Servant Shepherds - 1 Peter 5:1-4

A Christian leader must have a vital, vibrant, growing experience with the Lord. He cannot lead God’s people with a second-hand experience.

Reading together 1 Peter 5:1-4. The elders who 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 or shepherd the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight of it, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

In 1 Peter 5, the Apostle Peter is giving some instructions to the church, telling the local church how to live and how to respond when the fiery trial comes. He begins by talking to the leaders because everything rises and falls with leadership, doesn't it? When the church goes through the fiery trial, how important it is to have spiritual leadership. When you read the book of Acts, you find that when persecution broke loose in Jerusalem and then it began to spread, it was spiritual leadership on the part of the apostles that helped the believers and saw them through. 

In fact, he tells us in 1 Peter 5 that we have four responsibilities in the local church when we go through the fiery trial. 1 Peter 5:1-4, the verses I just read, we have the responsibility of serving. He talked about this over in 1 Peter 4:10. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. We have the responsibility of serving. When persecution comes, when difficulty comes, you don't quit. You must continue serving one another. 

Secondly, the responsibility of submitting. Here you look at 1 Peter 5:5-7. In like manner, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject to one another. He talks about humility. Submitting to one another and submitting to the Lord. 

Then 1 Peter 5:8-9, we have the responsibility of resisting. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith. Satan uses times of persecution that he might be able to destroy the church. And so if we are serving the Lord, submitting to one another, then we have the ability of resisting the enemy.

And finally 1 Peter 5:10-11, the responsibility of maturing. Look at 1 Peter 5:10. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, mature you, equip you, repair you, complete you—that's what the word means—establish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. We're going to be looking now at these four responsibilities when the church is in the fiery trial: responsibility of serving, submitting, resisting, and maturing.

The responsibility of serving. Everything rises and falls with leadership. And it's so important to have good spiritual leadership in our churches today. Now you know, of course, from your own Bible study that in the local church you had elders and deacons. The elders had two other names: bishops and overseers. When you read, for example, in Acts 20, you find that the Apostle Paul called these leaders elders, and he also had other names for them. Acts 20:17: And from Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. They were called elders. This speaks of spiritual maturity. It speaks of those who have had some experience walking with the Lord.

Now Acts 20:28: Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. Now this is the word he uses in 1 Peter 5. The elders who are among you, 1 Peter 5:2, feed the flock taking the oversight. And there we have the word that speaks of the bishop, the overseer of the local church. And so there were pastors—the word pastor simply means shepherd—there were pastors who were elders, who were also overseers or bishops. And these were the spiritual leaders in the church. 

You know, I hear people say, well, I believe in the church as an organism, but I don't believe in the church as an organization. How foolish. If an organism is not organized, it will die. And so is it with a local church. Now don't emphasize organization. Don't emphasize constitutions and bylaws, but you do need these things if you're going to have peace in the family. Where any two people are going to do something together, they have to have some agreements. If a man and a woman are going to live together in holy matrimony, they better make some promises and have some agreements because no two people can do anything together unless they've got some system of working things out. 

So the local church has to be organized. Now these leaders of the local church must be spiritual people. The elders who are among you I exhort, I encourage, I admonish, who am also an elder. That's interesting; he was an apostle, but he was an elder. Now when was he made an elder? A pastor? Well, in John 21, when the Lord Jesus dealt with Peter, He said to him, do you love me more than these? Peter said, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, now you feed my lambs. Then He went on to say, you shepherd my sheep. You are going to help the local churches to grow in the Lord. 

And so the elder is a pastor, an overseer, a shepherd who takes care of the flock. Now he's also a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. You see, Peter is saying here, I have had a living relationship with Jesus Christ. I am not just an officer of the church. I have shared in His suffering; one day I shall share in His glory. Peter learned that suffering and glory go together. That's one of the major themes of this letter: suffering and glory, they go together. 

This matter of being a shepherd. Shepherd the flock. That reminds us of John 21, feed my sheep. How about this statement in 1 Peter 5:3: neither as being lords over God's heritage. Remember when the disciples used to argue over who was the greatest and Jesus had to rebuke them? Be clothed with humility, we read down in 1 Peter 5:5. Be clothed with humility. 

How about resist the devil? Peter had said to the Lord, I'll go to prison and death with you. And Jesus said, Peter, Satan has asked to have you, all of you, that he might sift you like wheat. The old lion was roaring around, and Peter succumbed, didn't he? Well, resist the devil. A Christian leader must have a vital, vibrant, growing experience with the Lord. He cannot lead God’s people with a second-hand experience. Peter had seen the suffering of the Lord. How important that is in spiritual leadership. He had seen the glory of the Lord. That's what keeps you going. If all you saw was the suffering part, you'd never keep going, but you see the glory of the Lord. He'd learned what it was to be a humble, submissive servant to wash others' feet. He'd learned not to lord it over people and be a dictator. He had learned how vulnerable he was. Satan got a hold of him and tempted him and Satan won a victory in the life of Peter. 

Well, we've got to be spiritual leaders who have a vibrant, vital relationship with the Lord. Now it's interesting that Peter tells us that the local church is a flock of sheep. That's a good comparison because, you know, sheep are clean animals. Over in 2 Peter 2, Peter talks about pigs and dogs. He's not talking about God's people; he's talking about the false believers, the apostates, those who claimed to be Christians but they weren't, then they went right back to their old sins again. We are not pigs and dogs; we are sheep. 

Sheep are useful animals. They reproduce, they give milk and wool, and they could even be used for sacrifice. And you and I are to be useful to the Lord. Peter has emphasized this over and over again. In fact, the last thing he said in 1 Peter 4:19: commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing. Be useful. Be worth something. Make a contribution to your local church that is lasting. Well, sheep can be used for sacrifices, and we are to be living sacrifices on the altar for the Lord. Sheep are meek and humble. Peter talks about that down here. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. Sheep are defenseless. They need the shepherd to protect them. 

Peter said, you folks are about to go through that fiery trial. Now you need somebody to protect you. We have the Chief Shepherd, 1 Peter 5:4. That's the Lord Jesus. But we also have undershepherds. And one of the tasks of the undershepherd is to care for the sheep. Notice what he says: shepherd the flock of God. The word translated feed in 1 Peter 5:2 means to shepherd. To do your job of caring for the flock. That means providing food for them. Oh, how important it is for the shepherd to feed the sheep from the green pastures of the word of God. Not to scold them. Not to flay them. Not to beat them. You don't lead sheep by driving them. You can drive cattle alright, but you can't drive sheep; they'll go in every direction. 

You see, that's why he says not being an overlord, 1 Peter 5:3, not as being lords over them but by being examples to the flock. Where do you put an example? Behind the flock? No, in front of the flock. The shepherd has to go before and be the example. You lead sheep; you don't drive them. And so the elder, the overseer, the bishop, the pastor, the shepherd, must be one who is a good example and he's shepherding the flock, providing for them, protecting them, directing them, disciplining them if necessary. 

And he must do it with the right attitude. Not by constraint because he has to. No, you don't do it for constraint or for money. You don't do it as a dictator. You do it as an example to the people of God. What a great responsibility it is. Shepherding the flock has its challenges and rewards. Back to the Bible continues in 1 Peter 5. Here's Warren.

Now Peter writes to the elders of the church, the pastors, the overseers, and he tells them in 1 Peter 5:2 to shepherd the flock of God which is among you. Notice in 1 Peter 5:1, the elders who are among you. 1 Peter 5:2, shepherd the flock of God which is among you. Then in 1 Peter 5:2, taking the oversight of it. Notice now that the shepherds are not only among the sheep, they are also over the sheep. And that is a very difficult thing. It is this that helps to create some of the tensions and problems in ministry. We who are in ministry are also sheep. We need a shepherd. But we are also shepherds and our job is to take care of the sheep. And when you have this tension between the elder being among you and the elder being over you, you have the possibility for either growth or for problems. 

In fact, Peter says that in 1 Peter 5:3: neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. In other words, he tells us here that these spiritual leaders are elders. That means maturity; they have a mature Christian life. They are overseers, bishops. They are to keep their eyes open and watch the sheep. Oh, the sheep have a tendency to stray, to wander, to get into difficulty. They are shepherds who are supposed to shepherd the flock, and that means, of course, feeding and leading and protecting and healing. 

They are also to be witnesses. 1 Peter 5:1, a witness of the sufferings of Christ. They must be close enough to the Lord to feel the very fellowship of His sufferings. And they must be examples. You go before the flock and lead them. You don't come after the flock and beat them and drive them. Neither as being lords over God's heritage but being examples to the flock. 

Now it's a hard job. Yes, it is. He tells us in 1 Peter 5:4: And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. The people that Peter wrote to were accustomed to seeing the crowns put on the athletes at the Olympic and the other games. These were crowns made of laurel leaves or some other kind of leaf, and they faded away. Now you may not get your recognition on earth. You may be pastoring a church or ministering on a mission field. You might be teaching a Sunday school class. You might be a faithful deacon. You might be faithfully serving the Lord and nobody's paying any attention to you. Nobody gives you any compliments. Nobody even says thank you. That's alright. You just go on being faithful because when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 

Suffering and service lead to glory. That's what Peter's saying. In 1 Peter 5:1, I'm a witness of the sufferings of Christ, I'm a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Now if you're suffering with the Lord and for the Lord, that suffering one day will be transformed into glory. If you're serving the Lord, that service will one day be transformed into glory. Watch your motives. That's why he tells these elders in 1 Peter 5:2: be sure of your motives. Not by constraint because you have to but willingly. And not for filthy lucre. I can't conceive of anybody going into ministry to make money. 1 Peter 5:3: neither as being lords over God's heritage. Some people go into ministry thinking it's a great opportunity to be important. Well, it's good if you are a servant. Jesus said, you want to be important, then be the servant of all. 

The Good Shepherd dies for the sheep. The only way He could save us was to die for us. Now the Great Shepherd lives for the sheep. He lives to do what? In heaven, as our Great Shepherd, our Great High Priest, He is perfecting us. This is the same word that Peter uses in 1 Peter 5:10. It's used in Hebrews 13:21: make you perfect. It means to equip you. How do you and I get equipped for life and ministry? By keeping in contact with that Great Shepherd of the sheep who is in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, who works in us that He might be able to work through us. 

That's one of the most exciting things in all the world, to find out what God wants to do with you. How God wants to get a hold of your life, your talent, the gifts He's given to you, and accomplish great things for His glory. Now where's it all going to end? Well, it's going to end in 1 Peter 5:4. That's when the Chief Shepherd shows up. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 

As the Good Shepherd, He dies for us. As the Great Shepherd, He lives for us and perfects us. As the Chief Shepherd, He comes for us and rewards us. Have you ever studied the shepherds in the Bible? It's an interesting study. Abel was a shepherd, and he laid down his life. He died; he was slain by his own brother. Our Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was slain by those who were of His own nation, His own people. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. 

Joseph was a shepherd, rejected by his brethren. And then later, Joseph was honored. Joseph is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ in suffering and rejection and in glory. Moses was a shepherd. Moses was rejected by Israel the first time and accepted the second time. And he led them out of Egypt and delivered them from bondage. Well, the Lord Jesus came to His people and was rejected the first time. He'll be accepted the second time when He comes again. But on the cross, the Lord Jesus redeemed us from bondage. 

David was a shepherd. David conquered the enemy. David conquered the giant. David established the kingdom. Our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered every enemy, including our last enemy, which is death. And one day the Lord Jesus Christ shall come and establish His kingdom. 

Now when He comes, He's going to bring with Him recognition and reward. You know, a shepherd's work is hidden. You can't see the shepherd's work. A shepherd's out there in the pastureland with his flock and he's driving off the lions and he's healing the wounded and he's seeking for the lost. And they don't have television cameras on him. They aren't videotaping all the things that he does. When the shepherd is out doing his work, his work is hidden. 

This is true of your pastor. This is true of the elders of your church. The work that they do is a hidden work; you can't always see it. Oh, you see the pastor in the pulpit and you hear him preach, but during the week, there have been tears to dry and there have been wandering sheep to locate and bring back and there have been burdens to carry. I hope you pray for your pastor. I hope you love your pastor. And I hope you realize that your pastor's work is very largely hidden; only God sees it. But when Jesus returns, when that Chief Shepherd shows up, the shepherd's work is going to be recognized and rewarded. 

There's going to be that crown of glory. Why? Because the shepherd has been serving faithfully. Faithfully. Let me say a word to my brother pastors out there. You may be discouraged today. Nobody might be paying much attention to what you are saying or doing. Don't do it for the sake of people. Don't even do it for the sake of your church. Do what you do for the Lord Jesus. And you say, well, others who aren't as faithful as I am are getting all kinds of recognition. That's alright, don't worry about that. We don't work for recognition. We don't work for honor. We work to please the Lord. We want to please Him in all things. And one of these days the Chief Shepherd's going to come. And my friend, you'll get your recognition and you'll get your reward. So keep on being faithful.