Well, thank you again for leading us in worship. Good morning to everyone. Beautiful morning. We're having some nice weather lately—praise the Lord!

We're coming to the end of our study of the first letter of Peter in this last chapter in chapter 5. This letter has been all about suffering and persecution, about how we as believers in Jesus Christ can endure, can persevere, and be faithful through suffering in this world. And that suffering comes in all kinds of different ways. Paul said all who desire to live godly in this ungodly age will suffer persecution. 

Peter's instructed us that this fruitful, faithful life, even in the midst of suffering and persecution, begins by understanding our salvation—who we are and what we have in Christ. In chapter 1, he reminded us of the greatness of our salvation, our need to set our hope, our focus on the glory that is to be revealed when Jesus comes.

Now, in this time, we see injustice. We experience heartache and disappointment. We suffer because of sin, because of the cursed world, and those who hate Christ. But even in this, we see Jesus. Jesus is the hope, the promise of deliverance, of justice, of righteousness on this earth, and we eagerly wait for this time with perseverance.

Well, Peter then sets Jesus in this epistle; after chapter 1, he sets Jesus as the example of how to suffer. He gives us the purpose of suffering and the attitude of submission to the will of God. Go back to 1 Peter 2:21. It's a really central part of this letter. 

1 Peter 2:21 says, “For to this you were called,” he says, talking to us, “to suffer, for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps.” 

Now, here's how to suffer: it says Jesus committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

As followers of Christ, as those united to Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection to new life, as His witnesses, we are called to suffer in this world because Jesus also suffered, leaving us an example. What is His example? Not threatening or reviling, not seeking justice or vengeance, but submission, service, entrusting ourselves to God and His perfect will and purpose. 

It is through suffering that Jesus accomplished our salvation. It's through His suffering that He brought glory to God. It's through the most unjust suffering, the greatest injustice ever at the cross, that the greatest good was accomplished. And so we are to follow the example of Jesus and submit ourselves to the will of God, trust ourselves to Him, and depend on Him for daily grace and sustenance and provision to glorify Him in all that we do—even if it is His will, if it is necessary for a brief time for us to suffer.

And that's really the meat of this epistle: an attitude of submission is the way of a victorious, fruitful life, a faithful life in the midst of this dark world. We are to submit to those who are in authority over us, have an attitude of submission because God has ordained, created each of these relationships in which we live and have opportunity to interact with other people—to be an example and a witness in our time on this earth.

An attitude of submission is ultimately a trust in God and His faithfulness to us, His plan and purpose for our lives, and the great good He wants to accomplish through us. 

And so an attitude of submission, coupled with an utter dependence on God and His grace, along with a focus on the glory that is to be revealed, is the way to persevere through sufferings, even rejoice in our trials, and through them become conformed to the likeness of Christ.

This is the context that brings us to our text this morning: Do not think it's strange, Peter said, that you are experiencing a fiery trial in this life, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's suffering, in order that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. He said, therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him, in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

As we come to this last chapter, Peter turns to the elders, the overseers, and he exhorts them in this same way. Look at our text in 1 Peter 5:1. He says, “The elders who are among you, I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

I've given you five points on your outline this morning: first, a fellow elder; second, shepherd the flock; third, willingly; fourth, eagerly; and fifth, be examples. 

Well, the text before us is very simple; it's very straightforward, but it's vital for our understanding as to the purpose, the role, the calling of the overseer, the elder of the church. There seems to be a tremendous amount of confusion in the church today concerning the purpose, the role, the calling of the overseer, the pastor, the elder. What has God called the elder of the church to? What is his focus to be?

You know, I don't know if I've ever run into another leader from another evangelical church when they haven't asked me: “Is your church growing?” Is my purpose to grow the church numerically? I mean, is it to meet the needs of seekers? Is it to entertain, to make the Word of God relevant to people's lives in 21st century America? Is it to become huge in numbers and implement and facilitate a plethora of programs in various ministries? Is the pastor, first of all, to be an administrator? Is that his job? What is the elder to do?

The scriptures aren't unclear. Peter says, “I am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ.” The wording here speaks of his common calling along with all who are elders in the church, and the idea of being a witness here is the same for every pastor, elder—every believer, really—to speak, to testify, to witness to the sufferings of Christ, the gospel. In 2 Peter, he’s going to tell us about his personal witnessing of Jesus’ life and ministry, that he was an eyewitness. 

But here he's speaking of his commonality with all elders. That he's an overseer, he's a faithful minister, and he's a witness of Jesus. Like Paul said to Timothy, “Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” This is an interesting statement because Peter, in no way, sets himself apart—quite the opposite. Here he's a follower of Christ; he's called to be an overseer, an elder. 

My friends, he was not the first Pope. He's not some sort of super elder. He says, “I am a fellow elder with the same calling as all elders in this role, in this office in the church.” And he points us back to the reward, the consummation, the coming glory, as he writes, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. 

Who's a partaker of that glory? All who love His appearing, Paul says. He talked about this in 2 Timothy 4. He says, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 

Set your hope fully on the grace that will be revealed at His coming. The crown of righteousness is for all who love His appearing. So Peter here sets himself as a fellow elder who will partake of the coming glory just as every believer. And then he gives this charge, he gives this exhortation—the key, the central purpose of the elder of the church, the pastor, the overseer. He says, “Shepherd the flock of God.”

The word translated shepherd is a very full word with great meaning. It's translated “feed” in the King James; it's used of feeding cattle. But it carries a lot more meaning than just feeding. It has the idea of tending, caring for, meeting the needs of the flock. 

It's very interesting to me that the Lord continually uses the metaphor of sheep to describe us. A sheep’s a very interesting animal. I was watching a farm documentary a few years ago in England about sheep, and one of the shepherds on that program, who'd been raising sheep all of his life, said this: “From the moment that a lamb is born, it is seeking a way to die.” 

There's a lot of truth in that statement. Sheep are needy animals. They are prone to getting into trouble. They're prone to wandering away. Just like the song we sang this morning, “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.” They wander; they’re in need of shepherding—they're in need of constant care and direction.

Over the years, we've experienced this reality in many different ways on our farm with cows and pigs. You don't have to worry so much about things like parasites or tangling up in a net or hanging themselves in a feeder or predation by wolves and even large birds of prey. My wife is a shepherdess of sheep. She has to care for them, watch them, tend to them continually. 

We have to watch for injury, for symptoms of sickness or internal parasites that can kill them quickly. They tend to hide their suffering—not like pigs; pigs are our drama queens, like a man with a cold. But sheep are prey animals; they don't show weakness. So you have to know them; you have to watch them. You have to constantly care for them and direct them to green pastures and clean water and keep them from injury and predation. 

They tend to go their own way, and you must direct them to safety and sustenance. This is the picture that Jesus gives of Himself as the Chief Shepherd—the one who cares for His sheep. In John 10, He describes this relationship. Turn over to John 10 with me at verse 11. 

John 10:11 says, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My sheep, and I am known by My own.”

Now, if you go down to verse 27, Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” You know, if a stranger comes to our farm and we give them a little tour, and we’re going around looking at the animals and explaining what we're doing there, and we get to the sheep, they all run to the other side of the pasture; they don't like strangers. 

But if my wife goes out there to her sheep and she calls them, “Nanny, nanny, nanny,” they'll run from the other end of the farm and come up all around her. They know her voice. Jesus says, “My sheep know My voice.” 

I tend them, care for them, love them, give My life for them. We are wholly dependent on our Shepherd, for without Him, we can do nothing. We're like sheep. 

In our text, Peter says that the elder, the pastor, the overseer of the church is an under-shepherd. The Chief Shepherd is Jesus, but He has appointed under-shepherds in the church to care for His sheep. This word “shepherd” is used in John 21 in an exchange I'm sure Peter never forgot. Turn over to John 21 with me at verse 15.

This is after Peter had denied Jesus and the crucifixion, and so forth. In John 21:15, it said, “So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, 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 Jonah, 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 Jonah, do you love Me?’ and Peter was grieved because He said to him a third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep.’”

Jesus was about to ascend into heaven; He was about to go and prepare a place for us, and He'll come again to receive us to Himself. But now, in this time, in the church age, Jesus has appointed shepherds to feed, to tend, to care for the flock. This is who Peter was—a fellow elder—and this is what the elders are to be doing in the church. 

And the primary way that they do this is to feed the flock, the Word of God—preaching, teaching the Word of God. Paul makes this so clear in the pastoral epistles written to Timothy and Titus, with the express purpose of instructing them on how they are to conduct themselves in the house of God. 

Listen to the words in Timothy, 1 Timothy 4. He says, “For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. This is a summation of everything Peter's saying: we're suffering, we're laboring because we trust the living God. He says, ‘These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word and conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, and purity. Until I come, give attention to what? What's Timothy to give attention to? Reading, exhortation, doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which is given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Listen to this: give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.’”

In 2 Timothy 4:1, Paul says, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, His dying words to Timothy, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing in His kingdom: preach the word. Be ready in season, out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and teaching, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. But you, be watchful in all things. Endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. Preach the word. Take heed to the doctrine. Give yourself entirely to these things.”

It's like the apostles in Acts when they said, “We don't have time to distribute the food and wait on tables; we have to give ourselves to prayer and study of the word so that we might teach and equip the believers.” 

The way that the church is built up, the way that we are prepared for the work of ministry that God has for us is through the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God. And the way that the under-shepherd can feed his sheep is by the faithful study, prayer, and preparation to teach, to preach, and to live out the Word of God. 

Peter also says, “Be an example,” just like Paul told Timothy. “Take heed to yourself; let your progress be evident to all.” Peter says, “Be an example,” verse 3, “nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” Examples how? In an attitude of submission to the Word and the will of God. 

This is very practical, right? People have issues, they have problems, they have sufferings, and when they come to the elders, the elders say, “This is what the Word of God says. We trust God, so we believe His Word, so we make this application.” 

This is the basis of everything. I believe what God says; I trust that He knows what's best. Is it difficult sometimes? Agonizing. But I believe it, and therefore in my life, I seek to, by His grace, apply it and be an example—an attitude of submission to the Word and the will of God, wholly living in witness and evangelism, abiding in Christ and trusting oneself to God, depending on Him.

What we see in our text is really a contrast, the opposite of how Peter describes the false teachers, the wolves in sheep's clothing. Look at verse 2: “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

Not by compulsion, but willingly. Willingly, willfully. It makes me think of 1 Timothy chapter 3. What does Paul say is the first requirement for an elder? He must have a desire. And that desire is given to him by God; it's a willing service. Then he says, “Not for filthy lucre” or “dishonest gain.” We see this throughout the scriptures—that false teachers are in it for the money. 

We'll see this when we get to 2 Peter 2. We see this in our world as well. Preachers like Kenneth Copeland, or Benny Hinn, or Joel Osteen, they're in it for what they can get out of it—whether that be money, or sexual immorality, or power, or prestige, or whatever. Peter says the overseer must be eager to serve—to teach, to guide, to love, to minister to his flock for their good. This is a ministry, a service that he would gladly do for free. He's eager to do it.

What a contrast with the false teachers who are in it to make merchandise of the sheep—hirelings. Next, he says, “nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” 

Let's look at Matthew 20, Matthew 20, verse 25. Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” 

The word translated “lord it over” speaks of a high-handed autocratic rule. I remember when I was a child in the Roman Catholic school, we went to Mass six days a week, and we feared the priest. Father Heilman, when I was 10 years old, used to take his thumb and grind it into the back of my hand until I fell to my knees on the ground. I watched him punch kids. The nuns dressed my brother up in baby clothes and made him sit under a desk in front of the class to make him behave. High-handed autocratic rule. 

There was a clear, heavy-handed authority structure, and in this system of religion, there is a hierarchy of authority. And that extends into the religion as well. Only those men know the truth; only the magisterium can interpret the Word of God and tell you what it says—says what's right and what's wrong. Only they can speak infallibly ex cathedra, out of the chair from the Pope, and hold your salvation in their hands. Without the priest, there's no dispensation of the sacraments. Without receiving the sacraments, there's no expiation of your sins. And without forgiveness of sins, there is no salvation.

Jesus says, “Don't be like that. Be a servant. Submit yourself to your brothers and sisters in the role that God has given you and trust yourself to the will of God.” 

Peter says, “This is not the example of Jesus. This is not our calling. Lording it over the flock—we are servants ministering to the needs of the flock, caring for them, tending them, making sure they have what they need so that they might grow and be fruitful for God's glory.” 

There is a God-given authority in the church in the role of overseer, but that authority only exists in the context of the Word of God—not in a religious system or hierarchy of rulers or in any way lording it over others in the church. 

This is very important for us to understand. Peter says, “Feed the flock. Don't go into the ministry or fall into the temptation of personal gain. Don't see yourself as above or ruling over. Be a willing servant. Give yourself entirely to study, preaching, and teaching. Be available to men. Love them and care for them. Tend the sheep, meeting their spiritual needs through the truth of the Word of God. Be an example to all. Let your progress be evident. Take heed to yourself.” 

This is the role of the elder. And for the faithful overseer, Peter says, there's a great reward in verse 4. “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” 

This is a consistent theme in the first letter of Peter. Go back to chapter 1 at verse 3. Let's look at that tremendous section of scripture. Verse 3, Peter writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. He's pointing us to the eternal. He's telling us what we have, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love, though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Look at verse 13. “Therefore, based on these great truths, gird up the loins of your mind, pull in all the loose ends, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 

There's a promise of grace to come for those who believe, a full and final deliverance from all the troubles and tribulations of this world. Peter says you are enduring suffering for a short time on this earth when it is necessary to make you like Christ, to draw you close to God. But soon there’s coming a day when there will be great reward. 

In chapter 4, verse 12, he said, “Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing is happening to you, but rejoice. Rejoice to the extent that you suffer because you are associated with Christ. Because when His glory is revealed, you're gonna be glad with exceeding joy. Rejoice now in your sufferings, your trials, persecution for righteousness’ sake, knowing that God is working in you to perfect and establish you, and that when Jesus comes, you will be glad—exceeding joy.” 

There's a day coming when we will see our Lord. We will be like Him when His glory is revealed. Paul says there will be a crown of righteousness. Peter says this is true for the elder, the faithful shepherd as well. 

You will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. The ministry of being an elder, pastor, teacher, preacher can sometimes be a difficult one. Wanting what is best for every believer—growth, fruit, a passion, desire for the Word of God. A witnessing, abiding church. 

And yet so many times there are struggles; there are burdens. And the elders bear not only their own struggles and burdens and insufficiencies, but also the trials and persecutions and struggles of those who have been entrusted to them—for them to shepherd, to care for, to tend, to feed. 

When we have a sick sheep on our farm, it's an urgent matter. And we do everything we can to nurse that sheep back to health and make them well and whole. How much more urgent a matter is it for the elder who has a sheep wandering astray or who is malnourished or sick in a spiritual sense? The burden can be great, but the answer is the same: Be faithful today. Entrust yourself to the Lord and His Word, His will. Be a servant, love God and love men, and set your hope on the coming of Jesus, on the revealing of the glory of God and the glorious revealing of the sons of man—the crown of glory that will be given to you and all who love His appearing.

I'd like for you to turn to one more passage in Romans 8. We see Paul's words concerning these truths. Romans 8, at verse 18. 

Listen to what Paul says in a parallel way: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. And not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope. But hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

This is what Peter's talking about. We are eagerly waiting for glorification, for a full and final release from the troubles and trials of this world, from sin and the curse, from injustice and wickedness. But now today, Paul says, this hope saves us. 

Saves us from what? From fear, from doubt, discouragement, from absolute overwhelm from the cares and troubles of this world. This hope—this hope of His coming, this hope of judgment and bringing righteousness on the earth, this hope of glory and eternity forever in heaven with Him—saves us now today from fear and doubt, discouragement. 

I was watching an interview with Tim Ballard the other day. You may recognize that name as the man whose life the recent movie Sound of Freedom was made about. He was a CIA agent and then Homeland Security, and he became a special agent into child-related crimes, including child slavery and human trafficking in the sex trade. 

What was interesting to me was in this interview, he said that when they called him to ask him to take this role, they told him that they picked him because he was a man of faith, and that being a man of faith was a requirement to work in this job because without it, men's souls are crushed by the nature of the work. 

That's quite a fascinating policy for our Homeland Security government agency to have: You must be a man of faith to work as a special agent in child sex crime investigation, or else you will not survive it mentally and spiritually.

How do we deal with the wickedness of this world, of men who hate Christ, who even seek more and more grotesque and evil ways to offend God and persecute His people? How do we understand all the great evil of our world and why God lets it persist? 

The man doing this interview that I watched was Jordan Peterson, the psychologist. Some of you may be familiar with him. He said that PTSD is always caused by a traumatic event but with the element of malevolence. In other words, it's not just trauma, but it's trauma coupled with evil men and their intent. 

And he said the way they treat this is to have the patient develop a concrete understanding of the existence of evil in this world. Tim Ballard's a Mormon, and I'm not much into psychology, but I thought this was a fascinating discussion. 

We, as believers in Jesus and God's Word, know that there's a system of evil in this world run by Satan and that he ever endeavors to do more and more evil in greater degree and to bring men into his fold, fighting against good and against Christ and His people. And we know, as Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3, that God has not ended evil on this earth, has not cast Satan into the lake of fire because He is patient and long-suffering. 

How long-suffering is He, my friends? If these things offend us so greatly, how much do they offend a holy and righteous and perfect God? And yet, He is so long-suffering; He is so unwilling that anyone should perish. He wants every man to come to repentance and faith in Jesus to salvation, that He's waiting.

And my brothers and sisters in Christ, we know that the day is coming when Jesus will make things right on this earth. He will rule and reign in righteousness; He will judge the wicked and destroy the heavens and the earth and create a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 

We know that there's evil; we know why God is waiting; we know what's coming—our hope—and therefore we can persevere and endure sufferings and understand them rightly by the mind of God and be fruitful and be witnesses and rejoice in the midst of it all. 

We know that for all who love His appearing, who anxiously wait and set their hope on His coming, there's a crown; there's a glorification; there's a glorious revealing, and there's eternity in heaven with Him. 

God has told us why these things are the way they are in the world and why we are here enduring suffering in the name of Jesus. We trust Him; we believe Him; we know that He who has called us is faithful, and He will do it. 

My friends, we are saved in this hope—saved from the despair of this world, saved from the crushing malevolence that exists in the system of Satan. My brother, my sister in Christ, take Peter's words for yourself. Take Jesus' example for yourself. Entrust yourself to Him who judges righteously, and know that He is working out His will and that His will is what is best for you, for the salvation of lost men, and for His glory. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful that You tell us the truth, that You told us the end from the beginning, that we know what's coming, that we have Your promises, that we have hope, that You saved us in this hope. It says even You subjected the creation to futility, the curse, in hope. 

The promise is all the way back in Genesis 3. The promise is reiterated to Abraham. The promise is explained in Galatians 3. The promise is Jesus. And we are eagerly waiting for His coming. Help us to trust You, to believe You, to entrust ourselves to You, to endure whatever comes upon us in this world, that we might be witnesses, that men might be saved. 

We know that that's Your will You have told us. We know that's why You're waiting and why You're enduring so much. Help us to understand, to believe, to depend and trust in You, Lord. In Jesus' name.