1 Peter 5
Faith Baptist Church
Following the Chief Shepherd
So Lord, I thank You for these people. I thank You for the hearts and ears that are ready to hear from Your Word, and I just pray Your encouragement and Your grace over these people. Lord, is the Chief Shepherd, would you lead your flock? In Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I feel a little nervous doing this. I've never done this by myself. It's like I've always had a pastor pat next to me, so I called him last week and asked if he'd come and help me out. He said that won't work, but he does send his greetings both to CLW as well as to Faith Baptist, and it just got me thinking about whether we worship at Faith Baptist or CLW, if we worship here at Beats Lake or over in New York, that we're all part of God's flock, right? And it's important to remember that. Sometimes we feel a little scattered. We're looking in 1 Peter today, and the book at 1 Peter mentions, he writes it to those who are scattered throughout all the provinces. And he notices the scattering that's happened of God's people, and that God's put people in all sorts of different spots and situations. And he ends his letter, Peter, from a position of saying that he's in what he calls Babylon, which can be interpreted as this Peter that's writing sees himself in a system that's pretty corrupt. A world that is filled with evil, and I think we see that as we think about the signs of end times. I mean, who here thinks there's been an increase in wickedness in our world? Raise your hand. Okay, quite a bit. And who here thinks there's been an increase of wars? How about natural disasters? Yeah. These are some of the signs. How about an increase in war in Israel? Is that increase? Yeah. And I know that breaks God's heart to see those things. And yet, as the flock of God, we have to remember that we never lost our shepherd. God has promised to shepherd his flock. No matter what evil or end times come, he has promised to stay with his church. In the time of exile in the Old Testament, there was 70 years where God's people were in Babylon, and God continued to shepherd his flock, even though they didn't have the pastors they were used to, even though they weren't worshipping in the same places that they were used to. His people were called to be a remnant during that time, during a time of evil. They were called to be faithful. And he was with them in the fiery furnace. Was he not? He shut the mouths of lions. Did he not? He called them in that time for such a time as this. Did he not? And so we're leaving here today, encouraged that we have a chief shepherd that walks with his flock through every season. He will not abandon the church. He will not abandon you, no matter how scattered you feel. We have elections in two months. That can certainly scatter your mind, trying to make sense of all of that. There's the wars in Israel. That can scatter your mind. We at school start. For many parents, that'll scatter your mind, looking together at your schedules. Sometimes it feels like it's a little out of our control. That's the point. That is to draw us to our knees in humility, to our chief shepherd. Even CLW, as you guys are in a time of transition, you've never had more stable, grounded footing than in a humble posture towards God as your chief shepherd. It's true. It's pride that'll fall a church. In that regard, we're going to 1 Peter chapter 5. And we're looking at the Lord as our shepherd. And we know that scripture in Psalm 23 that begins, "The Lord is my shepherd." Right? And later in scripture, in John chapter 10, Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd." And I love here later in scripture yet, Peter wants to tell us about the great shepherd. It has gone from my shepherd to good shepherd to what a great shepherd we have, church. And this is coming from a Peter who saw a resurrected Christ who told Peter with this illustration, "Go feed my sheep." As the great shepherd, I'm now calling you with a task to care for my people, for those who are scattered about, to show up. And so I want to start reading in chapter 5. We'll be going through this whole chapter in verse 1. It's a call for us to also shepherd with the same heart God has to lead his flock, to look out for one another. For that person who drops off the radar, who doesn't, didn't come to church last month. The scattering Peter is saying to gather, to be there for one another. And so he says in verse 1, he says, "To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings, who also will share in the glory to be revealed." In verse 2, he says this, "Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them." Not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be, not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve. Not loarding it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. In verse 4 is where we see this idea of the great shepherd, he says, "And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." So I want to lean into this first section with the question, what does this say about the chief shepherd? It's telling us to be like him. But first of all, what does this mean about who this chief shepherd is? This says that this chief shepherd, it says that it is God's flock in verse 2. No matter what the church, no matter where you are, it's all God's flock. And he is the chief shepherd. It is under his care. He is watching over us, church. Not because he must, but because he is willing. He wants to. He's not pursuing us for his gain, but he is eager to serve. Not loarding it over those entrusted to him, but he is being an example to us. So that's a little bit about who this chief shepherd is. And this word for chief that's used, it means great. It's the word in Greek Archae, where we get the prefix ark, like ark angel, or ark bishop, or monarch, or patriarch. It means it's the source in the beginning of something. He is the shepherd of all shepherds. It's the same word in Colossians 1-18 that's used, which says that Christ is the head of the body of the church. He is the ark, he's the beginning, and the firstborn from among the dead. But in everything he might have the supremacy. That is a great shepherd. And no matter what your role is in the church, as you hear about this great shepherd, it should bring a sigh of relief. I know it does for me. Certainly we each have a part to play in the flock of God, and emulating who he is. But he is God. No pastor takes that place, no president takes that place, no authority figure takes that place. We shouldn't try and fill that, nor should we expect that. That's idolatry if you expect someone to be what God is, to fill the role that God ought to fill. And so Christ is the head of the church. He is the chief shepherd. Continuing on in verses 5 shows how should we respond to this chief shepherd. It says that in the same way you who are younger submit yourselves to your elders. And then it says all of you, old and young alike, no matter your role in the church, it says all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. Because God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. So humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time, cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. What wonderful words for a church to hear. I mean every time you listen to the news or open the newspaper or watch your social media, I wish verse 7 would just be the nightcap that says cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you. You are his flock and he is a great shepherd. That might help you go to sleep that night, won't it? When you end on that note, a note of truth. Now in verse 8, I would like to look at what happens if the Lord is not your shepherd. And if you have not humbled yourself before him. Verse 8, it says to be alert and to be of a sober mind. For you have an enemy. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. You have an enemy standing firm in the faith. Because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. We have a common enemy. We have common suffering. As you get to know people, when there is vulnerability, you will see, man, they are hurting. In a lot of the same ways, they got family issues too. They got issues with sin too. We are fighting the same enemy. No temptation is sees you except that which is common to man. We are in the same boat. Verse 10 says in the God of all grace who calls you to his eternal glory in Christ. After you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong and firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. Those last verses share that God will match grace to that suffering. The God of all grace, after you have suffered a little while, will restore you. He will make you strong and firm and steadfast. It is important that we don't go it alone. Because that enemy will eat us alive in this world. We are to stay in the flock and have the great shepherd leading us. And yet a lot of people do go astray and go it alone. In 1 Peter 2, 25 says for you were like sheep going astray. But now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. So if you are here this morning, you have not returned to the shepherd and overseer of your soul. Now is the time to claim this promise to humble yourself under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up. And to find that protection of your chief and great shepherd. The closing words here, he says I have written to you briefly encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. I love it when an author at the end or beginning tells you the purpose of why they are writing. He says if you are interpreting this correctly, if your pastor preached this correctly, you are leaving here encouraged. And you are leaving here knowing with clarity the true grace of God that is there for his church in this time. It goes on by saying so stand fast in it, stand fast in his grace and in these promises. So to close, I want to go back through this chapter from the end back to the beginning. I want to look at all of the promises that we are to stand fast in as a church. Going back to verse 11, the true grace of God is that to him be all power forever and ever. Can I get an amen? Amen. That is a promise of God's grace that we testified to this morning, that is there to encourage the church no matter what fires may come. No matter what happens, if the world crumbles, the church stands firm in God's grace. Continuing on as we move backwards through verse 10, he says that we will suffer for a little while. It doesn't promise to be easy, but he will always restore us and make us strong and firm and steadfast. In the beginning of verse 10 that the God of all grace will do this for us. We are told that the family of believers throughout the whole world will experience this kind of suffering. Therefore we are to stand firm in our faith and to resist the enemy. We are to stand firm in that fear, and we are to resist him. As the heroes in the exile of Israel did, they did not bow the knee to Nebuchadnezzar. Shadrach, Meshach, and Bettegoe said, throw me in the fire, and yet a fourth was in the fire and protected them. And as Daniel, who was told not to pray to his God, continued to do so three times a day and he was thrown in the lion's dead. He trusted the God that would shut the mouths of lions. Not just the lions of Babylon, but the lion of the great enemy of God, the devil. For to be as Esther was called in such a time for this, even though there was a plot against God's people. She did not fear, but she knew that she was called for such a time as this to take a stand for what God wanted to do through her life. I want to see God's church lean in to whatever the world throws our way. Whatever evil may come, knowing that God has called us in this time to do something, to make him known, three or four times during the exile of Israel. These evil kings bowed the knee before God Almighty and claimed this is the true God and sent an edict to the whole world. We have opportunity church, not to fear, but to stand firm and to be used by God. And so as verse 8 says, we are alert and we are so reminded in this. Verse 7, we cast in the anxiety on him our great shepherd because he cares for us. We humble ourselves under his mighty hand, knowing that he will lift us up in due time. And as verse 4 says, when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. And the chief shepherd will appear, Christ is returning. Not simply with the rod and the staff in his hand, but he is coming on a white horse with a rope dipped in blood. That on his robe and on his thigh it says, King of kings and Lord of lords. He comes with the sword to judge the nations with the armies of heaven with them. Jesus is coming back. And we have a calling. As we wait for his return, we are called in verse 2 to be shepherd to God's flock. Take care of one another. Times get hard. Take care of one another. Notice who is not at church for a month. Say, how are you? We got to do this together as God's people. To remind one another of God's grace, to encourage one another, just as Peter is doing here, to those who are scattered, that we have a great shepherd, that we can humble ourselves under his mighty hand and trust that he will lift us up. We are to care for one another. Watch over one another. Not for our own gain, but to serve. Taking care of those and trusting to us. So here's a few last points to recap. One, our chief shepherd, our great shepherd is much, much bigger than the lion that prowls around in the news. We can stand fast in that. And that great shepherd is all we need. Certainly he can use us in each other's lives. It's good to have a good president and a good pastor. But it's the chief shepherd who is all you need. We're to follow that example of that great shepherd, to care for one another. And again, if there's someone here who does not know this shepherd, this is the invitation to join the flock. To place yourself under his authority in your life. If you're in that spot where you've not surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, I hope that the news terrifies you, because it should. I hope as you watch the devil prowling around the world looking for whom he can devour, I hope that terrifies you, because you're not protected under God's hand. We don't know if the Lord will come back tomorrow. We don't know if you'll meet the Lord tomorrow. We're all one breath away of end times. Are you ready to meet him? And if not, humble yourself. Tell the Lord I admit that I'm a sinner. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I commit my ways to him. So again, to those who believe that all power belongs to the great shepherd, say amen. Let's pray. Lord, you are a great shepherd. May we see you the way that Peter saw you. That in the power of your resurrection, Peter no longer just saw you as a good shepherd. He saw you as a great shepherd. And so Lord, we cast all our anxieties on you, and I know that there's pain in this park. I know that there's things going on in our lives. I know that there's things to fear, and yet we stand firm in the encouragement and grace that comes as we submit to you. So lead your church, God. We're willing to follow in Jesus' name. Amen.