God's Gift of Shepherds.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] If this is your first time here, my name is Steve, one of the pastors here at Village [0:14] Church. [0:14] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:18] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open the first Peter chapter five.

[0:21] We’re going to be starting in verse one this morning as we begin the final chapter in [0:28] verse one. [0:29] [0:29] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [0:33] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [0:35] And we’re going to be starting in verse one.

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[1:02] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:04] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:04] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:05] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:06] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:08] And we’re going to be starting in verse one.

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[1:40] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:41] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:42] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:43] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:45] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:47] And we’re going to be starting in verse one.

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[1:55] And we’re going to be starting in verse one. [1:56] And Peter said, not just in that time, but of course in our day as well, these people [2:00] were to have a confidence in the victory of Christ that would serve as a witness to the [2:05] people around them. [2:06] With the book beginning to come to a close, Peter has focused on strengthening one another [2:12] in the church for the purpose of discipleship so that they could endure these difficult

[2:17] circumstances, strengthening each other. [2:19] Peter then warned these people against rebelling against God in sin and thereby suffering [2:26] for unrighteousness rather than righteousness. [2:30] If you fail to endure for the gospel, you’re still going to suffer. [2:33] You’re just simply going to suffer for all the wrong reasons. [2:37] Verses one through five that we’re going to cover today shifts to encourage and exhort

[2:42] the pastors of the church. [2:44] You know, leading churches in a hostile culture was and still is a very difficult responsibility [2:50] to have. [2:51] And the reason that Peter kind of is going to focus on in this passage is twofold. [2:55] First, he says there is a burden of enduring difficulty because of your own needed endurance [3:01] and faithfulness.

[3:03] The pastors had to themselves endure in faith, but there was a second burden for them that [3:08] other people, quite frankly, don’t know about. [3:11] And that is the endurance that is required in helping others remain faithful in the [3:18] gospel of Jesus Christ, his responsibility of pastors, shepherds, elders to aid others [3:24] in enduring in their faith in a way that is not the responsibility of all Christians, [3:28] that we must cultivate, we must steward, we must maintain environments for people to

[3:34] enter into so that they can have longevity in their faith, carrying into eternity with [3:39] Christ. [3:40] In this passage, Peter reminds the people of the church that God has given pastors [3:46] to them as a gift, as hard as that is for you to understand, I am such a gift.

[3:55] You know, I couldn’t make it without doing that. [3:58] Peter reminds the people that these pastors had been gifted to them in order to aid them [4:03] in order to equip them to continue following Jesus faithfully. [4:08] And these pastors must lead, though with proper motivation, with a vision for the [4:15] future, and that the discipleship of the people of the church necessitates faithful [4:21] pastors willing to shepherd Christians in the right direction, even in the face of

[4:27] resistance from outside of the church and yes, of course, inside of the church as well. [4:32] God has designed the role of a pastor for the good of the church and for the future [4:39] of his glory. [4:41] Now, all cards on the table. [4:43] I don’t know if you know this or not, but I am a pastor. [4:45] And so I might talk a little bit about some inside baseball.

[4:49] It’s kind of what you referred to it about pastoral ministry today and understand it [4:52] is a little weird for me to talk about pastoral ministry and anything that you think I’m [4:57] going to say tooting my own horn. [5:00] I am not tooting my own horn. [5:01] I, though, champion pastors in general. [5:06] When I was growing up, my greatest heroes were pastors.

[5:10] Over the course of my life, I don’t exaggerate rather at all. [5:15] I have literally listened to tens of thousands of hours of sermons in my life. [5:22] I not only love the Bible, and that is what God’s gift of the church and God’s gift of [5:27] pastors in my life has given me an unceasing, an unquenchable thirst for his word. [5:36] I love preaching the way that some of you watch a football game. [5:42] That’s how I listen to a sermon.

[5:45] I’m dissecting the mechanics while they dissect the scripture. [5:49] I’m listening to the inflection of their voice. [5:51] I’m listening to, oh, my goodness, he softened his voice at this point of the sermon. [5:55] He raised his voice at that point of the sermon. [5:57] He got a little emotional right there. [5:59] He was so dry right there.

[6:01] Oh, he lost it right there.

[6:05] So I love preaching. [6:07] I love preaching when it’s a great sermon. [6:09] And here’s a sick pleasure of mine. [6:12] I like listening to bad sermons. [6:13] It encourages me greatly.

[6:16] I say, well, I’m better than that guy, so I at least I got that going for me. [6:21] But I love God’s word. [6:24] I love sermons. [6:26] And that is how it all started with me. [6:29] But then as I’ve grown in my life, as I’ve had the privilege, really, of being a part of church ministry my entire life, [6:37] I’ve grown to witness and take part in the other parts of pastoral ministry, which, quite frankly, take a tremendous amount more time.

[6:46] That is the needs of people, the consequences of people facing suffering for their own bad decisions, the needs of people emotionally, [6:57] the way that you have to shepherd from a 15,000 foot view and a 15 foot view, [7:01] the way the pastors have to make decisions that people in the pews aren’t necessarily going to understand. [7:08] And when you don’t understand something of the default mode of human beings is to disagree with that thing you don’t necessarily understand. [7:15] And so I in no way am going to toot my own horn. [7:18] But what I am going to do for you today is champion pastoral ministry.

[7:23] We’ve come to a place, me and Nate joke all the time, we think we would have been way better pastors in about 1985, [7:30] because that was when I think pastoral influence really kind of hit a climax in the United States. [7:36] And I think that’s where I think pastoralism is at. [7:36] Somewhere around the mid 80s is where people still respected pastors, people still honored pastors, people still honored pastoral families. [7:45] And more than that, people still wanted their sons to become pastors. [7:50] One of the more heartbreaking realities for me since about the year 2000 is watching parents discourage their sons from entering into pastoral ministry.

[7:59] By the way, if you discourage your son from going into pastoral ministry, you’re not a Christian. [8:04] You want to know what the fruit of faith looks like? It’s that.

[8:08] God in his word has ordained the office of pastor to keep his church faithful, to keep his church honest, [8:16] and to keep people growing as disciples of Jesus Christ. [8:20] And as I’ll talk about today, to protect people from the wolves that are all around. [8:25] And so I love to champion the office of pastor because it’s the greatest privilege of my life. [8:31] It’s my joy. It’s difficult, but I love it. I love every second of it. [8:36] I’m weird in the sense that when hard parts happen, I’m like, oh, good. Let’s see what this turns out to be.

[8:43] Because I love pastoral ministry. But I want you to understand that my hope is that from within Village Church, [8:49] so many men, boys from the next generation will become pastors. [8:54] And so for some of you, what is your worst nightmare? I’m praying for it. [8:58] And I’m praying God would give you the faith to shepherd your sons to our one of the highest hopes that you have for them, [9:05] is that they could become pastors of a local church, not just pastors, but faithful pastors, [9:09] because that is what is so desperately needed for the next generation.

[9:15] All right, get off my soapbox. Let’s read First Peter, Chapter five. I’m going to start in verse one. [9:19] First Peter writes to the suffering church, he says, So I exhort the elders among you. [9:25] To exhort means to encourage, but with a bite. [9:31] I mean, that’s the simplest way to understand what exhortation is. Exhortation sees where you are and says you could do better. [9:38] It sees where you are and it pushes you to become more. [9:41] And so he says, I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,

[9:47] as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. [9:52] Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, [10:00] as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly. [10:06] Number one, this morning, I want you to understand that you need pastors to help you endure. [10:11] You need pastors to help you endure. [10:15] Somewhere along evangelicalism, that has gotten lost.

[10:20] We think that the ones that help us endure are the pages of our devotional or the latest devotional book to come out, [10:29] the podcasts that we listen to. [10:32] And that is not at all what God designed his church to be like. [10:37] God designed his church to be very personal. [10:41] God designed his church to where you can actually know who your pastor is. [10:46] God designed his church so that it is a physical reality in your life,

[10:50] where there is a physical person that is cultivating environments for you to be discipled as a part of a local body of Christians. [11:00] But somewhere along the way, somebody began to adopt the lie. [11:04] Just me and Jesus, that’s all I need. [11:06] Doesn’t that sound good? [11:08] That sounds faithful, doesn’t it? [11:10] Just me and Jesus.

[11:14] Unfortunately, or actually fortunately, Jesus has actually told you something different. [11:19] Jesus has said, he is the head of the church and you are his body, so you better get busy being a part of one.

[11:26] You cannot follow Christ in the direction that he is going apart from a local church. [11:34] You cannot do it. [11:38] God has gifted the church then with pastors for the sake of your endurance. [11:46] Now, as I said, it’s obviously strange for me to talk about how pastors are God’s gift to the church without me sounding like a braggadocious, prideful man. [11:53] But this is the context of the passage that is in front of us. [11:57] What Peter is saying to these people is, pastors, they need you.

[12:02] And so what’s the inference there? [12:04] Church members, you need your pastors. [12:07] Normally, sermons like this are relegated to pastors conferences or sometimes when we specifically discuss the qualifications of a pastor at a members meeting or something. [12:16] But in this text, there’s a different focus than on the normal road talking about the qualifications of a pastor. [12:23] In this text, there’s a specific facet of pastoral ministry that Peter thought was vital enough to where the entire church needed to see the right motivation for a pastor. [12:38] And what is the context?

[12:41] The context is these people were suffering for their faith. [12:44] And when you are suffering, that is when you tend to detach. [12:49] When you are hurting, that is when you tend to isolate. [12:54] When you’re suffering, that is when you even question the goodness of God. [12:58] And Peter saying, I exhort the elders that are among you. [13:01] You better dig in and remind these people of the gospel every chance that you get.

[13:07] This facet of pastoral ministry is difficult, but this facet of pastoral ministry is the most important that you will ever be on the receiving end of in your life. [13:16] Verse one begins with the term so and other translations that is therefore what he’s doing is he’s looking back and he’s saying, since all of this is true, this is what needs to happen among you. [13:27] He wants this section to be understood in light of the call to suffer well and suffer obediently for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [13:37] And since you’ve got to do that, you’re going to need help and you need the leadership of these pastors. [13:42] This is almost a reference to first Peter to 25. [13:48] He said, for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

[13:54] That’s the gospel. He’s referencing Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53. [14:03] But note that it’s also the descriptive term that he uses here in verse two. [14:08] You are the shepherd, the flock of God that is among you. [14:12] And so often because of the vernacular that is used between Jesus and pastors in this world, pastors are often referred to as under shepherds. [14:23] Because of this, this is a good descriptive term to explain the work of a pastor. [14:29] It’s also why everything this passage states is required for the mindset, for the motivations, for the actions of the pastoral office.

[14:40] Hebrews 13 seven focuses on pastors when he says, Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you, the word of God, consider the outcome of their way of life and what? [14:51] Imitate their faith. So many people look at the lives of pastors and sometimes, you know, you even in pastoral ministry, there’s the joke of the solo pastor and he’s overweight. [15:01] He’s always ready for a good potluck. He’s he’s broke. [15:04] And so he’s always begging people for money and for food. And it’s become quite a caricature in our world. [15:10] And sometimes that is the reality. But understand that the way that the scripture looks at pastors is, is you are the Christian who’s setting the standard for other Christians.

[15:20] And so it breaks my heart so much when people look at pastors and they pity us.

[15:26] They say things like I could never, I would never, I wouldn’t want my child to do that. [15:30] And that’s heartbreaking because scripture looks at pastors as consider their way of life and imitate it. [15:37] I’m in no way up here to give you some kind of narcissistic pity party. [15:40] Nobody thinks better of me than me.

[15:45] But what I am here to tell you is that if we are not careful, there will be no next generation of pastors rising up because of the way mothers and fathers treat pastors and the way mothers and fathers talk to their children about their pastors. [15:58] Hebrews 13 seven says, imitate me, deal with it. [16:05] It says that. [16:08] It’s understand the goal of pastoral ministry. [16:12] My goal in life is to set a standard of living, but also set a standard of leadership that postures you to proclaim the truth of God while following Jesus myself in such a way that it inspires and encourages the people of the church to follow suit. [16:32] All while dealing with my own sin, all while repenting of my own sin, all while dealing with criticism, all the while dealing with encouragement, all the while dealing with my own family, all the while dealing with my own pains, all the while dealing with my own faithlessness.

[16:53] God still looks to the church and says, consider their way of life and imitate it. [17:00] See, for pastors, the two greatest ingredients of successful pastoral ministry, I say this doing this over two decades.

[17:10] Is both faith and faithfulness. [17:13] Those are the two greatest ingredients. I know there’s other qualifications, but I can tell you right now without those two things, those other qualifications will never happen.

[17:22] A pastor must believe the gospel. [17:24] With everything in his bones. [17:27] In order to proclaim the truth, which by the way, proclaiming the truth, pastoral ministry is considered is the paramount. [17:35] That’s what we exist for. [17:39] But he says, in order to do that, you must believe it. [17:42] If I didn’t believe this, I could never come up here every week and have any real conviction that what I’m saying is true.

[17:50] I pray that you believe that I at least believe. [17:53] But faith isn’t enough. [17:58] Faithfulness is a greater step. [18:01] It’s where I apply the very precepts of my life. [18:06] To my ministry.

[18:09] You see, you have to understand that. [18:12] When I come up here, I pray I’m living what I’m talking about, but I also know I’m not 100% living what I’m talking about because I’m not Jesus Christ.

[18:24] And there’s this old adage somebody used to say, oh, if you aren’t living it, you can’t preach it. [18:30] To where all pastors everywhere resigned immediately. [18:34] I think it was John Piper who said, if you got 50%, that’s enough.

[18:42] But you see, I’m striving to be faithful. [18:45] All the pastors here at Village Church are striving not just for faith, we’re striving for faithfulness because it is faithfulness that typically builds your faith. [18:56] The body of Christ must be active and Jesus gifts his church with the leaders. [19:00] And I always say to build environments because that’s what we do. [19:05] We build environments of discipleship for you to enter into and by God’s grace, you will enter into them without us. [19:12] Where we will become architects of something that will outgrow our influence and ability so that you can become people who disciple one another with the word of God raising up more pastors.

[19:25] The gift of pastoral ministry, yes, is meant to be multiplied. [19:29] That’s why we’re starting Reform Baptist Institute. [19:32] In Titus 1, 5 through 6, Paul tells young Titus that he must train other pastors. [19:37] Look what he says, is this why I left you in Crete? [19:40] So that you might put what remained in order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. [19:46] If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, his children or believers, not open to the charge of debauchery and insubordination.

[19:52] And he continues from there. [19:53] I’m not going to break down all of the requirements for pastors because that’s what you probably want me to spend my time doing. [20:01] That’s where we get lost. [20:03] We start focusing on the trees rather than the forest, but that’s not what this text is about. [20:07] I’ll do that when I go through Titus. [20:11] But what we need to talk about is why these qualifications that he’s going to give are important.

[20:17] You see, all of these qualifications, if you look at everywhere, the qualifications of pastor. [20:21] It just adds up to one thing, an actual Christian.

[20:26] You want to know what the qualifications of pastor are? [20:27] Well, the pastor needs to be an actual Christian is what Paul is saying with one added thing. [20:33] There’s only one thing ever in the list that shouldn’t be true of all of you, and that is teaching the word of God. [20:40] That is defending the faith that is proclaiming the gospel. [20:44] The qualifications for pastoral ministry simply add up to a fruitful, spirit filled Christian. [20:51] And I think the gift of shepherding becomes a little clearer, actually, when he goes past the qualifications to the application of those qualifications that most of us never get to, starting in verse nine.

[21:04] He must hold firm to the trustworthy word is taught so that he may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine also rebuke those who contradicted. [21:12] Look at verse 10. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers, deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. [21:22] They must be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. [21:31] You see, the instruction, friends, is for the protection of the church’s endurance and sound doctrine so that false doctrine does not lead them away to follow false shepherds. [21:46] I don’t know if you know this or not, but there’s a lot of Charlottesens out there. [21:51] There’s a lot of false shepherds.

[21:53] Scripture says there wolves and sheep’s clothing. [21:56] Acts 20 28 makes us very practical. [22:00] Just pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the Church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. [22:10] That stanza, that phrase right there shows you how important the church is to God himself when it says he obtained with his own blood.

[22:24] This is what the pastor protects. To stay faithful as a pastor in order to aid you in faithfulness. [22:35] It’s hard work because this is not Mr. Rogers neighborhood. [22:39] That’s the point of X 20 28. [22:42] The world around us is full of wolves seeking to destroy the flock of God, his church. [22:48] And the gift of pastors to the church is not about becoming some type of ministry rock star. [22:56] It’s not about becoming some type of social media influencer who gives inspirational speeches like Tony Robbins to make you feel better about the life you are currently living.

[23:10] No pastoral ministry is about protecting the integrity of the gospel. [23:16] And proclaiming the truth of God so that you won’t be devoured by false teachers and a wicked culture. [23:24] Pastoral ministry is a gift to the church to raise you up so that you can follow Jesus faithfully and make disciples of Christ in the middle of all of the turmoil in this present world.

[23:41] That’s why number two, you need to understand pastors are supposed to lead the church in the future God has designed. [23:48] That is the most difficult part of pastoral ministry for me. [23:54] Because I have to lead you to places that you either don’t believe exist or don’t want to believe exist because you don’t want to go there that bad. [24:04] And so that inside of the church is a difficult responsibility.

[24:11] He says in verse one again I want to remind you I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder witness to the sufferings of Christ. [24:18] So what Peter is saying is I’m with you in this. I’m an elder. I’m a pastor. [24:24] He says but I’m also a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. [24:32] That’s the future. [24:35] He says I’m going somewhere and you got to come. [24:38] This is Shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight not under compulsion 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.

[24:54] Examples of what?

[24:57] Examples of someone who believes in Christ. [25:02] But we can’t forsake the example of someone who is a partaker of the glory that has yet to be revealed. [25:12] The church must go somewhere. [25:17] And sometimes that’s pretty difficult to convince you of. [25:21] Because you want heaven.

[25:24] But you don’t understand that your life sets the trajectory of whether you ever reach that destination. [25:30] See Christians must bear fruit of their faith and pastors must look to future glory in order to set a trajectory for you to bear that fruit. [25:42] So what is the proper motivation for entering and enduring faithfully in pastoral ministry? [25:48] Well according to the text if you want to meet the qualifications you have to be headed towards the future glory. [25:56] He mentions that in verse one he’s going to mention it again in verse four under our next phrase. [26:01] But this is the glory that is referred to at the very beginning of the book.

[26:05] Look at what it says in first Peter one four through five. [26:08] To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be here it is revealed in the last time. [26:22] He’s talking about future glory. [26:25] It’s the revelation of all of God’s promises that will be inherited by Christians to show the eternal worth, power, wisdom and on and on of God. [26:39] That’s his glory. [26:41] And throughout this book it is used as a motivating factor by which Christians endure suffering for the sake of the gospel.

[26:49] But here’s the key. [26:50] It’s the very same motivation for why someone would take the responsibility of leading God’s people in his church. [26:57] You see verses two through three give the responsibilities of pastoral ministry. [27:02] And when Peter does that he juxtaposes bad motives that will not endure in faithfulness with the right motives rooted in faith. [27:10] And the key is understanding that Peter is talking about endurance. [27:16] Pastoral ministry requires endurance in a variety of areas that are both personal as well as yes professional.

[27:25] You see friends by personal I mean that a pastor must endure in faith while experiencing every difficulty in following Jesus that every other Christian in the world faces. [27:37] But by professional I mean the burden of also being responsible for the endurance of every person in the local church. [27:48] You see that part of the responsibility is both fair and unfair because pastors have to discern a very difficult thing. [27:58] And if you don’t understand this it’s one of those things it’s almost like you need to be a pastor to understand it. [28:05] Understand the other five pastors man they’re going to nod when I say this oh man like Chris’s head might just fly off. [28:11] He’s nodding so hard.

[28:16] Sometimes I say things and I didn’t mean to say them and they make me laugh. [28:22] Inside.

[28:25] The fair responsibility that a pastor shoulders is everything that God tells him that he’s responsible for. [28:31] The unfair part of pastoral ministry is everything that the people of the church say that we are responsible for that God never puts a burden on us for. [28:42] That’s difficult. [28:43] There are many things that you want us to do and many things that you want us to be that God does not tell us to do or be. [28:53] And some of that is because you were at you know First Baptist whatever and this is what the pastor always did and I’d rather get a root canal.

[29:03] All right I tell the story in membership matters but I knew a pastor one time that was literally his church’s pest control. [29:10] Anytime somebody had a vermin or bugs in their house the pastor went and took care of it and I said no.

[29:19] I give you the number for working. [29:21] That’s about as good as I’m not even coming. [29:23] You tell me that you’ve got like a snake problem. [29:27] Burn it down like your house is gone.

[29:31] You move.

[29:34] But I’m not coming because God doesn’t tell me to. [29:38] All right. [29:40] And so that’s there’s an unfair side. [29:42] And here’s the key. [29:44] I know that I’m never going to be able to convince you that it’s not my responsibility. [29:49] And so I know that you’re going to accept what I say.

[29:53] And in a year you’re going to get fed up again and then you’re going to leave. [29:57] And there is nothing I can do about it. [30:01] And it is very unfair to me and all of the pastors and all of the members. [30:07] And I’ve lived in that reality for 25 years and I’ve accepted it. [30:13] I hate it, but it’s OK. [30:16] I have no desire to give inspirational speeches that make you feel better about the doo doo that you are sitting in and willfully choosing.

[30:28] And so my speeches are always going to be why are you sitting in doo doo? [30:32] Stop it. Get up, change your pants and move because that’s what God’s word tells me. [30:39] I’m not Tony Robbins. [30:42] I’ll never be that inspirational or demonic.

[30:48] This is some of you are like, I just wish Steve would get up there and be a demon. [30:51] No, it’s just not in my resume. [30:54] I’m never going to do it.

[30:57] I have got a burden. [30:59] Jeremiah 20, he when he was in the stocks, when he was suffering, he said, the word of God is burning in my bones and I can’t help but proclaim it. [31:08] That is the life I desire, not the suffering part, but the proclamation part.

[31:16] See, friends, so much is put on the shoulders of pastors that just quite frankly are not the standards that God gives at all.

[31:27] So how do you endure in the face of that? [31:29] I’ll tell you how I endure in the face of that. [31:31] Pastors must look beyond what is currently happening to the promises that God has made that are coming ahead. [31:39] And we must simply set our true north by that standard and do everything in our power to lead the church in that direction, because that’s the vision. [31:49] Too many people want to be shepherded in such a way that would lead you to accept less than biblical circumstances in your life. [32:02] And you just want me to tell you how to cope with what’s going on because you have no intention of changing it.

[32:07] But the pastoral calling to shepherd is a calling to push people to strive for the ideal of what God has promised rather than accept the mediocrity and even sinful pain that exists right now. [32:24] And I know that that’s hard for you. [32:29] But you must know that that is very hard for me, too. [32:33] I want people to like me, maybe not as much as you do. [32:38] But it’s difficult when I know I’m going to say something and I know who it’s going to hit and I know who it’s going to offend. [32:45] And that’s when my fear of man has to be overwhelmed by my fear of God.

[32:50] And I must say, I’m not up here to make friends. [32:53] I’m up here to preach the word. [32:55] Pastors must then be motivated by their faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ alone. [33:05] You see, some pastors inhabit the office for the motives Peter actually rejects in this passage. [33:11] Jude 12 calls them shepherds feeding themselves. [33:16] He says, there are hidden rifts at your love feasts as they feast with you without fear.

[33:21] He calls them waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in light autumn, twice dead, uprooted. [33:30] None of that is good, by the way.

[33:34] This is not what you want to be. [33:37] Unfortunately, there are even pastors who don’t even want to be pastors. [33:41] They just don’t know what else to do. [33:43] There are also pastors who want to control people. [33:48] They want to domineer. [33:49] This text warns us against that.

[33:52] You have no idea how little control I want over your lives. [33:55] Most people are shocked how little control I want. [33:58] It just takes too much time. [34:00] Controlling people is a full time job, and so I’m not interested. [34:03] Some even excel according to the standards of success that the world sets. [34:09] They build significant followings.

[34:12] And they’re false shepherds. [34:14] I believe James 3.1 points at pastors and states, we will be judged more harshly. [34:19] Because of our influence in people’s lives. [34:22] And I even have friends in ministry, and I’m worried about the future judgment that they will endure.

[34:30] You see, the motivation that is needed is rooted in God’s word and is set to a standard of being an example to the flock of faithfulness.

[34:42] On the other side are those who don’t want to control you. [34:47] They love being pastors, but they are people pleasing pastors. [34:54] I believe in our era we actually have a pandemic of people pleasing hirelings who don’t actually lead. [35:01] And these, quote unquote, pastors are constantly afraid, and I know some of these guys and I feel for them. [35:07] They live with constant fear that they’re going to lose their jobs. [35:12] Because they’re a staff pastor at a church by committee leadership structure.

[35:22] Friend, you don’t want a pastor like that. [35:25] I won’t actually got into church planning because of my last job at an established church. [35:30] I left on great terms with them, but I worked for a senior pastor who had literally zero authority over the church. [35:41] He was a staff hireling and he we would meet and he would just talk to me about doing his job and I would be like, OK, I need some vision. [35:49] I want to know where we’re going. And he says, well, that’s what the Deacon Board is for.

[35:54] And I almost got fired by that Deacon Board, but, you know, whatever.

[35:59] Just don’t let your kids play hide and seek in the graveyard. [36:02] All right, that’s I give that advice to a lot of young pastors. [36:07] Learn from my mistakes. [36:08] They took the graveyard far more seriously than I did. [36:12] All right. Yanks.

[36:16] Spooky hide and seek is not actually a good idea. [36:21] I’m just saying, I don’t know. [36:24] See, there are so many reasons people get fired from churches. [36:27] You would be amazed. And that’s the only time I almost got fired.

[36:32] Their great grandparents were in there. [36:34] All right. But pastors must. [36:39] All right, bring it back in. All right.

[36:45] Pastors must have the freedom to actually lead and be willing to do what’s necessary, even if it ruffles some feathers in the church. [36:57] You see, Ephesians 4, 11 and 12 informs the church that the offices of leadership are given to equip them for the work of ministry to build the body of Christ. [37:07] That’s the future of God’s people. [37:10] You see, most people don’t have a default mode that immediately understands that you need pastors to teach you because there are many areas in your life that need to change. [37:23] Most of you love change until it’s yours. [37:29] And then the response is, well, how dare you? You’re judgmental.

[37:32] It was OK when they needed to change.

[37:36] But see, friend, every one of us need to change. [37:38] That’s the path of growth. [37:39] And a pastor must have the freedom to get in your face about it every once in a while or every week. [37:45] Pastors must be willing to set a standard of walking into a future of God’s design. [37:53] And that will always require environments of discipleship that lead to change. [37:59] So you can grow in your faith.

[38:01] Pastors must set a vision for future glory. [38:04] And you. Yes, you must have the humility to walk into that future of change.

[38:18] Because number three, understand discipleship requires the leadership of pastors. [38:22] Look at verse four. [38:26] And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive that unfading crown of glory. [38:30] Likewise, now he’s talking to the church. [38:34] Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. [38:40] Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another.

[38:45] For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. [38:51] You see, pastor shepherd people to become disciples.

[38:57] Pastor Shepherd the flock, because they believe the chief shepherd is returning with that unfading crown of glory. [39:03] And this is a responsibility that is stewarded because of faith that Jesus will keep his promises. [39:09] And there’s a reward coming. [39:11] That’s the motivation. [39:13] This is the same faith demanded of every follower of Jesus Christ. [39:18] But it is coupled together with the joy that pastors have the privilege of having a front row seat to the work of God and other people’s lives.

[39:27] Verse five gives clarity to what is at stake. [39:31] This great juxtaposition between humility and pride casts responsibility on the members of the church in light of the responsibility of elders. [39:40] Note, he gave all these juxtaposition for pastors, but then he gives one key juxtaposition to know if you’re a faithful member of a church. [39:48] Are you humble or are you proud?

[39:53] That is discipleship 101. [39:55] Without humility, you will never grow.

[39:59] If you are a prideful person that looks at a pastor and says, hmm, I need to change. [40:04] Well, you’re fat.

[40:10] What are you doing, friend? [40:13] You’re not hurting me. [40:14] I have a mirror.

[40:17] I know what I saw.

[40:20] You’re hurting yourself. [40:23] Because you’ll never grow with that attitude. [40:26] You see, this passage also isn’t reducing this to age. [40:31] Now, it should happen that older Christians are more mature, but that is not always the case. [40:41] Timothy is a young pastor and first Timothy one, 18 through 20. [40:47] Paul writes, and he says, This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you,

[40:55] that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience by rejecting this. [41:01] Now, here’s the problem with pride that you don’t see coming. [41:05] Some have made a shipwreck of their faith among whom, and he names names, [41:12] are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, that they may learn not to blast him. [41:20] He tells Timothy first, he says, lead well. [41:23] But then he gets to the point, he says, understand, pastoral ministry can feel like warfare because it is spiritual warfare, friends.

[41:32] The pastor seeks to keep you from making a shipwreck of your faith. [41:38] But Hymenaeus and Alexander, do you want to know how to get to a place where you shipwreck your faith [41:45] and a pastor hands you over to Satan so that you will hopefully repent of your sin? [41:52] Pride. Pride. They wouldn’t listen.

[41:58] That’s why then in 1 Peter 6, 3 through 5, Peter warns Timothy that people accept false doctrine because he uses the phrase, [42:06] they are puffed up with conceit. [42:09] If anyone teaches a different doctrine, does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, [42:16] he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. [42:19] He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, [42:26] which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth,

[42:36] imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

[42:40] That’s a warning right there.

[42:44] Puffed up with conceit, friend, again, that’s another phrase for pride. [42:48] People wouldn’t listen. [42:51] So they accepted false doctrine. [42:53] The single greatest attribute of a church member is one thing. [42:59] Humility. [43:01] The humility to listen to the pastors, the humility to apply their teachings to one’s life.

[43:11] That is what Paul is saying is going to keep you from making a shipwreck of your faith, [43:17] and it keeps you from having unhealthy cravings that will ruin your life. [43:22] Friend, do you have that humility? [43:25] Too many people go from church to church. [43:28] They leave whenever the pastor challenges their lifestyle or their way of thinking, [43:33] and you will never grow if that is what you are going to do again and again,

[43:39] because you’re refusing to accept that a pastor may have more insight into the work of god than you do. [43:48] It is the pastor’s job to set a standard of growth [43:53] and then challenge you to move from where you are to where Jesus is actually going. [44:01] And you are doing him and yourself no favors with your backbiting, [44:08] your lies, your unfair criticisms, and your refusal to obey the scripture and give honor to who it is due.

[44:20] And that type of humility is only developed over time through the discipleship that pastors set a standard for. [44:28] Thinking you can accomplish discipleship apart from the church is again pride. [44:34] Do you want to be humble? [44:36] I can tell you from experience, it takes a lot of time and I’m still working on it. [44:40] It requires a long obedience in the right direction and there are no shortcuts. [44:47] It takes years of submitting to pastors in a local church where they, yes, will step on your toes week in and week out,

[44:55] where, yes, your pastor must say no to you sometimes. [45:01] The pastor must challenge you to serve in ways that you wouldn’t necessarily choose for yourself [45:09] and wage spiritual warfare to build your faith and protect you from false doctrine and wolves. [45:17] Why do pastors do it? [45:20] First Corinthians 9, 25, and I’m done. [45:23] Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.

[45:28] They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we? An imperishable. [45:36] That’s the reward. That’s what we strive towards. [45:41] Pastors lead because we love Jesus Christ. [45:46] And more than that, we trust Him to keep His promises. [45:52] A few application points.

[45:56] Trust that pastors are a gift from God.

[46:01] Never lose sight of my knowledge of how difficult that can be.

[46:12] Because you’re living your life, pastors are living another life, [46:16] and you come in here and we say, well, you got to trust us. [46:19] And you say, well, give me your resume. [46:22] And I typically say, nah, just trust me. Just kidding. [46:26] But you have to trust the pastors are a gift from God. [46:28] And I will tell you, I’ve lived a lifestyle where I have seen so many pastors that were not worthy of the trust to run an ice cream stand.

[46:36] I know pastors right now that aren’t worthy of anybody’s trust. [46:38] I’ve had great friends who have betrayed their churches and gone into immoral lifestyles and yet said, keep trusting me. [46:45] And so I know with our era of knowing things with no context of what’s going on in other churches, that’s the most difficult ask I could ever make.

[46:55] Second, follow the example that pastors give as they lead. [46:59] Follow the example. Third, beware of shepherds feeding themselves. [47:05] Scripture warns you of how to find wolves and sheep’s clothing. [47:09] And I’m telling you that as a pastor, be a Berean. [47:14] Look in God’s word to see if what I’m saying is even true. [47:17] And then finally, and this is this is a personal thing.

[47:20] Pray for your pastors to endure for the reward of Christ. [47:24] Pray for us. We need it. [47:27] But keep going and endure in the faith.

[47:39] Thank you.