First Peter chapter five, verse number one. 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 in samples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Heavenly Father, we pray that you'd speak to each heart here, beginning with mine. We ask, Lord, that you would instruct us, that you would teach us, that you would motivate us, that you would be glorified before us, and that you would be glorified in us. We ask these things in our Savior's name. Amen. You may be seated. So here we are in the auditorium of the Calvary Independent Baptist Church on a Wednesday evening. What brings you here? Why are you here? I see a signal, the word of God. Some people come to see friends that they haven't seen for a few days. Some people come to the house of God to sing the songs of Zion. Some people come on Wednesday night because it's their habit to come on Sunday night. Wednesday night, Sunday morning, why are you here? Is it to worship the Lord? Is it to testify of your faith to other people? I see you going off to the house of God from your home. Is it because when it comes to prayer, two or three are gathered together, it's a greater blessing perhaps? Along with some rather poor answers we could come up with, there are very good ones. Some are better than others. Why are you in the house of God? Some are more biblical than others. If we took a poll, we might find that we all have different reasons for attending any of the services of the Lord's Church. And just to be honest, My purpose is different from yours. It should be different from yours. Probably whatever your prime reason for being here tonight, I can agree with and I even share with you in that sort of thing. But I have responsibilities for being here which have not been given to you. There's no dishonor in that. I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything like that. I'm not trying to boost my position in any way. It's just a fact. That's the way it is. As the Lord's elder in this particular church, I am here under God's exhortation to feed you. You don't have that same responsibility. If you did, it might lead to some degree of chaos. There have been denominations, there have been cults down through the years where there was no official pastor and it was part of their theology. So that anyone in the congregation could say, let's sing 385. Of course, they didn't have song numbers, but they'd start singing one of the Psalms and everybody was supposed to join in. And then anyone within that congregation who felt led of the Lord could get up and preach a sermon, including the ladies in some of these places. that would be a problem. That's dangerous, creates problems. But the Lord's church has been described as a body. So we have fingers in that body, we have feet in that body, we have arms and ears and so on. But the fact of the matter is, despite all our different gifts, I am basically the tongue of this body. And again, I don't mean any disrespect and use your tongues, but it won't be from up here unless upon invitation. Some of you ladies, all of you ladies, I'll assume, go to a great lengths in order to prepare meals for your family. You want them to be nutritious. You want them to smell good. You want them to be helpful. You want to serve dishes that you know your family is going to enjoy. And you, in some cases, spend a lot of time thinking about it and then preparing that meal. I have the commission to do the same sort of thing. But my meals are not for bodies. My meals are for the soul. So it's primarily instruction for me that Peter is sharing in these first four verses. I have a responsibility. Feed the church of God, which the Lord hath purchased with his own blood. The elders which are among you I exhort, feed the flock of God which is among you. Now before I get to me, let's talk about you, because you are included in these verses. The flock of God. The flock of God. Are you familiar with some of the nouns that are used to describe collections of animals? Accumulation of a particular breed or something? Some of them are a lot of fun. Those names, those words. For example, what is a group of crows? It is a murder of crows. What is a group of ravens? It's a Senate. Or a treachery. Or a conspiracy. How appropriate. Many other animals have interesting collective nouns. A rafter of turkeys, a fluffle of rabbits, a mob of emus or kangaroos. Those Australians like mobs of all sorts of things. In our text, Peter simply refers to a flock, a flock, without designating any particular kind of animal. But the word flock is associated with only three groups of animals. Small birds, or, well, not turkeys, but I don't know. Birds, sheep, and goats. Those three, and it seems pretty clear to me that without saying so, Peter is talking about the churches in Asia as being the sheep of the Lord, flocks of the Lord's sheep. And it's a reasonable assumption because we find that term throughout the Word of God, not only by way of illustration like in the life of David, but I'm not referring to that, but in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Word of God speaks about the people of the Lord as being his sheep, and there are instructions there for the shepherds of those sheep. And then we come to the words of the Lord Jesus. John 10, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and I'm known of mine. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. I like that image. I don't mind being one of the Lord's sheep if he is the shepherd. That's pretty good for me. Sheep have very distinct attributes and habits, many of which are not Very good, but sheep are sheep. That's just all there is to it. And I'm not going to get into very many of those, touch on one or two of them here this evening, but if you really like to study the nature of sheep, I thoroughly recommend Philip Keller's book on Psalm 23. I don't particularly advance him, but that's a pretty good book if you want to learn about sheep. Peter picks up where the Lord Jesus left off and he calls us the flock of God. This gives us several things to consider, especially since Peter is writing primarily to the elders of the flock. First, this is not that elder's church. It is not his people. It is God's flock. It is Christ's church. The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed, feed the flock of God which is among you. With the ownership of that flock, comes authority over the under-shepherd of that flock. Does that make sense? Because this elder, because this bishop, because this pastor, because this under-shepherd is not the owner of the sheep, somebody else is. And that somebody else has authority over the elder or the pastor. If the pastor leads God's sheep into danger, it will not be the lamb of that flock who bears the responsibility for that. It is the pastor's responsibility. And if the ewes of the flock are emaciated and starving, it's due to the under shepherd's poor leadership. That's the way it is. Adding even more to the weight of that relationship, Peter describes the flock as God's heritage. God's heritage. The idea is that God has specifically chosen this flock to be for him and there's an ongoing future relationship with God and this, his heritage. The Lord Jesus said to his disciples, those who are making up his first church, fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12, 32. One day, very soon, all the little flocks that are scattered around the world, and shall we say those flocks which have existed over the last 2,000 years and are no longer in existence, they will all be gathered together and the chief shepherd will be loved and served and adored by every member of that now accumulated flock. Again, at that time, if among them there are any emaciated lambs or sheep that are covered with wounds and bruises, the Lord is going to know that his under shepherds have failed in their duties of leading and feeding. Now, if the sheep wants to get into trouble, it'll get into trouble. There's not much that the shepherd can do, but basically speaking, generally speaking, the shepherd, the pastor, is responsible for the flock. Feed them, Peter says. I read these four verses six or eight times, but I eventually noticed the words, among you. It probably isn't important, but at the very least, I find it interesting, so I share it with you. In his letter to the saints, Peter says, the elders which are among you, I exhort. And then to the elders, he uses the same words, but in reverse. Feed the flock of God, which is among you. It's the same Greek. It should remind those elders that despite the special relationship that they have, the elders have, to the flock, they aren't as special as some of those elder bishops conceive themselves to be. The flock is among the elders. The elders are among the flock. There's a relationship there. There's a kinship there. The shepherd walks among the sheep as a part of Christ's flock himself. I said a moment ago that I enjoyed the idea that I'm one of the Lord's lambs. The truth is, I'd rather be a sheep with you than a sheepdog ordering you around or something. And there's another thing about the flock to which I hope you concur. I hope that you come to the house of God hungry. Feed the flock, feed the flock. I hope that you come to the house of God hoping and expecting to be fed. Living creatures and growing souls need to be fed. And just as our bodies get hungry now and then, our souls should be hungry every now and then too. And we come to the house of God in order to feast on the word. I can't say that it's always done successfully. But again, Peter tells me that I am to feed you. which involves sometimes repetition, repetition. We've had this meal a hundred times at my house because we like it so much. And then there's that special one that mom's worked four or five hours on all afternoon. And it's just delightful, special. Among the other reasons for your attendance at the house of God, I hope that one of them is that you'd like to be fed something. You'd like to be able to go home with something. With these in mind, what is it that Peter reveals about the pastors of those sheep? Right off the bat, we see that elders themselves must be open to exhortation and instruction. The elders which are among you, I exhort. The sheep are not the only members of the flock community that need to be fed or who need to be encouraged in their duties. The elders do too. Even if the under-shepherd knows what work ought to be done, sometimes he needs a little push to get it done. Get in there. Do it. And when he thinks that he knows all that there is to know about sheep and about pastures and about storms and about wolves, if he thinks he knows all there is to know at this point, then maybe it's time for him to retire. Because he doesn't know everything. He needs to admit that. The shepherd walks among the sheep as a leader, as a servant, as an instructor, as a guide. And he needs assistance, not with sheepdogs, but with the older animals of the flock, shall we say. Pray for your pastor. Pray for other flock workers. Pray for the ministry, wherever you might think about that ministry. Pray that the preacher will continue to grow himself, feasting upon the word of God. Pray that the elder listens to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, just as they ask you to do. Following the leadership of the Lord, Where shall the next pasture be? To where shall we go? In one sense, the elder or bishop is as much one of the sheep as anybody else. By referring to feeding, Peter is essentially telling those elders to pastor the flock. They are to feed the flock, but not in the sense of taking a bottle of milk and ramming it down the lamb's throat. It doesn't work that way. They aren't nursemaids. They can lead their flock to water, but they can't make them drink. It's their task to set before the flock the grass that the flock needs to eat. giving them the opportunity to feed. The sheep need to listen to their hearts, or if you like, listen to their stomachs, and say, I'm hungry here. What is there to eat? Listen to the Holy Spirit. Both he and the Lord Jesus say, come and dine. From what I have read, The literal sheep of this physical world are not the smartest diners. For example, they will chew the grass right down to the dirt, killing any future crop, or at least in the near future anyway. And they will eat plants which are not necessarily very healthy for them. They need to be moved from field to field, and they need to be led to the best grass in that field. Otherwise, they're going to eat noxious weeds or perhaps nothing at all. Sheep are like children, thinking that candy is the number one food group. Christians will eat all kinds of stuff. They'll feast on Hollywood movies, John Grisham novels. Now, there may be a tasty snack in there. That's all right, but that's not the nourishment we need. We need more than that. They may fill themselves with the poisons of heretical doctrine, human philosophy. When it comes to the pasturage of the house of God, they deserve the best grass. God's word. Peter says, feed the flock of God, you elders. The sheep are hungry. They're needy, whether you recognize that or not. Give them the meat and the potatoes to go along with the sincere milk of the word. Both the shepherd and the sheep need to see that the elder is the overseer of the flock of God. Feed the flock of God, which is among you, taking the oversight thereof. When Peter says taking the oversight thereof, he uses the same word as the noun, which is translated bishop, as I tried to show you the other night. The elder is acting as a pastor while wearing the authority of a bishop. They all go together. And yet he has no authority to lord over the flock in the way that a dictator might do. One of the clear distinctions between the pastor and the dictator is the kind of leadership he provides. the pastor should lead the flock rather than try to drive the flock. When he recognizes that it's time to change pastures, he should simply say, come on flock, follow me, let's go over to this other field. And again, it must be all about delivering better food to the flock. The overseeing bishop's primary task is to feed. And one of the tastiest condiments to that meal should be his example. Now, don't feast on the condiment. You can't live on ketchup alone. Paul said to Timothy, these things that I've just mentioned, command and teach that no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. Give them something to follow. Feed them the word of God. Give them your example in feasting on the word of God. Implementing the Word of God. To young Timothy, Paul said essentially the same thing. In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works. We have the sheep, we have that under shepherd, and that brings us to the chief shepherd. While I was studying, I just wanted to go back again and again to the parable of the talents, the parable of the pounds that we looked at a couple of times over the last few weeks. Some of the elders which are among us have been given 10 responsibilities, five talents, some just one. The master, the chief shepherd, has gone away into a far country where he's been for some time. But he is coming back. He is returning. And when he returns, he will reckon with every one of his under-shepherds in areas that are beyond the rest of the flock. Can I put it that way? What has Christ's servant done with his time, with the talents, with the blessings, with the responsibilities that he has been given and which the flock is willing for him to enjoy? Has he led the flock to nutritious green pastures? Has he led them to the still waters of the promises of God? Chief Shepherd's going to check on that. He's going to ask about this. Christ is returning, little flock. Lift up your heads, watch the horizon. He's coming to gather his flocks together. And when he comes, he will pull down all the lions and the bears and the wolves, including the wolves in sheep's clothing. He's coming again to be glorified before his flock and by his flock. And you, brother under-shepherd, when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. There is no higher service in this world than to be an elder, pastor, bishop of one of the Lord's flocks. I wish that I could convey to God's young men the joy and the thrill and the challenge that exists in serving the Lord as one of the pastors or the pastor of one of the Lord's churches. There's nothing greater. Yes, the responsibilities are great. and Christ's examination of that pastor perhaps will be difficult. True. And yes, there will be those situations and people, if you like, there will be thunderstorms and there will be wolves who will test you until you can't sleep at night. That does happen. But the rewards for this kind of service are out of this world. When the Lord comes to reward his servants, there will be a variety of honors as he chooses to bestow. There will be some sheep that are more honored than other sheep, because they have been more faithful in the gifts that they have been given. And there will be rewards for Christ's under shepherds, which the sheep will not receive. That's all right. We can all serve the Lord. And as we all serve the Lord, he honors and blesses that service. In either case, whether we be sheep or under shepherds, we should be excited about the Lord's return soon.