Turn with me in your copies of God's word to 1 Peter chapter 5. It's Peter chapter 5 and today we will be looking at verses 1 through 4 of this final chapter of Peter's first letter to the church. Let us hear God's word together. I exhort the elders who are among you as one who is also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Take care of them, not by constraint, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. Do not lord over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will not fade away. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Peter has been writing to a large number of believers in multiple congregations spread throughout six different provinces of Asia Minor. Each of these groups would have been experiencing various levels of persecution in various ways by various groups. And while no two groups would have had identical experiences, the comfort and care that each needed was the same, or at least from the same source. Peter has been doling out big ideas for those facing big issues. He's been reminding them and us of matters regarding our conversion, suffering for righteousness, our eternal reward, family and marriage, matters of the workplace, issues of sanctification, putting off the flesh and putting on Christ. As he writes to the beloved that Agapitoi, as we saw last time, he is passing along big truths to deal with big fears. He is giving rock-solid reality to deal with shifting sands of experience and insecurity. But Peter, being the down-to-earth apostle that he is, does not leave all of this floating out there in the ethereal eschaton. No, he funnels all of this right down into a context in which these truths, can have their most valid meaning and practical outworking, the local church. There's no greater comfort to the believer in the midst of suffering difficulty, even persecution, than the perceivable presence of Jesus Christ with the believer. How can a suffering believer know that Jesus is with him? How can she experience the loving touch of the great shepherd? How can a child of God know the tender care of the chief shepherd? Peter begins what we know as chapter five. Remember, Peter didn't lay it out this way. by connecting us suffering, struggling, hurting believers to tender, loving, caring Jesus himself through the local church, especially and specifically pointing us to the ministry of the elders who are under Christ in that local flock, over that local flock. How does this eternal great shepherd of the sheep, now seated at the right hand of the Father, tangibly connect with the care and concern of his flock? Through the work of his under-shepherds, his presbyters, his elders. First, we wanna look at, in this text, the substance of the elders ministry, the substance of the elders ministry, which is the apostolic message of Jesus Christ. I exhort the elders who are among you as one who is also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Before we get to Peter's exhortation, I want to deal first with what is almost a gimme in this text. Peter is using this to establish his street cred as an elder and an apostle, but in tossing this out there, he is giving us the very part and parcel of the ministry. It's the gospel, the apostolic message of Jesus' incarnation, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and return. These historic truths, these factual happenings, are the very reason elders do what they do. The true story of Jesus of Nazareth is life and eternity altering. We don't do what we do in the church because it's neat, Or because it's one of many perspectives to be had on life? No. The gospel is the truest truth that shapes our reality and destiny. Peter knew this firsthand. He had experienced those basic historical moments Paul writes of in 1 Corinthians 15. When he says, Now, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you have received, and in which you stand. Through it you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received, how Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and was buried, rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures, and was seen by Cephas, that's Peter, and then by the twelve. Then he was seen by over five hundred brothers at once, of whom the greater part remain to this present time, though some have passed away. Then he was seen by James, and then by all the apostles. Last of all, he was seen by me also, as by one born at the wrong time." That's verses one through eight. Says in verse 11, therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. Peter not only saw these events, he participated in them, having been one of the first to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection. He also participated in that brief moment when the full glory of God the Son, the glory he knew in heaven before his incarnation, the glory in which he will return, was experienced on this earth, on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is Mark's telling of the story. And again, I go to Mark over against the other gospel tellings because this would have been Peter's recollection of these events. Mark 9, verses 2 through 10. After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, and James, and John, and led them up a high mountain alone by themselves. And he was transfigured before them. I think it's a clear indication, this is Peter's telling of this, because he can't help but just get to the main, they went up a mountain, you're like, oh, what's gonna happen? The transfiguration happened, he just goes right to it, he doesn't drag this out, but then he describes it. His garments became shiny, extremely white as snow, such as no launderer on earth could whiten them, and there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, And they were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three sanctuaries, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. This was around the time of the Feast of Tents. For he did not know what to say, because they were very afraid. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus only. As they came down the mountain, he warned them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept that statement to themselves, questioning each other what the rising from the dead meant." Imagine such a troubling time, and they were afraid. We all can understand that. When you're nervous and you just say the first thing that comes to your mind, that's how Peter was acting. But Peter experienced these things. He was truly a witness to them. The basis of the elder's ministry is the gospel. The substance of our ministry is the gospel. Our greatest hope in the ministry is the gospel, that it will take root in each of you, and you will be saved. Secondly, then, we see the seriousness of the elder's ministry, and we see this by Peter's apostolic exhortation. I exhort, I call to the elders who are among you as one who is also an elder, shepherd the flock of God that is among you. As we've said, elders tend to the flock with the truth of and in the context of Christ having come and having gone and going to return. This is the fundamental basis and hope of the Christian life. And Peter is a direct connection to all of that, yet he is also an elder just like us. He is one who is ministering. He doesn't see himself as something special. He sees himself as a man doing his job, the work to which he has been called. Now he is exhorting, now he is calling to the elders spread amongst each local manifestation of the church to do what they have been called to do. shepherd the flock of God, as it is Christ himself who is doing this work through us. Matthew 2.6, we see that prophecy fulfilled, and you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are no longer least among the princes of Judah, for out of you shall come a governor who will shepherd my people, Israel. In John 21, we find Peter and Christ walking on the beach together. And we find Peter being restored after he had denied Christ in that moment of angst in the courtyard that night. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon, Peter, Simon, son of John, Do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, do you love me? He said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. In Acts 20, as Paul is meeting with the Ephesian elders, he tells them, therefore take heed to yourselves and to the entire flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. The seriousness of this call, the seriousness with which it is taken up, the reality that Christ himself is tending to their very souls through tangible means of the elders, this should be encouraging to the people of God, that the elders are not about their own business, but the business of the Savior. Thirdly, we see the sanctification of the elders' ministry. The sanctification of the elders' ministry. Elders are sinners in need of grace just like you. Peter tells us, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, take care of them, not by constraint, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, do not lord over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. The elders are told, the elders are commanded in the imperative, shepherd the flock of God among you. Some basic understanding of animal husbandry comes in handy in texts like this. You've at least seen pictures of sheep. Thanks to Facebook and Instagram, you've probably seen videos. You know that sheep are animals. You know they must eat, so they must be fed. You know they can't protect themselves, so they need a shepherd or even groups of shepherds, maybe even a sheepdog or two to watch over them. to protect them, to guide them, to guard them. There is much to do in the tending of animals. There is much to do in the tending of sheep. It is wearying. It is tedious. It is painful. But it is, at the same time, one of the greatest honors of this life. It's also very self-confrontational. Parents, you know that moment when you look at your child and you see yourself 20, 30, 40 years ago? And anyone can reach that point when they open their mouth and hear their mother or father come out. Brothers and sisters, there are moments when elders are tending to the sheep, even disciplining them, and facing the great burden of knowing our own sin and our own weakness. The work we are called to in strengthening the flock exposes our own weaknesses. In the feeding of you, we discover just how hungry we are for the Savior. The elder's job is to point you to Jesus. We need him too. Sometimes in rare shining moments, we succeed in exhibiting Jesus to you in wonderful ways. However, I'm afraid we typically cause a hunger for Jesus in you by failure rather than by shining example. Causing you to say with energy, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Let's get the real shepherd, the true full shepherd back here. Peter is acknowledging this as he reminds elders how to go about this task. Temptations come. Perspectives get skewed. Over verses two and three, we find three couplets of these comparisons that are meant to set straight any attitudes and ambitions that might have wrongly crept into the labors of an elder. We see this first in the constraint versus willingly doing this. This is a basic reality in all areas of life. Being in a position where we must do something is so much less motivating than when we get to do something. Paul noted this in our giving. Let every man give according to the purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. Do you have to give to the work of the Lord, or do you get to give to the work of the Lord? The purpose of the heart is key. Brothers and sisters, pray for your elders. Pray their hearts' intention will be in joyful delight in serving Christ as undershepherds in this place. You do not want them to be in a position to see spiritual oversight of you as a have-to part of their lives. This is emphasized in various ways throughout scripture. We think of the building of the tabernacle. Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab and every skilled person in whom the Lord had put wisdom. Everyone whose heart stirred him to come to the work to do it. Those of you who work in management know the difference between an employee whose heart is stirred to do the work that they do and the employee that's being forced to do it for whatever purposes. In Psalm 54 6, we hear of the freewill offering. I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you. I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. We come willingly offering all that we have to him. And even Paul says of of preaching the gospel, and he says this in context of making your living from the gospel. So if I do this willingly, 1 Corinthians 9, 17, so if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a commission, I can't escape it. So my heart might as well delight in it. But see, an elder does not do this work against his will. He wants it. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 3.1, this is a faithful saying, if a man desires the office of an overseer, he desires a good work. Pray for your elders that they would want this more than anything. Secondly, we see this in, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. Now, this is simply saying an elder should not minister out of covetousness. A good elder, even one who makes his living by the gospel, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, this is verses 13 and 14, do you not know that those who minister unto holy things live from the things of the temple? And do you not know that those who wait at the altar partake of the altar in the same way the Lord has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel? But a good elder, live from the gospel, end Paul. Pick Joel back up here, okay? A good elder always has the ultimate good of the sheep in mind. What he can do through Christ for the flock. Reminded in Titus 1.7, for an overseer must be not greedy for dishonest gain. Matthew Poole, the Puritan commentator, summarizes these first two simply by saying, he doth not do his work freely and of a ready mind who is either driven to it by necessity or drawn by covetousness. Thirdly, we see this in worldly lording versus what I'll call exampleing. It's no longer a made-up word. We just made it up, so it's established now. It'll be in the dictionary soon. Worldly lording versus exampling. There's an interesting translation issue here in verse 3. It literally says, don't lord over the inheritance. is what it says. And the word that's used there is kleron, lot, portion, or inheritance. This is the word that developed over time into cleric or clergy, which makes you think of those ordained to ministry. But never in the New Testament is this word ascribed to strictly ministers or to elders. It's always all of God's people. And this is God's inheritance. The King James calls it God's heritage. The new King James, the MEV, then give that emphasis over then to those entrusted to you. This is a stewardship that we hold in the work of Elder. We are overseeing God's special people, God's inheritance, those that belong to him by right. Christ speaks of this lording of the Gentiles in Matthew 20, but Jesus called them to him, and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you, let him serve you. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1, not that we have dominion over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, for by faith you stand. The emphasis in Christian ministry is one of service, not lording over, but serving by an example. For a number of years in Christian higher education, the phrase servant leadership was seemingly a buzzword, but you can tell those institutions in which it was just a buzzword over against those in which it truly became a ministry model of leading through serving. That is the work of the ministry that the elders are called to. We see it in no better way than in Christ himself as he took up that towel in the basin and washed the feet of his disciples. He was willing to take on the most menial task for their good that they might benefit. But I can't preach on this without being reminded of the words of a Baptist minister upon his installation in which he reminded the congregation, I am your servant, but you must never become my master. Our master is Christ, is he not? He is the one who gives us our marching orders. He is the one whom we ultimately all serve together. And how do the elders serve our Lord? Through being examples to the flock. Well, we've seen the substance, the seriousness, the sanctification of the elders' ministry. And lastly, we see the satisfaction of the elders' ministry. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will not fade away. There is a certain amount of earthly joy in ministry. But there is also great labor, great temptation, great disappointment, great harassing even. Nothing about ministry is efficient. This causes your under shepherds, your presbyters, your elders to long for Christ's return. Christ that great shepherd. The writer of Hebrews says in chapter 13, verse 20, now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep. We look forward to his return when we will see his perfection, his reward. We anticipate the day when He will be in our midst. He will be our very light. There will be no shadow of sin, no indecisiveness from your shepherds on how to handle this one or how to move forward with that initiative. What a glorious day that will be when we bask in His eternal presence and receive our reward for our labors as elders. This is not just the general reward of the believer awaiting us in heaven. We read about that earlier in 1 Peter 1 verses 3 and 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away. kept in heaven for you. Paul also mentions it in 1 Corinthians 9. Everyone who strives for the prize exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one. Now what Peter is talking about here in chapter 5 is a particular crown reserved for those who have served the church in this particular way. So elders are therefore compelled to follow Christ's words in Matthew 6 with particular clarity toward our calling among you. When Christ said, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." In the coming weeks, we will see a well-rounded application of Christ's ministry by the elders, but for today, What do we do with the Holy Spirit's outlining of this under-shepherding ministry? Is it just for us elders? Could we have just had one worship service today with just me and the ruling elders and we could just confront each other with this passage and encourage each other with this passage? No, I want to apply this for you in three prayer requests. Pray for the purity of the gospel in this place. That is the ground and substance of the ministry of your elders, is the gospel. Pray that it is in no way overshadowed by other matters of this world and of life. Next, pray for the purity of your elders in this place. We know our weaknesses. We know our failures. Pray that men of humility, quick confession and repentance, true spiritual brokenness will always occupy the office here. And pray for Christ's return. Do you long for it? Is it your chief desire to see the Lord face to face? Pray that he comes, that the chief shepherd returns and he returns quickly. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Stand with me as we pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the work of the ministry that you have granted to us as elders. Thank you for the flock of God that you have given us as stewards to oversee. Help us, Lord, to be diligent in ministering in the truth of and in light of the gospel. Help us to take seriously this call that is before us. Sanctify us in our work. And Lord, we look forward to your return, knowing how imperfectly we accomplish this task and how perfectly you do. Bless your people. Build them up in the most holy faith, we pray, in Christ's name. And church, let us pray together. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.