Because of the length of this message today, I want to forgo any kind of formal introduction except to say that this message is not my typical exegetical format. It will become intensely personal because it addresses me and how I should live among you.
Peter gives us a pastoral exhortation. Why do I say that Peter is addressing pastors when he uses the word elder? The reason I think that he is addressing the pastor is because the role that Peter focuses on in verse 2 is the shepherding aspect of this individual. So he addresses a group of people in the congregations to which he writes who have a responsibility of caring for others in their midst. These are the shepherds. Or in the related terminology that we use today, pastor.
The key idea of this passage that Peter describes to us is that each person with a pastoral responsibility must serve with the end in view. I want you to understand this in much broader terms than we normally think. Anyone with responsibility over some group of people in the church has a shepherding responsibility. That means if you teach a class you have some shepherding responsibility. When you teach your lesson, your responsibility to those people does not end. You have a responsibility to pray for them. You have a responsibility to encourage them. You have a responsibility to live in a certain way before them.
Peter in this passage gives us a three-fold explanation of the responsibility of the shepherd. And I hope that this message will accomplish two things here today. First, I hope that this message will help you to understand my need for you to pray for me and help me be the pastor that I ought to be. And secondly, I hope that this message will help you to understand your own responsibility if you have a shepherding role.
1. The Basis for the Exhortation (v. 1)
First, this morning we see that Peter describes the basis for his exhortation. The basis for the exhortation is Peter’s Status. In v. 1, he gives three qualifications for the authority with which he addresses these pastors. He doesn’t merely say, “I am an apostle” but gives three qualifications that relate to his own experience as a follower of Christ.
A. A fellow elder
The first qualification that He gives as the basis for his exhortation is that he is a fellow elder. He too shares in the responsibility of caring for God’s flock. He was looking over the group of believers in Jerusalem at the beginning of the church until James, the brother of Jesus, took over that responsibility. And so he too knows of the burdens of responsibility, the concerns and cares that go along with shepherding a flock. He is not speaking about something of which he has no background. No he is firmly grounded in shepherding. He experienced the joys of seeing people come to know Christ. He had the pleasure that goes along with seeing a young convert, like Barnabas, give himself up to Christian service. And he shared the disappointment of seeing the consequences to those who chose to do wrong, like Annanias and Saphira who died in judgment because of their greed and duplicity. He addressed these pastors with firm counsel from God’s Spirit as one who had been on the front lines in service for Christ.
B. A witness of Christ’s suffering
The second qualification that he gives as the basis for his exhortation is that he is a witness of Christ’s suffering. He saw the agony that Jesus went through. And though initially he fled, at least he was somewhere in the vicinity of the crucifixion while it was taking place. There is great authority in Peter’s words because He saw Christ’s sufferings firsthand. He was able to say to these pastors, “listen I saw what Jesus did for you and me. I saw firsthand how much Jesus loved us when he suffered on that cross. I know from my experience just what it was that Jesus suffered for your flock over which God has given you the responsibility to manage. And so I can tell you just what you should be doing for that flock for which Christ gave His life.” Again Peter speaks from a position of great moral authority to command these shepherds to look after the sheep.
C. A partaker of Christ’s glory
The third qualification that he gives as the basis for his exhortation is that he is a partaker of Christ’s glory. He notes this at the end of verse 1. He says that he is, “a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.” The third qualification for the basis of his exhortation is that fact that he has been saved and will experience the joys of heaven. I think that Peter is giving us here a warning against being too willing to take advice for carrying out our ministry from the unsaved. Peter was telling the shepherds how to run the church. He was telling them how to pastor. And he was warning them not to take advice from those who have not been born again and don’t have one bit of spiritual sense. There are people who go out and seek to run their churches by finding out what people want. Then tailor their services around what unsaved people like. What do they end up with? Preaching that touches them but doesn’t bring conviction. Preaching that charms them but doesn’t change them. Worship services that don’t cause them to feel out of place because everything that smacks of God’s holiness is left out. What you have is a night club entertainment atmosphere where the name of God is mentioned occasionally for good measure. Pop psy. becomes the word of the day instead of the Word of God. I had one person tell me who was looking for a church say that at one place he went at the end of the service they played “Mr. Bojangles.” We are not to go to the unsaved and find what they want. Because they want the world but God wants repentance. Peter declares the third basis for his exhortation is that he is sure of his salvation through Christ and he is speaking from the standpoint of one who compares spiritual things with spiritual.
2. The Content of the Exhortation (vv. 2-3)
Secondly, Peter outlines for us the content of the exhortation. The content of the exhortation is the pastor’s conduct. How should the pastor live out his calling to shepherd the flock to which God has called him? In verses 2 & 3 Peter outlines for us three ways in which the pastor is to conduct himself.
Before we look at these three ways that the pastor is to conduct himself we must look at two items that need mentioning at the beginning of verse 2. First, Peter says that this is the flock of God. This is not my church. Dave doesn’t run or own a church. This is, in Peter’s words, God’s flock. You are His, you belong to Him and the office that I am occupying is merely a stewardship. I am responsible to God for what I say in this pulpit and how I lead you. You who have received Christ as your Savior are part of God’s flock not mine.
Next Peter says to shepherd the flock of God, exercising oversight. The verb to shepherd has the idea of caring for, feeding and protecting the flock. This is my role as a shepherd. Peter also says exercise oversight. This is my role as a leader. I am to watch out for your spiritual growth and if I see that which might hinder your growth I must address. If I was anyone else you might think I was a busybody but I must show my care for you by looking, as it were, into your lives. I am to shepherd and oversee you because God has given me this charge as an undershepherd to care for you. Now let’s move onto the three ways in which the pastor is to conduct himself.
A. Having the right heart
The first way Peter says the pastor is to conduct himself is by having the right heart. He notes this in verse 2. Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God.
For Peter having the right heart means that I must be willing to do my job as a shepherd. No one twisted my arm to get me here. No one has to wake me up in the morning to come to my job. I’m not doing this because you say, “If you don’t get enough hours in we’ll fire you.”
The first and foremost reason that I came here and am here now is what Peter says, “do this according to the will of God.” I am confident that God led us to pastor here and I am confident that God guides my days here according to His will.
You don’t have to check up on me to see if I am coming out to church. You don’t have to wonder if I’m playing games or if I’m studying the Word of God and discipling people and praying for you because you know me. If you want to check up on me you can but you’ll find me getting ready to preach on Sunday or having a Bible study with someone or discover me praying for you. This is what God has called me to do and this is what I am doing.
I want to be your pastor. I want to continue to voluntarily serve you as your shepherd. Whether God has me here another 20 years or another 40 years. I want to continue to do so according to the will of God without any compulsion.
So how can I continue to do that? Let me ask you to do something for me. It is what the author of Hebrews says in his letter. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”
First, let me ask you to submit yourself to my leadership as the one who has been assigned by God to watch over your soul. I am only asking this because I have committed myself to you on a long-term basis. My ministry here, by the grace of God, will not be some fly by night operation. I do not see this church as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. I have, in a sense, married myself to you. And only when I see that I am becoming a hindrance to your spiritual growth will I go. God has called me here. I do not intend to play musical churches.
My brothers and sisters, we are in an era when no one wants to submit to the authority of another. But the Scripture makes it clear that it is best for you and for me if you will agree to follow me in the leadership that I offer you in living for Christ. That is the first way.
The second thing you can do is what the author of Hebrews says next, “Pray for us.” I need you to pray for me. I want to be able, on an ongoing basis, to serve you here voluntarily. There are forces that seek to keep me spiritually off base and unprepared. Paul speaks of these foes in Ephesians 6. We are fighting a spiritual battle. And I believe Satan uses a spiritual principle found as a proverb in the Scripture to destroy churches. The proverb is “Strike the shepherd and scatter the sheep.” I truly think that Satan’s demonic hosts seek to target the shepherd to make him ineffective or force him to leave. I need your prayer for me. In a war you try to knock out the officers and leave the others to grope for direction. There is this battle going on and I need you to protect me by praying for me. Pray that I will have the right heart. Pray that I will continue that my ministry would never in any way become something that I must do but that I want to do according to the will of God.
B. Having the right motivation
The second way Peter says the pastor is to conduct himself is by having the right motivation. Again in verse 2 he says, “Not for sordid gain but with eagerness.” Sordid gain refers to gaining money in dishonest ways or looking to make a profit deceitfully. Now we have to ask the pastor, “Pastor, why are you doing this? What is driving you to be here in this ministry? Is it because you can scam people for money easier in churches?” Sometimes there is a good reason to ask that. When there are people, who claim to be ministers of the gospel, like Jim Baker (who swindled multiplied millions of dollars from people) or Oral Roberts (who told people that if they didn’t send in 7 million dollars God was going to kill him) {individuals like this} who are constantly seeking to rob people of their money it gives good cause to ask about motivation.
On the other hand, I have had people tell me you don’t make enough as a pastor. My reply to that is, “If I were in this life for the money, I would still be in nuclear engineering.”
I think the contrast Peter makes in this section is interesting. He says, “not for dishonest gain but with eagerness.” I think the point that Peter makes here is one that applies to each one of us. If we are in something (a job, a business) merely for the money that it will provide we will lack the eagerness and zest with which we do it. If I were here merely for a paycheck, I would be watching the clock and mindlessly drumming away the hours waiting for them to be done.
But here I want you to pray for me also. Pray that I would not begin to set my mind on money or material things. Jesus said, we can’t serve both. I can’t serve Jesus Christ and be seeking after riches. And because I am human I can be tempted with material things. I can look at a nice house and wish for it or a new car and desire it and in turn become unsatisfied with all the wonderful things that God has given me. If this becomes the case I will certainly lose my zeal to serve you. So pray that my heart will not be set on the uncertain riches of this world but on serving you with eagerness.
C. Having the right pattern
The third way that Peter says the pastor is to conduct himself is by having the right pattern. Here in verse 3 Peter notes that the pastor is not to “Lord it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”
The first part of this pattern is that the shepherd is not to be a lord or despot over the flock. The pastor is not a CEO for the church nor should he exhibit the qualities that the world sees as commendable in a successful CEO. I am not here to conduct a business. I am not here as a commander of an army unit. We have a commander but He is not domineering, cruel or harsh. Things here, as Paul says, should be done decently and in order but I ought not bark at those who mess up. This is how the world operates not Christians. Jesus said that the kings of the gentiles lord it over those whom they rule. But it is not this way with you, the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest and the leader like the servant.
God has called me to be a servant leader. And by implication in Peter’s next words, he has called each of you to be servants too. He says that I am to be an example to the flock. The weight of my authority is not to come from being bossy or pushy. The weight of my authority comes in my likeness to Jesus Christ. You should desire to follow me as I live a Christ-like life. If I am not living out the call to be conformed to the image of Christ then my words carry no weight.
I am to prove to be an example to you. And if my example is to be a servant then you too should be servants to one another. By my example you are to live for Christ. If I am seeking to be Christ-like then it should be no difficulty to ask you to follow me.
I think that this message has important application for each one of you. And the application is this. It will help you in determining who my replacement should be. And so this is the place in the message where I think it appropriate to speak of my replacement. I hope you realize the fact that I need a replacement. And so I might as well speak about it early enough that you can recognize that replacement when he shows up in the coming years.
The more I look into the qualifications of the pastor the more I seem to think that the local church pastor should be just that. Local! When you read 1 Timothy 3 and see how he is to be qualified I don’t think that you can readily approve someone for such a solemn task unless you really know him. And how can you really know him unless he has been around for some time.
How can you see if a person’s spirit meshes with the unique personality of the congregation? We expect people to know a person before they marry, yet in calling a pastor we rarely trouble ourselves so. The average pulpit committee listens to a person preach (perhaps a couple of times), (whom they probably have never met personally), asks him a few questions about which he may be lying and then calls that person to take care of them spiritually. I think this is a recipe for spiritual disaster. It’s akin to talking to someone in an Internet chat room and asking them to marry you.
We need to look for and pray that God would raise up someone in our midst to shepherd this flock. Someone who we can see meets these conduct qualifications. If he doesn’t meet them while in our midst asking him to become pastor will not make him a shepherd. This is why I really am bent on this idea. And I believe it is a Scriptural idea. I’m not saying that this is a hard and fast rule but I think it is best. So who will our next pastor be?
3. The Outcome of the Exhortation (v. 4)
Finally, Peter describes for us the outcome of the exhortation. The outcome of the exhortation is the reward awaiting the pastor at Christ’s return. The pastor’s reward is two-fold: We see these aspects of the pastor’s reward in verse 4 where Peter says, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
A. A vision to behold
The first aspect of the pastor’s reward is a vision to behold. The verse says, “When the Chief Shepherd appears.” Peter has used the word “to appear” previously in 1:20 to describe Christ’s first coming. He previously came in lowliness. Soon He will come in His glory. This will not be some spiritual event that only a few will see but the Scripture says all will behold. Revelation 1:7 says that every eye will see Him. There is a day coming, make no mistakes about it when everyone will see the Lord Jesus Christ.
This appearing of Christ will be personal. He will personally interact with each one of us and speak with us. It will be precious. Our own dear Savior, the One who died for us, will greet us. It will be a vision to behold. And it won’t be some cloudy obscure image. The Scripture says that we will see Him as He is because we will be like Him. It won’t be some image, like the supposed picture of Mary that appeared in some window around here that people are misled enough to pray to and worship. By the way there are only two sources of that image I hope you know. It is either that they didn’t use Anderson double panes or it is demonically perpetrated with the purpose of leading people to worship something other than God.
The coming of Christ will not need to be explained. It will not need to be examined. It will not need to be exonerated. The saints will see their Savior and they will rejoice. It will be a vision to behold. When the faithful shepherds see their Savior they will glorify the Lord because they know what is coming.
B. A value to receive
The second aspect of the pastor’s reward is a value to receive. Peter finishes the verse with the words, “you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” This is a value above every other value. It is a reward to the faithful shepherd that will last throughout eternity saying, “By God’s grace this man shepherded the flock of God to which God appointed.” Note now that it is only by the grace of God that he will make it. And because it is by God’s grace, the reward will last forever.
I think it is fitting that the shepherd who has given up time and energy to see other believers built up in the faith should receive such a special reward. I think it will be an eternal blessing both to that shepherd and those sheep who served the Lord under him.
Can you picture it? You’re in heaven and you say to the person next to you, “Do you see the one wearing that crown? That’s my pastor. Do you see that star in his crown, the fifth one over from the right? That star was for having great patience. I helped him get that one.”
Seriously, Paul says of the church in Philippi, “You are my joy and crown.” And truly, not only are you my joy but one day my wonderful brothers and sisters, you will be my crown. My pray is that God will look at what was accomplished here for eternity and grant the crown that will bring glory to Him forever and ever.
This is why most importantly that I want you to pray for me. When I see Jesus Christ, I want to hear from Him, “Well done, you good and faithful servant.” And I want to honor Him by receiving the unfading crown of glory. Pray for me that I will not dishonor my Lord. Remember the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. And pray for me that I might not falter, that I might not as the apostle Paul said that after having preached to others I myself might become a castaway and lose my crown. Would you commit yourself to pray for me and for your own part within this church to follow my direction as we seek to serve the Lord together in the years to come?