The sermon 'Exhortations to Undershepherds' by Jason Dohm focuses on the role and responsibilities of church elders as outlined in 1 Peter 5:1-4. Elders, or 'undershepherds,' are to shepherd God's flock, serving as overseers with willingness and eagerness, not for dishonest gain or as lords over the congregation. They are examples to the flock, serving under Jesus Christ, the 'chief shepherd.' The sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding authority in God's kingdom, noting that all authority is derived from God and should aim to fulfill His will on earth. Elders are called to lead, feed, and protect the flock, drawing on biblical examples like Psalm 23 and John 10. The sermon also outlines that authority should always be connected to mission, focusing on spreading God's rule and blessing. Faithful undershepherds who serve according to these principles are promised a reward when the chief shepherd returns.

Our sermon text for today is 1 Peter chapter 5 verses 1 through 4. 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. Shepard 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." Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word.

And we thank you for the privilege it is to to sit under your teaching this morning. God, it is our desire That you would reveal your glory through the preaching of your word God we do desire to see Christ this morning. We pray that you would use your word Holy Spirit to convict us Lord to to make us more Like Christ Lord It's in the name of Jesus that we ask all these things. Amen. The title of the sermon this morning is Exertations to Undershepherds.

So it's in its encouragement to under shepherds. So it's encouragement and instructions to church leaders. And I'm calling them under shepherds. In verse 2, these elders, these local church leaders, are called shepherds. So that's right out of the text.

But then in verse 4, another phrase is used of Jesus Christ. He's called The chief shepherd. So the point being that shepherds aren't an end to themselves, that they are under Christ, the chief shepherd. So all elders are shepherds, but they're just under shepherds. The most real shepherd, the ultimate shepherd, is Jesus Christ, who Peter calls The chief shepherd and Peter ought to know, having lived with Jesus.

We've been working our way patiently through 1 Peter. Now we come to this eldership text and we're going to use this as an opportunity to stop into camp here for three weeks. So this week I'll just be giving an exposition of this text, 1 Peter 5, verses 1 through 4. Then next week we're going to do a general overview of eldership in the New Testament and go to maybe five or six different New Testament passages that are very clear and give a full-orbed view of what of what eldership is, what leadership in local churches is. And then two weeks from today, we'll spend talking about the qualifications for elders.

Elders have to be certain kinds of men in order to have been made fit for the work that God gives elders to do. So we'll spend a whole week in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 where Paul gives the two lists of qualifications for elders. This is particularly relevant to our church because one of these days you're going to be asked to qualify one or more men for eldership. And That's not for elders to do. That is for churches to do, to either affirm that a man is qualified or not.

And there are stern warnings about allowing men who aren't qualified for eldership to be elders. Paul in 1 Timothy 5 actually says it's sinful for churches to do that. So We'll get into that more later. But it's serious business. And one of these days, I'm not making any announcements or any predictions, I'm just saying one of these days, you all are going to be asked to qualify men for the position of eldership.

So the more you know about the work, and the more you know about the qualifications that God demands for men who are to be elders, the better off we all are going to be. Let's begin in prayer. God I thank You for the instructions that You have given to Your churches through these letters of the Apostles. And I pray that You would cause us to soak up these truths, to acquire the wisdom of them, and to be ready when our turn comes to qualify men to this office. To be ready, to be careful, to be prayerful.

God I pray that through time in this church that you would raise up many men for this office. Men who are desiring to be a blessing to your people, who love you more than anything else and desire to be poured out for the good of your body. May it be so in Jesus' name. Amen. It's going to take us a little while to get to the actual text.

I normally try to keep my introduction somewhat short so we can get right to the verse by verse exposition. But today, I think the way that I ought to start is to spend some time just talking about the nature of authority. Peter is writing to elders, he's exhorting elders, but elders are just one of many kinds of authority in God's kingdom, in God's economy. And so it's just a little subset of a big category. And the big category is human authority.

And The more you understand about the big category, then the things in all the subcategories become very plain. So whether you're talking about fatherhood or civil magistrates in government or elders in the local church or mothers in the role that they play in their home, the different kinds of authorities become very clear if you understand the big category. So we're going to start by talking about the big category. Authority in God's Kingdom. And I want to make three points about the nature of authority in God's kingdom.

Here's the first point. God is the ultimate authority. So we see that right here in our text with the calling of Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd. That's true not just in the subcategory of church leadership, but in the big category of all authority. God is the ultimate authority.

All authority on the human plane is simply derived from God. It starts and ends with God. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 13. By the way, if you want the two texts in the New Testament that you have to master if you want to understand authority. It's Romans 13 and it's 1 Peter 2.

We were just in 1 Peter 2 several weeks ago. So those two texts really teach us how we ought to think about authority. But in Romans 13 beginning in verse 1 Paul says, for there is no authority, there is no authority except from God. And the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God.

And those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. What Paul is teaching in Romans 13 is that authority starts with God. And that there is no authority that exists except from God. Now that does not mean that all authorities are godly authorities, but it does mean that every authority in existence has been commissioned and appointed by God. There's no way to wiggle out of that when you come away from Romans 13.

So you have these different realms and each of the realms has authorities given by God, appointed by God. You have the civil realm, government, presidents, and governors, and legislatures and mayors and town councils and in the civil realm in government, kings are under kings because Jesus Christ is the King of Kings. So earthly kings are under kings. They're not the top of the structure. Human authorities are never at the top of the pyramid.

God is always at the top of the pyramid. And in the family realm, Husbands are under husbands. Jesus Christ is the great husband and he has his bride. He is dealing with his bride in a certain way. So if a husband needs to know how to deal with his bride, He can look to the chief husband.

All under husbands can look to the chief husband to know how they should conduct themselves in their marriage. And fathers are under fathers. Under who? Under the Father. Fathers, if you want to know how to Father, you look at God the Father.

He is the Chief Father. And in the church realm, shepherds, and Peter calls elders shepherds, are under shepherds. So this is how it works. There is a pyramid and at the top of Every pyramid in every realm is God. And all authority is derived from Him.

And so all human authorities are under authority themselves. And that authority is God. So every authority has a playbook. Human authorities are not to govern at a personal creativity for the best of their own thoughts. They have a playbook and they are to execute the playbook.

And the playbook is the Word of God and the Word of God gives every human authority two things. One, direct instructions. Every human authority can find direct instructions about how they're to conduct their business from the Word of God. But secondly, and maybe of equal value, is an example of how God performs that function. So husbands can look to Christ because He's performing that function better than any human husband ever has or will.

But we can look to Christ and see that's how to husband. Fathers can look to God and see that's how to father. Kings can look to King Jesus and say that's how to be a human authority in government. To look at King Jesus. So we have direct instructions to every human authority, but also an example in God of how that authority ought to function.

So go to school authorities. This is not just a text for people who stand in pulpits to preach. It's not. It's to authorities. This is a subcategory.

When you study the subcategory, You're going to learn a lot for your own sphere. Everyone has a certain level of authority in their sphere except for a very few in this room. They're very little. Everybody else has places in their lives where they're under authority and where they're tasked to exercise authority. Everybody, I'm under authority and I'm in authority.

You are under authority and you're in authority in certain parts of your lives. And so we ought to go to school. There is a playbook for all authorities. We should go to the playbook. We should learn the playbook.

We should acquire the instructions that are to us and our different roles in life and we should look at God and see how he functions in his role as ultimate authority and then do likewise. Mothers, You have large swaths of your life where you act in authority. Go to school. You're making disciples most of the day, most hours of the day. Well, that's a position of authority when you're making disciples.

And there are instructions, explicit instructions to disciple makers. And there is a chief disciple maker that you can look to. So all of us need to go to school on this matter of authority and acquire wisdom from the scriptures so we know how we ought to conduct ourselves in those parts of our lives where we ourselves are in authority. So number one was God is the ultimate authority. Number two is every authority exists that God's will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

That's why God puts authorities here. So that His will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. Every authority exists that God's will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. Human authorities are an extension of his rule and reign. That's why he appoints authority.

To extend his authority. Boots on the ground. Boots on the ground. People there to carry out his will in the earth. To extend his rule and reign.

To push forward the boundaries of his kingdom so that his kingdom keeps expanding and keeps expanding. That's why human authorities. And this is a good thing for the planet earth Because wherever the rule and reign of Jesus Christ comes, happiness and every good thing comes with it. We ought to be glad God keeps expanding the borders of His Kingdom. It is the spread of happiness in this world.

Because there is no king like Jesus. So where his under kings are, and where his under husbands are, and where his under fathers are, and where his under shepherds are, his happiness ought to be spreading. That's when you know that it's functioning like God intended it to function. Like He designed it to function. People are becoming happier.

So human authorities are here to advance God's agenda, His mission. So again you have these different spheres. You have a civil sphere, a governmental sphere. And what is its mission? To punish evil and promote good.

That's what governments are supposed to be doing. According to the word of God, punishing evil and promoting good. This is 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 14. Peter's already said what governments ought to be doing. And then you can go and see what Paul says in Romans 13.

He says the same thing. Civil governments are to punish evil and promote good according to God's Word. You have the family sphere. What is the mission of the family sphere? God couldn't be more explicit about that in Malachi 2.11.

Godly offspring. To be fruitful and multiply and to subdue the earth. Take dominion for God. This is not, again, this is not some dark conspiracy. This is the spread of joy in the earth.

Expansion of the kingdom of heaven is the spread of joy in the earth. That's what families are supposed to be doing. Godly offspring and taking dominion. Expanding the borders of the Kingdom of Heaven so that the goodness of God keeps spreading on our planet. How about the church?

What is the mission of the church? That's easy, the Great Commission. Going and making disciples of every nation, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all the things that Jesus has commanded. So authorities are here to bring the will of God in each of these spheres. In the government sphere, they know what the will of God is.

It's to constrain evil and to promote good. In the family, they know what the will of God is. It's to train children to love God, to fear Him, to obey him. Churches know what their mission is. It's to go and disciple the nations.

And so authority is always, always, always, always attached to mission. Any time you disconnect authority from mission, you're in for a world of trouble. You're in for dissatisfaction on every side. Authority functions so well when it stays attached to its mission that God has given that realm. But man, when husbands get detached from the mission God has given to the family, but wants to preserve his authority, you have a world of trouble.

When civil government gets detached from the mission God has given it, but wants to keep its authority, you have a world of trouble. When elders are not interested in going and making disciples of every nation, but they want to keep their authority, you have a world of trouble. Authority is for mission. It's to bring about the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. So you can never disconnect authority from mission without disaster.

So number one, God is the ultimate authority. Number two, every authority exists so that God's will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. Number three, authorities are given by God to bless and serve those who are entrusted to the care of that authority. Authorities are given by God to bless and serve those who are entrusted to that authority. Back to Romans 13 verse 4 for he is God's minister to you for good.

That's it. For he, the authority, is God's minister to you for good. That's why. That's what he's there for. To serve and bless.

God establishes earthly authorities as a conduit for his goodness and his blessing. As a channel for his goodness and blessing. And the design is that human authority is put in place so that the goodness and blessing of God just flows down through that conduit, through that channel, to the people entrusted to that authority. So that the blessing of God just keeps flowing to these people who have been entrusted. Makes us wonder why we kick against authority so much.

When you put it that way, isn't it beautiful that God would give authority? That he would put men and women in place to be a conduit. Mothers, you are a conduit, a channel for the blessing and goodness of God to your children who you're discipling. God put you there for that purpose. So they're supposed to be receiving blessing from God through you.

The goodness of God through you. This is what God has designed husbands to be, and fathers to be. Channels of blessing. The blessing of God flowing through them to their wives and their children. This is what God has designed Elders to be.

Pastors ought to be this. Conduits, channels, the blessing of God flowing through them to the people that God has entrusted to those men. This is what civil leaders are designed by God to be. Channels so that the blessing of God could flow to the people who are entrusted. So human authorities are to take what God has said and graciously implement it for blessing.

To take these things that God has said and I picked my words so carefully here, graciously implement the things that God has said for blessing. So every area in your life where God has put you in a position of authority, that's most of us, even older brothers and sisters. There are times of the day where you're a lieutenant. You're an authority over younger brothers and sisters, you are there to be a conduit for the goodness of God and to graciously implement what God has said. That may simply be, we need to obey mom.

Turn to John 13. John 13. Jesus could not have illustrated it any more clearly than in John 13. In John 13, it's not explicit, but this is probably the Last Supper. This is probably the institution of the Lord's Supper.

There are really strong indications inside the passage that that's the case, but it never quite comes out and says it. In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. So we're learning something about the nature of leadership here. And then in verse 12, John 13, I'll be reading verses 12 through 17. We read this.

So when he, Jesus, had washed their feet, taken his garments and sat down again, he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If then your Lord and teacher, if I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent Him.

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." So Jesus washes the feet of His disciples and then He notices what has happened. That their teacher and Lord, they've been calling him teacher, they've been calling him Lord, has served them in the most fundamental and menial way. And he says, you're not greater than me. You're my students. I'm the teacher.

If I do it, you should do it. Blaster you if you do it. This is why bad authorities are so grieving to see. Because authorities are given to bless and serve, but bad authorities are rallying their underlings to serve them. That's not how Jesus did it.

That's not how Jesus taught us to do it. Earthly authorities don't rally underlings to serve them. They might be rallying those entrusted to them to go and do the mission that God has given them, but they don't rally them to serve them themselves. They are to serve. They are to be a source of blessing.

So the nature of authority in summary is service to God because He is at the top of the pyramid. In every realm, in every sphere, God is at the top of the pyramid and all authority is derived by Him. And so it comes from a heart desiring to live to the glory of God. And it's serving those who are entrusted to that authority. So it is serving God and serving those who are entrusted.

That is the nature of authority. Now, who is being exhorted? Now we're back to our text and the actual things that are in this text. 1 Peter 5, 1 through 4. Who is being exhorted?

Elders. Old people? No. They might be old people, but it's not just old people. This is the office in the church.

The New Testament teaches that the local church has two offices. Elders, deacons. Elders are in authority, deacons serve the practical needs of the church. We're going to spend all next week unpacking that. So I won't spend a lot of time there this week.

I'm going to try to define what elders are according to what we see in the New Testament, now I'm going to go prove the definition next week. So this week you just have to take my word for it. Elders are a plurality of qualified men who lead local churches. So you've got four things in that definition. A plurality.

So it's meant to be shared leadership. We'll talk about this next week, but as Alexander Strauch says, you can look for the senior pastor in the New Testament until your eyes bleed. You will not find him. It's meant to be shared leadership, A plurality of qualified men. That's two and three.

Four things in this definition. First was plurality, shared leadership. Two, qualified. God has said exactly what these men have to be. He requires it.

They're not suggestions, they're requirements. And you actually have to test for it. Men, eldership in the New Testament, is reserved to men, qualified men, who lead local churches. In other words, eldership don't have unlimited scope of authority. It has a very limited scope of authority.

It is a local church. So I have no authority in the other local churches that are around here. It's a very particular scope of authority. Eldership is a plurality of qualified men who lead local churches. So Peter says this, the elders who are among you.

This is a very important phrase, the elders who are among you. So what you have to know is that Peter is not giving management techniques to the executive suite. The top floor of the building where the executives are. Never to come down and mingle with the underlings on the lower floors of the building. Not the New Testament church.

The elders who are among you. Verse 2, the people are among the elders. Are you getting this? Verse 1, the elders are among the people. Verse 2, the people are among the elders.

This. So it is a distinct function, but no separation is created. None, none, none, none, none, none, no separation is created. It is a distinct function, but no separation. It is not instructions to the executive suite where the management is.

Nope. You Have to find that somewhere else. You don't find that in the New Testament. So elders are right in the thick of the people in local churches. That's why on both lists of requirements, qualifications, 1st Timothy 3, Titus 1, given to hospitality is on both lists.

You've got to be right there among everybody in the church and they ought to be right there among you eating at your dinner table because no separation has been created by this office in the church. Elders are among the people. The people are among the elders. It looks like this. Who is doing the exhorting?

Well, we know that. It's Peter because we're in 1 Peter. It's his letter. But it's Peter the fellow elder. Peter the fellow elder, not Peter the Pope, not even Peter the apostle.

He introduced himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ in the first verse of the letter. But not here. When he wants to talk to elders, he introduces himself as a fellow elder. It's very interesting. If you go back and you look at Acts 15, in Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas are at the church in Antioch.

Judaizers come and they start teaching the people in this church that if you want to be saved you must be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas see this as an affront to the gospel and oppose these men. And the church sends Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to get this settled. Do you have to be circumcised to be saved or not? In Jerusalem, they are received by the apostles and elders.

Now, the church in Jerusalem is not like any other church at any other time. Do you understand that? Because the eleven are there. The ones who walked and talked with Jesus for three years and saw Him raise the dead, healed the blind, healed the sick, preached perfect sermons, they heard that. They are there in Jerusalem.

And even then, in this church where the apostles are, there are elders governing this church. And we find out here that Peter is one of them. Now I don't know if there's perfect crossover, if all the apostles were also elders, or if some of them were and some of them weren't. It doesn't matter. We know that the church had apostles and elders, it says so explicitly, in two places in Acts 15.

So even a church with the 11 apostles that lived with Jesus for three years has elders to govern this local church. That's astounding to me. That a church with the apostles, God would still have that leadership structure even in that church. So which church doesn't think it needs elders? If the church in Jerusalem has elders, you can believe all the other ones need elders too.

And Peter was not just an apostle, but he was also an elder. So at the time of writing this letter, he's probably been an elder for three decades. At the time when 1 Peter was written, Peter is probably a grizzled veteran of local church leadership. He's probably been at it for something like 30 years. Peter's exhortations in this letter teaches us this.

Elders need each other. Elders need each other. And brown haired ones especially need white haired ones. Local church leadership is very serious business And it does not need to be amateur night. And brown haired elders surely do need white haired elders.

And this is what Peter is. He comes as a grizzled veteran of local church life to bring these good exhortations, these needed exhortations to the brown haired elders in these other churches. He calls himself a fellow elder, a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. He's absolutely establishing his credibility to give these exhortations to local church leaders. He's been an elder for a long time.

That helps to know. He was a witness of the sufferings of Christ. So he's an eyewitness to the gospel that he's preaching. And he's a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. So he's extremely qualified to exhort these local church leaders.

But he's also setting the ground for his counsel. In other words, he's able to say, I saw Jesus do what I'm calling you to do. That's what's happening here. I saw the Lord Jesus Christ do what I'm calling you to do. I saw Him lay down His life for the sheep.

That's what elders are to do. They're to lay down their lives for the sheep. Paul said, I'm being poured out. I'm being poured out for you. Elders are supposed to do that.

Why? Because Jesus did that. He's the chief shepherd. Here are Peter's exhortations. Here's what Peter says to these elders that he's addressing.

Number one, shepherd the flock of God which is among you. Shepherd that flock. Elders are shepherds. Listen to Psalm 100 verse 3. Psalm 100 verse 3.

Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He who has made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. The Lord's people have always, always, always been described this way. His people, the sheep of His pasture.

So whether it was Israel in the Old Testament or believers, those saved by faith in the New Testament under the New Covenant. They have always been the flock of God, the people of His pasture. It is His pasture. It is the Lord's people. Now listen to what Paul says in Acts 20 verse 28.

We'll spend a bunch of time in Acts 20 next week because it's Paul's exhortations to a group of elders in Acts 20. But just listen to this one verse and see if Paul and Peter have been conspiring together. Yes, they share a brain on so much of this. They are saying the same things. Listen to Acts 20 verse 28.

Therefore, take heed to yourselves, you elders, and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers." Same word that Peter uses. To shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. So Paul and Peter are thinking the same thing about local church life and how it ought to be governed. There are men put over local churches and there are shepherds over the flock of God. They're under shepherds.

Now why is the Church of God Jesus Christ? Because He purchased it with His own blood. So it is a precious flock to him. This is what you get out of Paul in Acts 20 verse 28. How precious the flock is to him.

It's a flock that he purchased with his own blood. He loves that flock. And this is why he raises up men and brings them to maturity. And then he says, go lay down your life for that flock. In my name.

This description of elders as shepherds tells elders a world about their function. Just that they would be called shepherds in the context of the Bible. And all that the Bible has to say about shepherds tells these elders a world about what their work is going to be. Shepherds lead, feed, and protect. So next week we're going to spend the whole hour talking about leading, feeding, and protecting.

This is what elders do because this is the role of shepherds. To lead, to feed and nourish, to protect. Turn to John 21. Turn your Bibles to John 21. In John 21, It's after Peter has denied the Lord three times, all the accounts say the same thing.

He went out and wept at his weakness. In John 21, Peter is restored. They've been out fishing. Jesus calls from the land. Somebody in the boat says, it's Jesus.

Peter can't wait for the boat to get to shore. So he takes off his robe and jumps in the water. Don't you love Peter? Peter's the best. Peter can't wait for the oars.

He just has to...not those oars. The oars. So he jumps in and swims. So we'll pick up in John 21, 15 through 17. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?

He said to him, yes, Lord. You know that I love you. Jesus 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? Peter was grieved because he said to him the 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." If you don't go read John 21, You don't get what you really need out of 1 Peter 5. If you don't know that Jesus has been face to face over breakfast with Peter, telling Peter, feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. And it's a sign that Peter loves him. Then you come to these instructions in 1 Peter 5 and you just can't squeeze the last drop of good out of it. You have to know that Jesus was face to face with Peter.

And he said, to the extent that you love me, go do this. Feed those lambs. Tend those sheep. Feed the sheep. And now Peter, through a letter, is face to face with another set of church leaders.

He says what Jesus said to him. Knowing that it's shepherding that we're talking about in eldership, opens up a treasury of texts in the Scriptures that helps local church leaders know what they're supposed to be doing. How about Psalm 23? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. So a local church leader's job is to take their people into the greenest pastures beside the quietest waters.

To set a table before them in the presence of their enemies. Local church leaders can go to Psalm 23 and know so much about what they ought to be doing. All of this is under the chief shepherd. It goes without saying that you can never be to anyone entrusted to you what Jesus is. Only Jesus can be the chief shepherd.

You can't be Psalm 23 to people in the way that Jesus can, but it gives you a direction. It tells you the direction that you need to head, trusting that the grace and help of the Chief Shepherd is there for his people. Because it is a people that he has purchased with his own blood. It is a precious people to him. So under shepherds are not just left to do their work.

The chief shepherd is active in this world to bless his people. How about John 10? You think that's a help to local church leaders, John 10, where Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. And then Jesus goes on and talks about how he goes about his business, protecting his flock, laying down his life for his flock in John 10. Local church leaders better get very familiar with Psalm 23 and John 10.

How about Ezekiel 34? Wow, Ezekiel 34 is about lazy shepherds, negligent shepherds, self-serving shepherds. And it is a fearful passage. Local church leaders ought to be well versed in Ezekiel 34. So there are a treasury of texts.

I've named three, but you could just push those aside and name another three, and then another three. Shepherding's everywhere in the Bible, And local church leaders have been given this treasury of shepherding texts that Peter takes us to and just drops local church leaders right off in those shepherding texts to know how they are to conduct themselves. Okay, so Peter's first exhortation was shepherd the flock of God which is among you. His second exhortation is serve as an overseer. So it's a position of service, there to serve, and it is a position of oversight.

We might struggle to know how these two things can operate together. But we just need to look to Jesus who washes the feet of his disciples. Acknowledging that it's true, he is their teacher, he is their Lord, but he has come to serve them. So all these things are plain as day when we look in the Gospels and see how Jesus conducts himself. It is a position of service and it is a position of oversight and there is no contradiction that needs to be reconciled there.

It is a position of real authority. Listen to Hebrews 13, 17. Hebrews 13, 17 is hard to wiggle out of. The writer of Hebrews says, obey those who rule over you and be submissive. So he says it three ways obey, rule over you, be submissive.

Hard to wiggle out of. Real authority. For they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief for that would be unprofitable for you. So God has designed and intended elders, shepherds to have positions of real authority But always in the context of service.

And always in the context of mission. Going, making disciples. The third exhortation. Number one was shepherd the flock of God which is among you. Number two is serve as overseers.

Number three is serve in a certain way. Serve in a certain way. There is a particular way that shepherds in a local church are supposed to serve. God has told us exactly how this work is to be characterized, what it's supposed to look like. Peter gives us things to be nurtured.

Peter gives us things to be avoided. And he gives them to us in couplets. Not this, but that. Not this, but that. Not this, but that.

Not this, but that. Here's the first couplet that Peter gives us. Not by compulsion, but willingly. Not by compulsion, but willingly. Now, Peter is exhorting those who are already elders.

So while I think it's an appropriate application to say you shouldn't arm twist a man into eldership, that's not primarily what's in view here, because he's exhorting elders. There are already elders. What is he saying? That the service rendered is not to be grudging drudgery. But the service rendered is to be a free will offering to God.

That's what Peter said. The service rendered should not be grudging drudgery, applauding along lifelessly. It should be a free will offering of love to God. It should flow out of a heart that is pulsing with love for God and for His people. Not drudgery at all.

To the contrary. A free will offering. Listen to Paul in 1 Timothy 3 verse 1. That's an extended eldership passage that we'll spend a lot of time in next week. But I'm just quoting the first verse today.

1 Timothy 3 verse 1, Paul says, This is a faithful saying, If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. So Paul talks about desire for the work and that it's a good work. And elders are to see their labors in this light. They're to have a desire for it and they're to see it as a good work. The second couplet, not for dishonest gain but eagerly.

Not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. Not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. When we go and we look at the two qualification lists, 1st Timothy 3, Titus 1, both of them have not greedy for money. Not greedy for money. This has to be embarked on out of love for God, not out of love for money.

Not as a way for dishonest gain. A man should be bursting in his heart to serve the Lord's people. A man should have a fullness in his heart to serve the Lord's people. He loves the Lord. And so the Lord's people are his brethren.

And he wants to be a conduit of blessing and goodness, The Lord's goodness. He wants to be that channel of the Lord's blessing for his people, who he loves and who he purchased with his own blood. And so he's eager for the Word. Third couplet. Not being a lord over those entrusted.

Nor as lording over those who are entrusted. But being an example. Eldership is not the position of a big shot. People who just want to be a big shot shouldn't apply for this job. Turn to Matthew 20.

Matthew 20, I think that's our last stop. Matthew 20, James and John's mother has come to Jesus. She has a request. I want my sons to sit on your right and left hands in your kingdom, the places of honor. The others hear about it and they're livid because they wanted to sit, it is right and left, in the places of honor and Jesus knows he has something in the hearts of these men to address.

Okay, So that's the context of what we're reading. Matthew 20, we'll read 25 through 27. But 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." I think there are two key phrases in here. It's loaded, But I think there are two key phrases about our topic today. Let him be your servant.

That is the mark of greatness in this kingdom. It's not like the other kingdoms. The mark of greatness in this kingdom is, let him be your servant. The second phrase is, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and lay down his life as a ransom for many. Jesus explicitly says, don't govern like the Gentiles.

They love to be big shots. They love to be heavy handed in how they lead. They love to lord it over and to be the boss. You can't love being the boss. You're there to serve.

The head of the church, Jesus Christ, entrusts people to his under-shepherds. And so it is simply a stewardship. It's a privilege. And it's a stewardship. So if I beat the sheep, If I drive the sheep, then there's going to be an accounting for that.

Because it's a stewardship. Instead of that, elders are to be examples. So the picture is, God raises up men and the fruit of the Spirit is in abundance in their life. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. I think I missed one.

But anyway, those. The fruits of the Spirit are in abundance in their life. And that is to be on display so that people can watch and say that's how you're supposed to be a Christian husband. That's what it means to be a Christian father. That's what it means to be a Christian worker.

That's what it means to be a Christian father. That's what it means to be a Christian worker. It's what it means to be a Christian neighbor. It's what it means to be a Christian friend. God raises up, brings men to maturity, and gives them as a blessing to younger Christians, people who are growing in maturity to say I need more of that and less of my current patterns.

That's the design of God. Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1 he says imitate me as I imitate Christ. That's the picture. God raises up men who have their eyes on Christ and who are learning to follow Him. They're watching Him, they're following Him, so that other people who are watching this man who's in flesh and blood in the church, really has a wife in the church, really has a family in the church, really has a job in the church, really has friends, really has neighbors, they can be watched.

And it should be a help to those among the Lord's people when they look at the lives of these men. Finally we have the reward for faithful under-shepherds. When the chief shepherd appears, there will be a reward for those who have been faithful in the work that God has given them to do. Listen to Hebrews 11 verse 6. Hebrews 11 verse 6, but without faith it is impossible to please Him, God.

For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. The Bible teaches this over and over and over again that there are rewards to those who have been faithful in heaven. It's not pay. God doesn't owe it to anyone. But to those who live wholeheartedly for His glory are going to find themselves richly rewarded in heaven.

So we're justified, completely separate from the works of the law. The works of the law have nothing to do with justification in Jesus Christ. And yet, those who follow Christ wholeheartedly and are faithful, God will reward them. So there is a chief shepherd, he is coming back, and he will reward those who have lived to his glory with all their hearts. The crown of glory that does not fade away.

A few closing thoughts. A few closing thoughts. I think we should come to this text and just worship God for His goodness and His wisdom. God puts people in all of our lives to be channels of blessing and His goodness. He raises people up and sets them aside to bless you.

God should be worshipped for that. His kingdom is so good. His kingdom is so unlike all the other man centered kingdoms. Where the guy or the woman at the top of the pyramid is what the pyramid exists for. That's not like this kingdom.

The one at the top is actually the chief servant. What a kingdom. God should be worshipped for that. Next, understand the relationship that God intends for us. When I say us, I mean, I'm an elder, you're in the church.

I'm to be among you, you're to be among your elders. It's to look like that. There's authority in the church, but it's not adversarial authority. In any way, It should be overflowing with love. You should love me with all your heart.

And I should love you with all my heart. That's how God wants it to be. I'm going to close with Hebrews 13, a benediction from Hebrews 13, 20 and 21 that talks about Jesus. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Let's pray. I thank you, O God, for the great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd who has laid down his life to purchase a people with his own blood. I thank you, O God, for your plan to raise up men among your people, to bring them to maturity, and then to call them to lay down their lives for your people. God, I pray that you would do a mighty work among your people to conform those men who are elders today into the image of your son and to raise up more, who are humble, who love you with all of their hearts and who love your people, and are ready to be like the Apostle Paul poured out for your people. Oh God, we thank you for the wisdom of your Word that is so unlike any other wisdom you can get any other place.

Thank you for your Word in Jesus' name, Amen.