I'm going to turn for our reading to the first epistle of Peter, to chapter 5, and I'm going to read the first 11 verses. 1 Peter, chapter 5, beginning at verse 1. And so reads the infallible word of God. The elders which are among you I exhort who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensembles to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, he shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder, yea, all of you. Be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility, for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, has a roaring lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that he have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. May God bless that reading of his holy word and our hearing of it for his name's sake. Amen. Right, well we continue in our considerations of what to look for in a pastor. And, well, may I just say this to begin with, that to have a pastor in every church is the ideal. We have a biblical example of this because we read how Paul and Barnabas, after their first missionary journey, you'll find in Acts 14 verse 23, that they returned, visited all the churches and ordained elders in all the churches. And we find Paul At the beginning of his epistle to Titus, he writes to Titus and he reminds him that he, with apostolic authority, has sent him to Crete. Now Crete is a big island in the Mediterranean, with many cities. And he reminds him that he's been sent there, put things in order, but the other thing that he needs to do is to ordain elders in every city. So that means that this is the pattern that we do have in the church. But the question perhaps arises, why? Why do we need men as pastors or leaders? And our reading in 1 Peter chapter 5 gives us the answer. And he tells us, Peter is exhorting the elders, which are among you I exhort, he says. and he says, feed the flock of God which is among you. That word feed is in Greek linked to the word shepherd, so it can be translated shepherd the flock of God which is among you. You also find the same instructions in Acts chapter 20 which we had as one of our readings. The Apostle Paul speaking to the elders of Ephesus at Miletus reminds them that they have been called to be shepherds or overseers. So a pastor is an elder and is an overseer. The Greek word is episkopos, from which we get the word episcopal. They're bishops. Now episkopos is in the Greek equivalent of the Latin supervisor. In other words, he's a watchman. He's a person who watches over. just like the shepherds of Bethlehem watched over their sheep when the angel came to announce the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is what the work is. And the Latin word for shepherd is pastor. So most of the time we're using sort of lots of Latin and Greek without realising it and sort of just incorporate it into English. And the elder or pastor is to labor in the word and doctrine. We are told in 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 17. Now, it's worth noting the words in Acts quite carefully, really. I'll draw your attention. Acts chapter 20, where Paul is addressing the Ephesian elders and he says to them, take heed In other words, this is not some slapdash sort of thing. They've got to be very careful. They've got to do it deliberately and carefully. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock. As a man has to look after himself, this man has got to look after the flock as well, over which the Holy Ghost God, the Holy Spirit now, has made you overseers, episkopoi, to feed or to shepherd the Church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. This verse speaks volumes. When did God shed his blood? Jesus shed his blood. Any doubts about the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. What about the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ when you've got a verse like this which talks about him purchasing the church with his own blood. This is the blood of God because he was God incarnate. And so a pastor is put in charge under the chief shepherd in charge of the flock which belongs to the chief shepherd who bought that flock with his own blood. And also in our reading, 1 Peter chapter 5, in verse 2 Peter says, feed, also the same word again, shepherd the flock of God. And I think Peter would have remembered all his days of the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ given as they, I imagine, walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And Jesus asks Peter three times, do you love me? And after each answer, Jesus gave him a commandment, slightly different each time. First of all he says, feed my lambs. And that is literally the word in Greek, is to provide fodder, to feed my lambs. And then the second time, he uses this word shepherd, and he says, shepherd my sheep. And the third time, he uses the same word as he uses with the lambs, provide fodder, feed my sheep. I'm used to that difference because I haven't been raised on the authorised version but on the Bishop Morgan translation of 1588 which is in my mother tongue. So it's made clear in that translation, which I find is excellent. Still, textual receptors. But it brings out that difference, which I think is rather important, because if we want to understand what the work is. And I think it would be worth me referring to Hebrews chapter 13 as well, because there are instructions here to the flock. If the Lord provides you a pastor, then as flock, it says, Hebrews 13, 17, obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable to you. But having said that, we need to remember that Although they have this authority, they are not, as it were, sort of bosses or despots. The authority that a pastor has is not something personal, as though I were given authority. No. The authority that a pastor has is the authority of the Word of God, and that alone. He has no other authority. And so it's not his word, but the word of God. And it's important to remember that. Because it says, neither being lords over God's heritage, but being ensembles to the flock. And so it's really a sort of, well, almost it's not a first among equals. He's got an office to fulfill, a work to fulfill, and all the body made up of different parts, each one has his own work to do for the Lord. So he is not in any way to lord it over the lives or faith or the conscience of the flock of God. As Paul also says to the Corinthians in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verse 24 he says not for that we have dominion over your faith but are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand." And may I suggest that that is a clue to the difference between a Bible-based church and a heretical sect. or a cult. Because what you find in cults always is that people, those who are in leadership, are sort of there telling people how to believe, what to believe, and so on, and they haven't got liberty. But one of the things that the Apostles preach, certainly the Apostle Paul, and so should every pastor, is stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free. And this is the thing, there's a liberty among those who believe, because they believe personally, because they are led individually by the Holy Spirit, and they're part of a whole body. So the pastor is to teach. and preach the truth of God as revealed in the Bible. The pastor is to disciple converts, young believers. He is to discipline the flock. But he's not going to do this as a despot, as we've already established. And he's not to do it alone. And this is why a plurality of elders is what you find in the scriptures. It's good, really, not only is a man merely a man, and therefore has limitations and weaknesses, so that he needs help and support, but also it prevents, or it should help to prevent, any personality cult. Because you know from your reading of 1 Corinthians what problems arose out of a personality cult there and the disunity that followed. Because some would say, I'm of Paul. Others, I'm of Apollos. I'm of Cephas. I'm of Christ. Yes, Christ divided. And that's the immediate response of Paul, isn't it? And then he points out that Paul and Apollos and Cephas are but instruments of the hands of the Lord. And so it's good to have this kind of balance always in the church. So many elders in a church is a good thing, but we need at least one who will labour in the word and doctrine. because the church needs this. And if possible, such a man should be supported by the church so that he is free from spending his time earning enough money to keep himself and his family. That is also the teaching of the Lord. We find, for instance, in 1 Timothy and chapter 5 and verse 17. This is what this verse means. Let me quote it. He says, Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. And you say, well, how can I be sure that that's what it means? Well, let's go on to the next verse. For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the labourer is worthy of his reward. So there's no doubt in my mind that's what is being said. You need to have at least one man set apart whom the church supports, so that he will minister to the church. In large churches you may need more than one supported man. And it happens in some places where you've got enormous churches. But in some situations the church is so small, so weak, so poor, that they can't even support one. But there you have elders that share the work so that the flock can be shepherded. And elders should be shepherding one another as well at the same time. So now, what should we be looking for in this man of God that we're considering? Now, I've looked at his relationship with God. and last time his relationship with a word. So I want to have a look this evening at his relationship with the people. The people that he is set by the Holy Ghost to be responsible for. And I suppose one of the things, the first thing is to say that he must have the right attitude to his work. As we find in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, There's a lot more than I can quote, quite honestly, but if I just refer to him saying, Paul says this in verse 5, neither at any time used we flattering words as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness. God is witness. Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome as the apostles of Christ. but we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. That's the right attitude in any pastor. And he must also be committed to the work. As Paul tells Timothy, because in chapter 4 he says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom. Preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables and we're living in such days ourselves but watch thou in all things endure afflictions do the work of an evangelist make full proof of thy ministry. So, that's what you're looking for. He must have the right attitude and he must be committed. Then, let's ask, what are his responsibilities? Well, I've said enough about the first things, especially his relationship with the Word and his preaching and so on. So, I'll limit myself tonight just to the other responsibility he has. in feeding and shepherding the flock of Christ. A pastor must be good with people, he must be a good visitor. Now we know that from Acts chapter 20 because the Apostle Paul mentions the fact that he is reviewing his own ministry in Ephesus He reminds them how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. In other words, it meant that he went to visit people in their homes and talked to them about the Gospel and answered questions and ministered to them. There, that's Acts chapter 20, verse 20. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ certainly knew his disciples, didn't he? And the apostles seemed to have known the people who were in the churches. And your pastor must, too, know the people. And the best way of getting to know people is to visit them where they are. Because as you know when we come together and people are sort of rushing away or chatting to one another and things like that, you don't really get a time to know them. So the best... opportunity you have is to meet them, where they are, in their homes, in their place of work, in their place of leisure, whatever they're doing, and whether they're old, middle-aged, young adults, teenagers or children, they all need to be known. And this is done by this kind of visiting. When he knows individuals, He will also know how to feed them, how to shepherd them. He will know what they need. Now we know from the scriptures that he must be a good teacher, apt to teach is the term that is used. And therefore it means that he should be aware that members of the body of Christ are all at different stages of growth. They're not all the same. They're not like peas in a pod. They're all different, as you have in a family. From sort of grandparents down to day-old babies. They've got the whole range and therefore he has to feed the flock according to needs. So he needs to feed the lambs. How's he going to feed the lambs? He's going to give them the milk of the word. And his ministry from the pulpit and his ministry house has got to be in such a way that these will actually be growing at their rate. I mean, you don't give a sort of T-bone steaks to babies, you give them milk. And he needs to be a man of such discernment and to recognize, get to know various people and know what they need, how to feed them in the best way that suits them and meets their needs. Because the whole aim is to bring them to maturity. so that they may be ministers or servants of the Lord in the church. He needs to bring out their gifts. And if he knows his people, he'll also know how to counsel them individually according to their needs, because they will have questions. Now, you don't usually have questions in the middle of a sermon on a Sunday morning service. If somebody's quite desperate, you might, but the thing is that you don't usually. So, people's questions need to be presented to the pastor when he visits, and people should need to be free to invite him to visit. But in that case, he also needs to be, to aim to be, like the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ was a God friend, and a trustworthy friend. And if you're not very sure, I suggest you read the four Gospels once again and have a look at the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ with people, because he's always a friend. But one of the things a pastor must not have are favourites, because all the members of the flock are equal and they belong equally to the Lord and the Lord loves them equally. So he must do the same. But he must therefore, because if people are going to talk to him, he must be somebody who is able to keep confidences. so that whatever is said to him stays with him. He needs therefore to know how to deal with matters. He must be a prayerful man, read the scriptures, apply the scriptures, and if he finds a question which is too difficult, or a situation which is too difficult, he needs to have the humility to say, I'm sorry I don't know the answer, I will find out for you. and he either goes and studies books or he may go outside the church and ask for some advice, which is very often necessary. And he keeps in touch with other pastors who have to face all these different kinds of problems. But he keeps confidences. When people tell him things, Under normal circumstances, I think, when you know something about somebody, your behaviour changes. So what are the difficult things? I'll make it a matter of prayer. The pastor hears things, but he has to deal with that person as somebody who doesn't know anything. You know, sort of, you've told him something during the week, and when he sees you on Sundays, oh! You can't have that. A pastor, one pastor described it to me as having a good forgettery. Good memory is useful, but a good forgettery is even better. And we need to ask the Lord to grant one, so that in fact anything that comes in it is actually put in a strong box. I nearly said forgotten, but it needs to be put in a strong box, because next time there's counselling that's needed, the strong box will be opened in confidence. But the Lord can do this, so that the person was treated in a particular way before this is said, and the person is treated in exactly the same way after it is said. So, this pastor must be a good listener. He must be a friend. He must be a person who can go to the home, not sort of, you know, all stiff and silk hat and wet gloves and things like that, and sit in the sort of musty bedroom that nobody ever goes to, and everybody sits on the edges of their chairs all nervous, and hope that he's not going to stay too long. But he's a man who should be able to get into the house and talk with a lady of the house in her kitchen. She is in the middle of her washing up and she's come there with sort of dripping hands or wiping her hands in a towel to open the door or come in past her and she goes back to the kitchen and she's free. She doesn't feel that she's got to deal with him in any particular way. He's a friend like any other friend and they can talk. And he could even, if she's willing, pick up the tea towel and help her with drying up or whatever. He needs to be that kind of relaxed person. He needs to be the sort of person who can go out into the garden where the man of the house is doing his gardening work and if there's anything that he can help, gathering flower pots or whatever it is, he'll help or go into the tool shed or workshop or whatever it is. and he's there, he comes down to where the people are just like the Lord Jesus did he ate with publicans and sinners and so with children I just thank the Lord that he's enabled me to do this. Because I remember somebody asked me, he said, well how do you do it? Because all I did, you see, I went to our house where there was sort of several children, I think there was something going on in the church and we were there being fed I think and there were lots of children. I just sat on the carpet with them and talked to them, played with them and so on and somebody said, how do you do that? I can't do that. Well I suppose it's just the grace of God. You come down to where they are. The Lord Jesus Christ had a young boy and brought him in the middle and he took the infants in his arms. Why can't we? It's something that you can do, and you're coming down to their level, so that when you talk about the Lord Jesus and the things, the child responds to this person who can be trusted. and with teenagers or whatever the ages of the children. He should be free and people should be free with him to have him in their rooms, in their dens, in their studies and so on. And he can talk to them about their interests and their computer games and all the various things because he's a friend. and they can talk to him. So when he talks about the Lord Jesus, when he talks about the Gospel, he is somebody that they can relate to. It's important. And so make this a matter of prayer. And then he knows then to how to adapt his sermons to the congregation and his talks and so on, so that people's needs are met. And another thing too, a pastor must never be condemning, fault-finding. He must always be patient for bearing and for giving He must be gentle, just like a nurse. And his whole aim is to restore. To restore those who fall through the weakness of their flesh. Those who fall through the smallness of their faith. Those who perhaps fall several times into the same besetting sin because of the power of the flesh in them. He mustn't give up. He mustn't tell too many stories. But the thing is, I did once have a member who had a terrible besetting sin and would fall and fall and fall and fall. And came to the conclusion, I think, that the next thing was dismembership. I mean disfellowshipped. Because it wasn't fit. This person was aware. I'm not fit to be called a Christian. I keep failing, failing, failing. And I think I was given grace to deal with this person lovingly, forgivingly, trying to encourage, trying to get Your prayer for grace and strength and saying, you know, do it again, try again, try again. And you know, after a while, what happened was that grace had the victory. And this person was completely different and became a very useful member of the church. I shall be that vague because that person's got a glory now anyway, but I don't want to be personal in any way. But that is the kind of thing that does happen in one's ministry. So you need a person to be like that. He needs to correct errors. He needs to encourage progress. He needs to help wounded soldiers get over their wounds. and not to give up the fight, but to renew their efforts by grace. This is really what shepherding the flock is about. He needs to be reminding members of the flock continually that it is the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, that cleanses us from all sin. And that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Did I tell you a story about the I hope I didn't, but it's worth telling you again, it's on my heart. I had a phone call one day, this was years ago in my ministry, and a man's wife, a member's wife, they were both members with us, and she said, they've taken my husband to the mental hospital. He's extremely depressed, they can't do anything with him, he's in a terrible state, would you go and visit him? So I said, yes of course, so as soon as I was able I jumped in the car and off I went and arranged to visit him, to meet him in his room. So I talked, I spent time sort of talking and discovered really that he felt that he had sinned and that the Lord Jesus Christ was now rejecting him. And I think I felt I had the sort of grace to ask him. I remember asking him, if Jesus would have you, would you have him? Because the thing is, he was really feeling, I can't be a Christian, I can never be a Christian. You know, it's hopeless. And he was sort of at the end of his tether. He was in this kind of depression, real satanic stuff. And so I just ask him, well, right, sort of, there's a separation between you and the Lord now. Okay, well, if you, if he would have you, would you have him? Yes, he said, immediately, he didn't stop to think. I said, right, I said, well, shall I show you, let's have a look at the Word and see whether the Lord will have you. And I just went through the word slowly with him, and then had a time of prayer with him, just showed him that the Lord Jesus Christ will receive any sinner. There's nobody too sinful to be received by the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nobody so good that they don't need to be saved, but there's certainly nobody too bad. And I prayed, and I said, I'll come and see you again. The following day, in the morning, I had a phone call. And it was his wife. She said, they sent my husband home. He's OK. I said, praise the Lord. I said, no medicine or doctor would have suited, but the thing is, what he needed was to know that the Lord Jesus Christ would have him. This I think is really, it's one of those rewarding aspects of ministry, quite honestly, that somebody can be restored in this way. This is what we were trying to do. So we never condemn, we always try and get people into that relationship. And of course, for such grace, there needs to be continual prayer. He needs to be praying, you need to be praying. for grace. And especially not to take any nonsense from people because even in the best of churches you find that there are people who are willing to hide the truth either out of pride or fear of condemnation or whatever it is, but he needs to have the discernment to know when people are not telling the truth. It's not easy. But you need people, you need a man who can stop people from doing this and get people to share things with him properly. so that they can be restored. And if there's something that they're refusing to repent of, he needs in fact to be there pressing that person from the scriptures to be reconciled. If not, he needs to inform this person that he must share in confidence with his fellow elders, bring them in as witnesses if necessary, and if there's still no way of getting any reconciliation, then the whole church needs to know about it. And this is another reason why the church needs to be well taught, to know how to deal with such things. But the purpose, the aim is always restoration. For to lose somebody out of the fellowship is sort of a sad thing. almost I'd say it's a sort of failure. It's a human failure, like with Judas Iscariot. But the Lord is the Lord of the church, we endeavour to do our best. But you've got the instructions there in Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 to 19. Oh, if he's married as well, he needs to be able to rule his family well and be in a good relationship with his wife and his children. and he should be very good at management. He should manage his household and manage his finances and other matters of family issues. Otherwise, as the Apostle says, how can he rule the household of God? But again, I remind you that rule does not mean boss or dictate. All is authority at home and in the church comes from the Word of God. And a pastor's wife, if he's got a wife, or if he chooses one from the church or from outside, there's nothing wrong with being unmarried all your life, if that is God's plan for you. But if a pastor has a wife, then she also So make this a matter of prayer. She must be an approachable person, a friendly person, a person with understanding and discernment. Why is purpose? A wise person who can keep confidences. She's not doing her husband's work, but she has to be somebody who is a great friend. And especially often you find that a pastor's wife is easy to deal with, the ladies may find her easier to deal with than with the pastor, because she's female as they are. So make this a matter of much, much prayer. Well anyway, let me just summarise. You're looking to God to send you a man who knows God in Christ and who has been called by him to proclaim, explain and apply the word of God because he believes the truth and the authority of that word. And he will also be a man who loves people, and especially the people whom God has chosen from eternity, and called to trust in his Son, Jesus Christ. Such a man will endeavour to be a friend as well as the teacher and preacher to all. so that he may not, not merely be a preacher or teacher, but that he may be, well, not just that he may be close to the people, but that the people might be able to draw close to him. That is the aim. A pastor in that way can apply the balm of Gilead to the wounds that the flock get. And he can instruct people in, well, God's instructions as applied to their daily lives. So I encourage a lot of prayer for such a man. I've set ideals. And you probably already, as I said at the beginning, already said, he never reached that standard. No, he didn't, I don't think. But that is what the Bible standard is. And so pray that the Lord will provide you with such a man. Because the Lord actually tells us that if you ask, it will be given you. So ask him in faith. For his glory's sake. Amen.