Peter does not have that fundamental characteristic, then he may not be a disciple, an apostle, a minister of the gospel. He may not feed the sheep. Peter did though humbly respond to Jesus' question. And notice that after Jesus asked him, lovest thou me? And Peter said, thou knowest I love thee. Jesus said to him, commanded him, feed my sheep. With that command really reinstating him to the office of disciple and preacher of the gospel. Peter was reinstated to office here as one who loved Jesus. The idea for us office bearers today is that we must love Jesus. That is your calling. Newly installed ones, current ones, you must love Jesus. Do you love Jesus? The ones in the front row right here today, do you love Jesus? Do you have a wholehearted devotion for Him? Are you ready to serve Him doing what He calls you to do? That's what Jesus is teaching here. This office isn't to be about you. Not to be about you getting noticed as a good guy because you're an office bearer at Edgerton Protestant Reformed Church. It's not about you getting recognized by the people here for your great kindness and help. It's not about you and getting your agenda, the things that you and your family think need to be done for this church. Not about you getting your agenda done. It's not about any of that. It is about Jesus Christ and love for Him. You must be one who gives wholehearted devotion. You must be one who seeks to serve Him in devotion to Him in all you do. And that shows really what the motivation for all your work must be as an office bearer, elder or deacon. What your motivation must be to do all your work is, I'm going to do this in love for Jesus. Without that love for Jesus, the work becomes tedious and dreary. Go on another visit, another family visit, or another visit with someone maybe who's struggling. Can I do that again? Why am I going? Because I love Jesus. I'm going because I love Jesus. I'm going to another meeting tonight, another one, probably maybe the second one this week, and I have lots of other stuff to do. Why am I going to do it? Because I love Jesus. I'm going. Wholehearted devotion for Him who has given me salvation in everything I have. That's why I'm going. Office bearers, you must love Jesus and you only love Him when you see who He is by faith. You only love Him when you see who He is by faith. You must see Him as Jesus. That's His name in the text. And it means Jehovah saves. You must see Him as Jehovah who saves. He is the one who saved His people from the guilt of their sin. they deserve hell for by going to the cross and suffering hell in their place. He is the one who saves His people from the pollution of sin, working in them to believe and to want to serve Him and worship Him. He is the one who preserves His people in that salvation so that even when they go astray, as Peter did, and they even deny Jesus with their actions, acting like they don't really know Him, living like the world, He brings His people back. to see their sin and to weep as Peter did, and to turn. Trust in that one, Jesus, for all your salvation, and trusting in Him, see who He is to you personally. He is the one who delivers me, who has fallen far short of the glory of God, delivers me from the guilt of my sin, from the pollution of my sin, from the hell I deserve. by His great work. He is the one who preserves me, me, who has departed from Him and disowned Him many, many times, and yet He's faithful as He was to Peter. He's done that for me. Trusting in Him, seeing who He is to you, leads to love for Him, leads to that devotion to Him. Affection for Him and devotion. Peter was weak in faith when he denied the Lord Jesus Christ at the chief priest's palace. He wasn't really seeing the truth about who Jesus was with the eyes of faith. He was thinking too much about an earthly kingdom, confused about that, thinking that whole earthly kingdom thing, that's not going to happen, he's so disappointed. seeing the truth of who Jesus is as the spiritual Savior from sin, something that matters way more than deliverance from the Romans and the great earthly kingdom. In that time in the chief priest's palace, he wasn't seeing with the eyes of faith how terrible sin and who Christ truly is. And in that time, then, he wasn't loving Christ as he ought to have been. We become devoted to Him when we see, with the eyes of faith, who He truly is. Who He truly is to me, a sinner. And then we want to serve Him as office bearers, and we want to do that difficult work. Then we want to go to another meeting. We want to go and help someone, even though it's going to take study from God's Word to do that. I want to do that in love for my Savior. So trust in Him as the Savior from sin and death, and love Him. And all of us have that calling. This is directed to office bearers this morning, but we are all called to love the Lord Jesus, to have that devotion to Him. First, believe in Him for all your salvation. See who He is with the eyes of faith to you, a sinner. See what you deserve for your sins and how He went to the cross for me. He works even in me. See who He is to you and love Him. That wholehearted devotion, seeking to serve Him in all you do at home, at school, church, play. And that wholehearted devotion, be ready to serve Him too as an office bearer when you're called Lord willing to do so. Love Him and foster that love for Him in your homes too. Foster that love for Him in your homes. We cannot bring our children's hearts to be devoted to Him. We can't turn their hearts to Him. God does that. The Shepherd, Jesus Christ, does that. But He uses the faithful instruction of parents. That's what leads to having office-bearer material in our congregation. Men who are able and willing to serve as deacons, elders, even a minister. And that's what we do need. We're a small church. By the grace of God, we have a positive witness of the Lord Jesus Christ in this community. I'm convinced of that. Thanks be to God. A positive witness of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. A positive witness of the authority of Scripture. This is what is to be followed. This is God's Word. authoritative for all of life. That's our witness in this community. Praise God. And that's been used for the good of our children right here. That's been used for the good of others in this town. Praise be to the Lord for that. Even if they don't come here, I'm convinced that's been used for the good of others in this town and beyond for many years. And we believers want that to continue to God's glory. We want to continue to be a witness here to others, to our own children, proper witness. And for this church to continue here, we need office bearers. We need office bearers, and for that, we need children and young people who love the Lord, who have that affection for Him, who have that, not only affection, but that devotion towards Him. So we must foster love for Christ in our homes. So where is the focus? Where is the focus in your home? Is it on Christ? Is it on His significance? Or is really the main focus becoming sports and entertainment and work or something else so that our boys really aren't devoted to Jesus Christ and our girls are not growing up to encourage their husbands one day in love for Christ and a life of service and devotion to Him? What is happening in our homes? Where is the focus? May it be, may we go forward with it being on the Lord Jesus Christ and His significance. Take time to foster love for Him among your children. Jesus calls office bearers to love Him and to show that love by feeding the sheep That's how the love is shown, by feeding the sheep. Jesus asked Peter three times, lovest thou me? Peter answered, Lord thou knowest that I love thee. And what did Jesus say each time back to him? Feed my sheep. So who are Christ's sheep? Who are these sheep that must be fed by the office bearers? Christ's sheep are his precious people for whom he gave his life. John 10 verse 11, Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Kids, imagine someone or something so precious, you die for it. Well, that's Jesus with His sheep, with His people. So precious to Him, He died a wretched death for them. That's love. Christ's sheep are those precious ones for whom He died. and those in whom he works to believe. John 10, same chapter as we just referenced. John 10, now verse 26 and 27 says, But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. So that shows Christ works salvation in the hearts of his sheep. So Christ's sheep are his people for whom he died, precious ones to him, those in whom he works salvation. And those sheep are found in local congregations, true churches of Jesus Christ on this earth. In Acts 20, verse 28, the apostle Paul was speaking to the elders of Ephesus, and he told them, feed the flock. referencing the believers in the church at Ephesus. That's my flock. Those are my sheep. They're found right in your local congregation. Same thing here. Believers right here. Jesus' sheep, the precious ones for whom He died and whom He works to believe, right here in this congregation. Elders, deacons, hear that. Christ's precious sheep right here. And Christ's sheep include all the different types of people. in this congregation. All the different types of people according to Jesus' own words in the text. In John 21 verse 15, Jesus tells Peter, feed my lambs. Lambs are little sheep. Lambs are those who are in need of food and strengthening so that they can be nourished properly and grow. They're in need of food and strengthening and nourishment. And then, he uses the word lambs in verse 15, but verse 16, notice, Jesus tells Peter, feed my sheep. That refers to all the different types of sheep, including the adults. Ones who maybe don't need strengthening and nourishment the same way that a little lamb does, but still need that strengthening each day, and who need guidance because they can easily wander and go astray. That's what sheep can do. And then verse 17, Jesus uses the term sheep again, you see, but in the Greek language, that word is my dear little sheep. Referring to dear little sheep, that refers to sheep who are immature, who are in need of some spiritual nourishment and special guidance and care. So with those terms, what Jesus is showing is office bearers. Don't just care for some of the sheep, the ones who may be easier to take care of. Care for all the sheep! The young believers, the little children even, and the experienced believers, the adult who's young in the faith, the adult who's experienced in the faith, the one who's facing great troubles and trials, and the one who's maybe got an easier way. Feed all the sheep. The lambs, the dear little ones, The adults too. That's the command to office bearers. Feed all the sheep. Now two different words for feed are used also in this text. Two different words for feed showing us the broad calling of the office bearers. In verse 15 and 17, when Jesus says, feed my lambs, he uses the narrower term for feed in the Greek language. A term that simply refers to feeding them so they're nourished and strengthened. He's saying, feed the lambs spiritually and the sheep spiritually so they are strengthened in their faith. Strengthened in a godly walk of thankfulness. And they grow. In verse 16, the word feed is a different term in the Greek. That's the broader term, which literally is to shepherd. And the idea there is give all the care to the sheep that they need. Shepherd them. That means feed them, yes, but also guide them and guard them. That's the calling of office bearers. All office bearers must be under shepherds of Jesus, the shepherd, and they must feed and shepherd the sheep. Elders. 1 Peter 5 v. 1 makes this explicit. Peter writes in 1 Peter 5 v. 1, the same one who hears this calling from Jesus, says, "...the elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof." Elders must do it. Ministers, preachers like Peter, they must do this. 1 Peter 5 v. 1. Deacons must feed the sheep too. It's not just elders minister. Deacons have this calling too. They feed and lead the sheep that need physical or, yeah, physical financial help especially. And they're, in our church that's smaller, they're involved in the consistory meetings too. So they're involved in the oversight of the sheep. They're involved in the feeding too as they watch over the preaching of the minister and talk about that in the ancestry room. Jesus stresses that this must be the job that office bearers do too. Feed my sheep, he says three times to Peter. Saying, Peter, don't miss this. Feed my sheep. There's lots of other things maybe you think you need to do. You must do that work. You're reinstated now to do that work. Feed my sheep, feed my sheep, feed my sheep. Same calling comes to the office bearers this morning. Lots of other things you maybe think you're going to do when you come into office and this or that. Jesus says, feed my sheep, feed my sheep, feed my sheep. Now how? How exactly are office bearers to feed and shepherd all the sheep? Well, first consider the minister. He must feed the sheep by preaching. Chief calling. Physical food strengthens us to run and jump. You know that, kids. If you don't have physical food, you don't run and jump very well, you don't grow. The preaching of the gospel. is what God uses to feed the sheep spiritually, to feed you spiritually, so that you grow spiritually in faith, trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation, so that you grow in a desire to serve Him in your life. The minister then must preach the gospel and must explain it and apply it to all the sheep, including the little lambs, pointing them to Christ, pointing them to His way. He must guard the sheep, too, by pointing out what's the worldly way, showing from Scripture what's the way of the world, and to stay away from that, showing from Scripture what are errors that come up, and guarding the sheep against that. The minister must preach the gospel. The preacher must shepherd also by teaching catechism, gearing the history lessons, gearing the doctrinal lessons, directly to those kids, directly to the young people. John 21 verse 15, feed my lambs, is part of the reason we have catechism and we emphasize it so much. This is Jesus calling, feed my lambs. And that can certainly and is done by the grace of God and catechism and the minister must be faithful in that. Preacher must devote his time, especially to those things, preaching and catechism, but he also must shepherd oversee and care for the whole flock by counseling those who are facing special trials or troubles, or those who are especially battling with a certain sin and being attacked. He's to visit them, applying the Word directly to them, to their situation, and that way feeding them, guiding them, guarding them. That's His calling. And encourage Him to do that. And when he maybe is missing a sheep, somebody you see that's not being shepherded, guided, fed, point it out to him kindly. Show him that person needs some help. Elder is the same calling, feed the sheep. There are specific ways he is to do that. He, the elder, counsels those who are facing various trials and troubles and facing special attacks of the devil. And some elders hear that and they right away think about going on those visits and think, I'm not equipped to do that. I'm not equipped to apply the word to that person in the situation they're in. That's so hard. And it is hard. But Jesus Christ is with you as the chief shepherd. He equips you. This is your calling from Him. To feed the sheep. and he equips whom he calls. And recognize that it's often the case that an elder, though he might not have the same training as the minister, he's often able to apply the word to that sheep who's facing that trial in the congregation even better than the minister because he knows what it's like to grow up exactly in this town and the different things that person faces in their life as one who grew up here right with them. The minister often comes from a different place. You can understand things. Often an elder who's grown up here, lived here, knows the congregation, he can apply things so well to the people by God's grace. And there are many other ways besides just those visits and counseling that an elder shepherds the flock. They also do that at family visitation. That's part of watching over the flock. It's part of caring for them. It's part of feeding them. You take a passage and you talk about the things of the church, applying them right to the people. write to the kids in their daily life and seek to encourage them with those words from Scripture. And they grow. They do grow in that way. And Elder shepherds the church by teaching catechism, leading the worship services when the minister is gone. When the pastor is here, they shepherd and feed the flock, in a sense, by watching over the preaching. encouraging the pastor, helping him where he's maybe not addressing something that needs to be addressed, or maybe not preaching as he should be preaching. They help him. And elders too must shepherd the entire flock. You may not ignore elders. You may not ignore someone who is walking in the wrong direction just because it's going to be hard. And you may not ignore a certain problem because, well, That family might not be very happy if I address this or that problem. You must do the work of shepherding. It is your calling. It's the easy way out just to say, well, ignore it, and hopefully it all works out. But we must shepherd all the flock, as Jesus shows in this text. That's showing love for Christ, who's given his life for you. Deacons, this calling to shepherd and feed the flock, that came out in the very form for the ordination of elders and deacons. That says that deacons, this was in the second explanation of their work, the form said that deacons not only administer relief to the poor and indigent with external gifts, but also with comfortable words from Scripture. So when deacons go out and there's somebody that needs help, they don't just pass the money, oh, have a good day. No, they read scripture with them and point them to Jehovah and his faithfulness and his mercy, saying, Jehovah's the one who has given this to you using his church. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. That's what they tell the people. They feed them in that way. They comfort them. Deacons must seek to shepherd, though, all the different types of sheep in their unique situations. In some cases, there are going to be sheep that need to have contentment addressed. There's some covetousness there, and slowly, kindly, mercifully, you address that. And there are other sheep that are going to have to be pointed to heaven when you go there and visit with them because they face all these needs and all these difficulties. They need to be pointed to heaven in that hour. And there are others who need to be shown. There are going to be other sheep that need to be reminded that God's grace is not in things. God's grace is seen in the spiritual blessings that you are given through Jesus Christ. Many different types of sheep and a calling to feed them all. So you see what a difficult calling that is. It takes study, it takes work. It's hard to make that phone call maybe for deacon or elder. But remember, these are Christ's sheep. It's very striking to me in my study of this passage that Not only in this passage, but also Acts 20 verse 28 and 1 Peter chapter 5, when the apostles call the office bearers to do their work, they call the people, they call the ones who are to be served, Christ's sheep. So here, but also in other passages, Christ's sheep. Why is that? Why is that emphasized when the work of an office bearer is brought up that you're serving Christ's sheep? Well, it's brought up so that you remember you are serving the ones for whom your Savior died. These are the ones that are precious to the one that died for you. These are the ones that are precious to the one who has brought you back to Him again and again and again when you denied Him. These are his precious sheep, he's saying. Now, feed them, and love for me. Don't neglect them, feed them. In the last place, notice that Peter gave a beautiful response to Jesus' question in the text. Remember that Peter confessed his love for Jesus using a lesser word for love, phileo, Jesus said, do you have agape, love for me, two times, and both times Peter answered, I phileo thee, I have this affection for thee. And then the third time, Jesus said, lovest thou me, and he used the word phileo, that lesser form, and then Peter was grieved. And Peter said, Lord, thou knowest that I have this phileo love, thou knowest I have this affection. What's striking there is his humility. It's a beautifully humble response. Peter never used the higher word for love. He was done comparing himself. He was acknowledging his weakness. He wanted, he's showing by his answer, saying, I have this love. He's saying, I want to grow in love. I want to have better love for Thee, Lord, and I need Thee. And also, Peter does not ground his answer notice to Jesus in something that he himself does. But instead, he references Jesus' knowledge of Peter's love. Peter says here, Thou knowest that I love thee. The word know there is not just knowing about something, but it's a personal, intimate knowledge. So he's saying, Jesus, you know personally that I love you. Lord, you know that I have this affection for you so personally, so intimately because you're the one who put the love there. That's what he's saying. You know I love you because you put the love there. And you are the one who even chased me down and pursued me when I was denying Thee. So that I love Thee and have this affection for Thee. Lord, this is all of Thee, and I need more strength to love Thee, to love Thee better. That's Peter's beautifully humble response. May that be the response of the men in the front row today. May that be the response of all the office bearers today. May that be the response of all of us. Answer Jesus' question about loving Him the same way. We love you, Jesus. You know that we love you because you put that love in our hearts. You put that love there that you earned for us at the cross. We're weak, we're weak, and we want that love for you to grow and to be better. Beloved, pray that the office bearers here may have that love for Jesus Christ. and that they then might feed the sheep, serving to the good of this church for many years. And pray that you, too, may love Jesus Christ with that kind of love and grow in it and be better in it. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father which art in heaven, Lord, we come before Thee and we are thankful to Thee for Thy Word. We pray that Thou, O Lord, wilt cause our love for Thee to grow. May we, Lord, through the Word, see our sin, see what Jesus Christ has done, and be wholeheartedly devoted to Thee, and have great affection for Thee. And having that great affection, then, as office bearers, feed the sheep, and as all of us, be ready to serve Thy people. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.