We want to thank you for listening to this week's sermon from Harvest Bible Chapel, Kansas City. We pray that you will be encouraged and challenged by God's Word today. If you would like more information about Harvest, please visit our website at www.harvestkansascity.org. Turn in your Bible to 1 Peter chapter 5. If you don't have a Bible, raise your hand. Our ushers are coming down. They will give you a copy of God's Word. This is our gift to you if you don't have a Bible. Take it home with you, read it, learn from it, love it, be changed by it. So the passage that we're looking at today, again, is in 1 Peter 5, and that's on page 1016. Let me read it while you turn there. 1 Peter 5, starting in verse 1, says, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace. to the humble. So this summer we've gone verse by verse through the book of 1 Peter. Our theme is stand firm. We find this statement at the end of chapter five in verse 12. Peter has written to the Christians in Asia Minor encouraging them during their sufferings. He summarizes this letter by saying he has exhorted and declared that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. One thing I've learned from this study is that suffering and glory are never far apart. They go hand in hand. But how are we to navigate through the bumps in the road, the lashings we will take for simply being followers of Christ as we experience heartache while we are in this sinful, broken world? Thankfully, God has not left us as orphans. He's given us himself. He's given us the church. He's given us shepherds. leaders called elders within the church who know and care for his sheep. So this imagery of God's people being sheep and his leaders being shepherds is all throughout the Bible. And whether you would like to admit it or not, we're all sheep. I'm a sheep. You're a sheep. That's why we need shepherds. Left on our own, we would perish. Game over. spiritually, physically, and God recognizes this, so he describes his best equipped leaders in the church as shepherds. But who can be a shepherd? What experience does the shepherd need for this daunting task? What's expected from the sheep? How can we all work together in the fold? We'll answer these questions this morning, but first, let's look at some qualifications of an experienced shepherd. Number one, resume of the servant. Resume of the Servant. Verse 1 says, So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. You see, much like in the beginning of his letter, Peter's about to disclose who he is and some of his accomplishments, a key component to any resume. And he starts with so. Let's stop right there. This word, so, translates to therefore. Anytime we see therefore or so, we need to stop and ask, what just happened? What was Peter talking about up until this point? Well, he was linking up what he just shared in 1 Peter 4, verses 12 through 19, that we will suffer as Christians. Also, 1 Peter 5, the conclusion of his letter. And look, suffering, it's not a piece of good news anyone would be excited to hear. Peter recognizes this, and because of that, he exhorts a specific group of men able to handle this news. Back to the text, so I exhort the elders among you. This word exhort means to warn, to counsel, to encourage, and as we can see, he's exhorting the elders of the church. Now this word elder has a couple different meanings in its original language, and some of you right away, probably the first thing that came to mind was what I thought of, it's someone who's advanced in life. So these men are referenced in 1 Timothy 5.1 and Acts 2.17, but that's not who Peter's talking to here. Next, you might think of the Jewish elders. These elders were in the New Testament of Jesus and associated with the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees. They were part of the Sanhedrin, the highest ruling body among the Jews. And Mark 14.53 references these men, but Peter is definitely not talking to them. No, instead, he is addressing the spiritually mature leaders of the church. These men are appointed to ensure the doctrine, direction, and discipline in the church measures up to scripture. Let me say that again. Elders are appointed to ensure the doctrine, direction, and discipline in the church that measures up to Scripture. You can write down 1 Timothy 3, verses 1 through 13, Titus 1, 5 through 9, to see the qualifications these men must display and demonstrate in order to be an elder. We'll talk more about this later, but one spiritual gift that sets them apart from the rest is their ability to teach. They must be able to rightly handle the word of God to say, thus says the Lord. This is who Peter's exhorting. Back to the text. So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder. Peter's an elder. He's exhorting the elders because he can relate to them. He can relate to them in the midst of their circumstances, in the midst of their sufferings. He's not just some random guy off the street telling the leaders of the church how to lead. So imagine this, we're building a building on 159th and Ridgeview, set up and tear down team said? Amen, right? Okay, so what if someone walked into our church offices and they asked to speak to one of our elders and they said, hey, I see you guys are building a building, you're doing it wrong. Our elders would probably be like, I'm sorry, you are? Instead, what if someone came to our elders and said, hey, My name is Nick. I'm a pastor of a church. We just built a church recently, and I noticed that you're building a church, but how the ground is being moved over there is wrong. It's not wrong. Don't worry. But our elders might be like, whoa, yeah, I'm sorry. Let's talk about this. Let's sit down and figure this out. By Peter reminding them he was a fellow elder, he was showing that he had matured as a believer and became an effective leader in the church. Who was Peter before he matured? Well, he was impulsive. He was a loose cannon. He was judgmental. Yet, Jesus told him the church would be built off his leadership. Another detour, John 21. Jesus appears to some of the disciples after he had been crucified, resurrected, and the disciples had gone back to what they knew best. And guess who led the charge? Peter. He said, I'm going fishing. The disciples followed, and guess what? Nothing changed. They still couldn't catch fish without the help of Jesus. Jesus came to the shore, asked them, hey, have you caught anything? No, I haven't caught anything. Throw your nets to the other side, Jesus says. They can't even haul their nets in because of the amount of fish that they had caught. And upon that moment, Peter realized who it was talking to them. He realized it was Jesus, and being impulsive, threw himself in the water to swim to go be with Jesus. when the disciples finally got to land. Jesus wanted to have a conversation with them. Wouldn't that have been a fun accountability meeting? And after breakfast and small chat, which you see really isn't recorded here in this passage of scripture, Jesus calls out Peter. You see, days earlier, Peter had said Jesus was the Christ. and then denied knowing him three times when under pressure. Jesus hadn't forgotten about this. And he was about to use that situation to give Peter his next assignment. The Lord graciously asked Peter three times, do you love me more than these? Do you love me more than these? Do you love me more than these stinky, smelly, scaly, dead fish? Each time, Peter says, yes, yes. Lord, you know all things. You know I love you. Jesus says, feed my lambs. Tend my sheep, feed my sheep, follow me. You see, this exhortation to the elders in these next two verses, it was entrusted to Peter by Jesus. And now Peter is passing it on to the elders. Why? It was so that the elders could properly care for the sheep. You know, it would have been easy for Peter to have said, hey, I was handpicked by Jesus. Hey, I was one of the 12 disciples. You know what, forget that, I was one of the three disciples. He could have said, I'm an apostle, do what I say. He doesn't do that. He calls himself a fellow elder. He was relating to them, setting aside his position to serve the church through leadership. So before we get to verse two and three, let's wrap up verse one here quickly. So Peter was also a witness of the sufferings of Christ. He saw the Lord betrayed by one of his own. He saw him beaten, tortured, mocked, led away to be crucified. You know what else he saw, though? He saw the sufferings of the Christians under his care as an elder. He didn't just hear or read about it. He truly experienced and witnessed the sufferings of Christ with the people in the early church. We then read, he's a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Peter saw the transfiguration of Christ and knew the glory going to be revealed at the revelation of Christ, which he referenced in 1 Peter 1. And this is what he was taking to the bank. So we see here that Peter serves as a model for servant leadership to all of us. He speaks from experience on who and how servant leadership should start with in the church. And now that we've reviewed his resume and see Peter's qualified to exhort the elders, let's look at exactly what is the responsibility of the shepherds. Number two, responsibility of the shepherds. Responsibility of the shepherds. Verse two, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. So we see here the first responsibility of the shepherd is shepherd. Shepherd's gotta shepherd. That's what they gotta do. But what does that look like? Well, it's exactly what Jesus told Peter. feed and lead the sheep. That is the responsibility of the shepherd. This is an ongoing command to continually and actively feed and lead the sheep. This is the main way our elders serve, by feeding us God's word. They must be able to rightly handle it so that we will learn what's right, what's not right, how to get right, and how to stay right with God. Let me say that again. Our elders need to rightly handle God's word so that we will learn what's right, what's not right, how to get right, and how to stay right with God. That's what sets the elders apart from the other deacons, lay leaders of the church. they can rightly handle God's word to challenge, encourage, and equip the body of Christ. So this is the main way that they serve, but that's not to negate the other Christ-like qualities that they have and are to live out. They also lead by being examples to us, but I'll touch more on that later. Back to the text. So elders feed and lead. They feed by teaching sheep the word of God, and they lead by exercising oversight. This means they are to give regard, attention to, and to look after those in their care. Essentially, they are watchmen. So as I mentioned earlier, I've had the opportunity to go to Romania to challenge and equip our brothers and sisters over there. And just recently, as we were traveling from Bucharest to the mountains of Bran, Romania, we passed this massive building on the side of a mountain. It was a medieval citadel. a fortress. It served as a defense system for the villages in Transylvania exposed to outside invasion. As I did more research, I learned there was a tower along its perimeter. And this tower was vital in its defense. A guard would stand there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365, not only looking at what was happening outside the fortress, but also inside the fortress. That's what oversight means. It's not only looking at outside circumstances, it's also looking at what's going on inside. Look, elders must be mindful of a lot of things. They need to be mindful of false teaching. They need to be mindful of people coming into their fortress that could disrupt or harm the flock. It's equally important for them to know what's going on inside. Who just lost a job? Who's struggling financially? Who has someone in the hospital right now? They need to know these things. They must know and be with their sheep in the valleys, recognizing when they can care for them in times of difficulty and suffering. They are the watchmen. We are the sheep, needing encouragement, comfort, and direction during our circumstances, And our elders provide that for us as they watch over us. Back to the text. Exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you. The elders are to exercise this care willingly. It's not compulsive. It's not out of force or obligation. It's out of adoration. Adoration for their chief shepherd as well as a supernatural affection for their sheep. It's not for shameful gain. Elders are not to lead for shameful gain. If an elder's motive to feed and lead is so that he'll get a bigger bank account, a helicopter, a Tesla, he's gonna be greatly disappointed. He's missing the point. And look, being eager, this puts our motives in check. After all, who are the elders seeking to please in their serving? Are they seeking to please man? Or are they seeking to please God? They're seeking to please God, of course they are. Sometimes, you know, elders must discipline those who are unrepentant though. Left unchecked, an elder would need to implement church discipline as outlined in Matthew 18. And this is not something anyone would look forward to doing. And yet the elders are to be eager for the sake of themselves as well as the flock to feed and lead in this way. If an elder's motives are unwilling, it's devastating not only to them but also to the flock. They need to be eager. eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge. Elders, shepherds, are not to be domineering over those in their charge. Domineering means to be arrogant or overbearing. They don't rule with an iron fist. They can't force the sheep to be obedient more than the sheep want to be obedient. Someone confronted in their sin, though, may feel the elders are being domineering. However, all they're really trying to do is bring them to a godly grief over their sin that leads to repentance. That's not domineering. And by you responding positively to their feeding and leading, that's yielding for the sake of your soul. And we see that this is directed towards those in their charge. Lastly, being examples to the flock. Let me just take a moment right here to honor and encourage our elders. These men are truly examples to us all to be better followers of Christ. I'm not going to do it by name, but if you're in the flock, you're going to know who I'm talking about. One elder, faithfully models hospitality. His home is always open to students, leaders, those struggling, or anyone in need of a good meal. And if you're lucky, they bust out the chocolate fountain. Another shepherd demonstrates setting aside his personal agenda by working for the church during a season we needed him the most. He set aside his paycheck and his career for God's agenda. Another elder knows God's word deeply and uses it to comfort those who are in various trials. With ease and without hesitation, he sacrificially counsels our body. Another shepherd demonstrates fervent, heartfelt, genuine prayer and perseverance. He pastored a church. He served as a missionary. yet submitted to God's plan for his life by setting aside his desire for vocational ministry for years. In turn, he faithfully teaches us God's word and recently had his perseverance pay off. Finally, the other elder truly laid down his childhood dreams. to serve Jesus Christ and the church. In turn, he is laying down his life for the sheep, entrusted to his care, all the while faithfully feeding and leading to the glory of God. These are our examples as elders. These are godly examples. These are godly men who love us. Now let's circle back to verse two. You'll see the elders have been given a specific flock to shepherd. The flock of God among you. Would you underline the word among you? Our elders are not responsible for the feeding and leading of all the sheep in Johnson County. They are only responsible for the feeding and leading of the sheep here at Harvest Bible Chapel, Kansas City. And if we drill down even deeper on who the flock is here at Harvest Bible Chapel, Kansas City, it's gonna hurt. It's members. It's members. We are thankful for visitors and regular attenders. We are thankful for you. but you're not members. There's no way for our elders to effectively feed and lead you unless you're in the flock of God among them. So what are you waiting for? You knew this was coming. Harvest Essentials, October, sign up. Don't all stand up now and rush out to sign up. You can do that after the service, but sign up. You'll learn about the care available to you if you join the flock of God that our elders are responsible for. But in turn, you will also learn what's expected of you as a sheep in their fold. So sign up after service, get some more information on membership. And as we wrap up these verses, let's just have some application here. How are you following these examples set before you? Small group leaders, are you being watchful over those in your small group? Or are you willingly and knowingly letting people slip through the cracks? Elders, are you truly sacrificing your time and energy to serve the flock of God entrusted to you? sisters in Christ, are you pouring yourself out by sharing God's word, praying with other sisters that are suffering, or only talking about it with other people? Men, you're not off the hook. That's not how I roll. Are you setting aside your hopes, your dreams, your career plans, Your hobbies, that one hurts me, to truly be a servant of Christ. Or are you starving your flock among you, your wife, your kids, your family, as you're off in search of greener pastures? Feeding and leading is the responsibility of the shepherds. It's not for the faint-hearted. It's not for the double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. It's only for the man completely sold out for Jesus Christ. And we as sheep can aspire to these things. But to keep God's chain of command working properly, there are some requirements of the sheep. We're gonna look at that in verse five. Don't worry, we'll come back to verse four to close. So number three. Requirement of the sheep. Requirement of the sheep. Verse five says, likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. I'm sorry, sheep, but the Bible really doesn't have anything positive to say about us. We're always lost, easily led astray, used to sacrifices, and in need of a shepherd. And sheep aren't smart. They're not intelligent animals. Listen to this. Sheep establish rankings within their flock by fighting, making threats, and being competitive. When a flock of sheep is moving together, there's no voluntary leadership by one individual sheep. Because of this, sheep are quick to flee, quick to panic, and make things difficult for their shepherd. Does that sound familiar? And yet, Peter tells the sheep something very interesting here. He begins breaking down how the sheep should respond with, likewise. He's building off his previous statement of roles and relations in the church. Shepherds feed and lead, sheep submit. As believers, we have to submit to authority. We are to submit to our employers. Wives to their husbands. Husbands to Christ. And now we're to submit to our elders? That's a lot of submitting, especially in the chain of command. We're like, down here. Man, not looking good for us as sheep. But you'll notice that it says, you who are younger. And some of you might be thinking, all right, yeah, dodge that bullet. No, you still need to submit. Still need to submit. So this doesn't just mean our children in the church need to submit to the elders. No, we all need to submit to their leadership. Based off my study, I believe you who are younger to be anyone who does not hold the office of an elder, deacon, small group leader, ministry leader, small group member, church, Remember, regardless of your position or involvement within the church, we are to submit to the elders. These who are younger could quickly get a sense of pride because of their position or involvement, which is why Peter reminds us to be subject, to be submissive to the elders. And God, in his sovereignty, gave me an opportunity for this application point. I recently had to submit to my elder. I had too much on my plate as far as this weekend was concerned. I was supposed to teach at the small group leader training yesterday, and then was asked when I came back from Romania to teach here on Sunday. This elder realized that this passage, it's meaty. It needed a lot of time and preparation. And he suggested that I not teach at the small group training. But I wanted to lead at the small group training. See me stomping my fist like a little kid? But I wanted to do that. I had committed to that months ago. I had given my word that I would teach in that capacity. And I thought I could do it all. I took a step back and I realized the elder was speaking truth into my life. I simply had too much on my plate. And as a lay leader, I thought I could do it all. But looking back, there was no way. I had to submit to my elder, and I'm so glad I did. Back to the text. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility. So this is the other reason why I believe you who are younger is direct towards anyone who does not hold the office of an elder, is because Peter says, do this, all of you. This includes everyone from the elder to the member. This word clothe means to tie around. We are to specifically clothe ourselves with humility. And Jesus provided the best example for this when he washed the disciples' feet. There's all these verbs in John 13 talking about how he washed the disciples' feet. He roves, he laid aside his outer garments, taking a towel, tied it around his waist. He poured water into a vase and began to wash the disciples' feet with the towel that was wrapped around him. Look, it takes thought, it takes effort, it takes action for us to clothe ourselves with humility, specifically towards one another. And humility is truly looking to the interest of others. Humility is looking to others and not yourself as outlined in Philippians 2 verses three through four. Write that down, you can read that later. Back to 1 Peter 5. Humility is vital within God's chain of command. Shepherds feed and lead, sheep submit, and God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Next week, Ben, he's gonna dig into what this looks like and how it's lived out in the life of a Christian, so be sure to join us for that. But these are all some difficult tasks, from the resume of the servant, the responsibility of the shepherd, and the requirement of the sheep. But with any job or assigned task, we wanna know, what's the benefits? What's in it for us? You know, like the end of an interview that goes well, we're like, hey, tell me about the paid time off, tell me about the 401k, tell me about the health insurance. Well, that's what verse four is. Verse four. is our recompense from the chief shepherd. Number four, recompense from the chief shepherd. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. So this word means, recompense means to reward someone for their efforts or work. And verse four is the elder's recompense. It says, when the chief shepherd appears. Who's the chief shepherd? It's the CEO and founder of the church, the good shepherd himself, Jesus Christ the Lord. And it's not a matter of if. It's not, eh, maybe he'll come back. No. It says when Jesus Christ is coming back. And it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when he is coming back. He is coming back to reclaim and restore what is rightfully his. This is like the surprise visit from your boss for all of you in corporate America. You know your boss is coming, you just don't know when, but you better be ready when he does show up. And let me pause right here and just ask everyone here, Are you ready for Jesus Christ to return? If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you're not ready. You're not ready to meet him. You're not guaranteed tomorrow. You're not guaranteed today. Don't let this moment pass you by. If you hear the chief shepherd calling your name, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand today, If you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Admit you're a sinner. You violated God's holy law. You have, we all have. We're all in the same boat. We're all going down together. Can you admit that? Can you admit that you have violated God's holy law? Next, belief. Believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins. That's our payment. That's our payment for our sin. We could never pay it back to God. Jesus paid it all. Next, confess. Confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior right now. You will then be a sheep of his hand. You will be able to receive feeding and leading from our elders by becoming a member, which is funneled through the local church. After all, our motto is lost people saved, saved people matured, matured people multiplied, all to the glory of God. We'd love to have you be a part of the flock. If you are a part of the flock, praise God. Are you ready for the chief shepherd to return? Do you worship, walk, work for Christ faithfully? Are you attending worship every Sunday to gather with other believers to lift high the name of Jesus Christ in worship and to hear his word preached? Or are you just checking the box? Eh, maybe I'll do that. Okay, yeah, I'll go. That's convenient for me. Are you walking with Christ? Are you in a small group? Small group sign-ups, next week, it's coming. If you're not in a group, get signed up. It's important to be in a small group because you'll dig into God's word. You'll be able to get accountability. I love accountability. With your spiritual disciplines and struggles. And also, you'll be able to receive support from your small group in the good times, and more importantly, the bad. Lastly, do you work for Christ? Some of you here may be really good at the worship and the walk, but you're missing the work. All this doesn't just happen. We need help. We need you. We need the body of Christ to make sure that this happens every week. If you're not working, Find an area to serve in. You'll then serve the Lord as well as our flock to the glory of God. Back to the text as we're about to wrap this up. When the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. And this is the good stuff. So when Jesus appears, the elders, they get a reward. The unfading crown of glory. And I wrestled with, is this a figurative crown? Is it a literal crown? But I'm kind of new at this, so I took the easy road, and I said it's both. So elders do receive a reward for their faithful service of shepherding the chief shepherd's flock. It's not their flock. It's the chief shepherd's flock. That reward is the unfading crown of glory. So this word crown here translates to a crown of ivy woven together that was awarded to like Roman athletes. But what would happen once that ivy was plucked from the vine? It would begin to wither. It would die. It would fade. So how could this be unfading? I believe the unfading portion of this crown is simply experiencing all that Jesus Christ has prepared for us in heaven and being in his presence for all eternity. That's it. That's it right there. Psalm 1611 says, in your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. That is unfading glory. Don't worry sheep, you get a reward too. So there's several different crowns talked about in the New Testament that a believer could receive, but the one I want to focus on is in James 1.12. It talks about the man who remains steadfast under trial that will receive the crown of life, which is promised to those who love him. So we see here in both instances that the shepherds and the sheep get crowns. But what are those crowns to be used for? Are those crowns used to be worn so that way we can strut our stuff in heaven? No, that's not what the point is. And if we are to look to our earthly elders as examples, how much more should we look to our heavenly elders as examples? Revelation 4, there's this brilliant imagery of heaven There's lightning, thunder, sea of glass, a throne. There's creatures, there's angels, there's elders, and they're all worshiping. But the elders worshiped differently than the angels or even the creatures. It's said that the elders fall down before him who is sitting on the throne. They cast their crowns before the throne. Look, any reward that we could receive here on earth for doing the Lord's work, It doesn't belong to us. It rightly belongs to Him. Amen? It rightly belongs to Him for what He's done for us, not only on the cross, but what He's preparing for us in heaven. And that is something you can take to the bank. That is something that will yield a higher return on investment or a 401k than any job that could ever offer. So let's get to work. Amen? Go ahead and close your eyes, bow your heads. Just want to ask you a couple questions here. Are you in the flock? If not, what's preventing you from joining? What's preventing you from becoming a member? Is it your pride? Your possessions? Your status? Maybe it's your sin. If you are in the flock, are you submitting to our elders' leadership by worshiping, walking, and working for Christ? Are you following their examples in your home, your workplace, your neighborhood, or even our church? Are you ready for the chief shepherd to return? Remember, Jesus is the good shepherd who laid down his life for the flock. He loves you. He's pursuing you. He rejoices in finding you by bringing you into his fold. Will you submit and surrender your life to him right now? If you've surrendered your life to Christ, what will you do with the reward that he gives you? Will you use it for your own glory, or will you give all the glory back to him? You see, there's nothing this world has to offer that will match the awesomeness of being in God's presence for all eternity. What no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the heart of man can imagine, what God has prepared for those who love him. Christ is our reward, and he is enough. Is he enough for you? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your love and your grace and your mercy. Thank you that they are new every day. Thank you, God, that you do not leave us as orphans. You do not leave us to stray off on our own. You've given us shepherds, and you are the good shepherd. You are the ultimate shepherd. Thank you for being the overseer of our souls. And I pray, God, that someone here wrestling with whether or not they surrender their life to you, pray that they would do it right now. Pray today would be the day that they would surrender their life to you and experience just how good you are. And for those of us who have surrendered our life to you, would you be enough for us? We love you, Lord. We commit this to you in Jesus' name. Amen.