Now in 1 Peter 5 verse 1, the
elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness
of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory
that shall be revealed. Now Peter here is speaking to
pastors and elders whose job it is to teach the word, to preach
the word. And Peter calls himself an elder.
Now he's an apostle, but he's also an elder. He's an elder
to the church at Jerusalem. And you'll notice he doesn't
call himself the pope. He doesn't call himself the vicar
of Christ. He says, I'm a fellow elder with you men. He doesn't
take, you know, hide titles and things to himself. God's preachers,
his elders, are humble men. And that's the way Peter is.
And he calls himself an eyewitness to the sufferings of Christ.
Peter was an eyewitness to the sufferings of Christ. He was
an eyewitness to the whole ministry of Christ. And pastors and elders
today are the same, same way. Not eyewitnesses like Peter was,
but eyewitnesses through eyes of faith in the word, eyewitnesses
to the sufferings of Christ, to his sacrifice, to his ministry,
to who he is and what he's done, why he's done it and where he
is now. And he says he's a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.
Now, that doesn't just apply to elders, that applies to every
single child of God. who will be a partaker of the
glory of Christ when he appears. Not only will you see the glory
of Christ when he appears, but you'll be a partaker of it. You'll
be made just like him. You'll be given his glory, made
just like Christ. And here's his command to the
elders in verse two. He says, feed the flock of God,
which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint,
but willingly. Not for filthy lucre, but of
a ready mind. Neither as being lords over God's
heritage, but being examples to the flock. Now the job of
a pastor, an elder, is to feed the sheep, to feed the flock
of God, which is among you. Now they're God's sheep. It's
his flock, the flock of God. So you better be careful how
you treat them, because who owns them? They're God's sheep. God
chose them to be his sheep. God sent his son to buy those
sheep with his own blood. The sheep were lost. Christ went
and found the sheep. He sought them. He found them.
He brought them back to the fold. They belong to him. They're the
flock of God. And the elder's job is to feed
those sheep. Now, God's pastors don't get
into the ministry for whatever glory or recognition that may
come from men for being a preacher. That's how Pharisee thinks. That's
not how God's pastors think. That's how Pharisee thinks. The
Pharisee wants the high seats. They want Moses' seat. They want
those, you know, everybody to recognize them when they're walking
down the street. That's how Pharisee thinks. Now, God's pastor should
be honored for the work that he does, but that's not his motive. That's not what he's seeking.
What he's seeking is to feed the sheep, to give glory to the
Savior and to feed the sheep. Look over in In John chapter
21, you know this story. Peter learned this lesson very,
very well. In John chapter 21, verse 15. So when they died, Jesus said
to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas. Lovest thou me more than
these? And he didn't mean more than,
do you love me more than these other disciples? Do you love me more
than these nets and these fishing boats and all these? Do you love
me more than these things? And Peter saith unto him, Yea,
Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed
my lambs. He saith to him again the second
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He said unto him, Yea,
Lord, thou knowest I love thee. He said unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? And Peter was grieved, because
he had said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he
said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that
I love thee. And Jesus saith unto him, Feed
my sheep, and feed my sheep In easy times, in hard times. Because
look what he says to him in the next verse. He says, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest
thyself, and walkest withers thou wouldest. But when thou
shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another
shall gird thee, and carry thee wither thou wouldest not. Even
in the hard times, at all times, feed my sheep. That's the commandment
to elders. And Peter understood that. He
learned that lesson. And now he's telling his fellow
elders, your job is to feed the sheep. It's not to impress the
sheep. Your job is not to impress the
sheep with all your understanding of these deep, you know, hidden
doctrinal issues. Your job is to feed the sheep.
It's not to impress the sheep with your eloquence and how well
spoken you are. Your job is to feed the sheep. Feed the sheep with simple food. Sheep eat grass. I don't know
a lot about sheep, but I do know this. Sheep eat grass. Well,
grass has got to be one of the most simple foods that there
is. Just so simple. And a sheep can
be strong and healthy and vibrant by just eating grass. Just simple
grass. Sheep can easily digest grass. That's what their system is made
to digest and eat is grass. And that grass is a picture of
God's Word. The simple Word of God. Now, other issues. They might
sound more impressive to me and you might be able to impress
somebody with your understanding of these other issues. But those
things won't nourish the sheep like grass will. Just the Word. I tell myself this in my mind
all the time. Keep your teaching simple. Just
simple so people can understand the sheep just need simple grass,
the word of God. And you know what? God's pastors,
God's pastors. Now, I'm not talking about other
people who stand up, pretend to be a preacher. I'm talking
about God's pastors will do that. Feed the sheep. Look at Jeremiah,
chapter three. Jeremiah 3, verse 15. This is God speaking, he says,
I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed
you with knowledge and understanding. That's what God's pastor is going
to do, because he's going to give him the heart to do it,
the heart to feed the sheep with knowledge and understanding.
To feed the sheep with sound doctrine of the word, the simple
word of God. He'll feed the sheep with the
gospel. The gospel, which is at the same
time both milk for babes and strong meat for the old men and
old women in Christ. Just a simple gospel. He'll feed
the sheep with Christ, who is the bread of life. His flesh
is meat indeed. His blood is drink indeed. Feed
the sheep with Christ, who is our righteousness. We're not
just talking about the righteousness of Christ. We feed the sheep
with Christ, who is our righteousness. We don't just talk about the
sacrifice of Christ. Our bread is Christ, who is our
sacrifice. It's feeding on the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the children's bread. And
that's what we're to feed the sheep. And you're to do it, Peter
says, with all your might. In my Bible, there's a little
two there by the phrase, which is among you. And that means
as much as in you is. With all the strength, with all
the ability God's given you, you put it all into feeding the
sheep because this is no part-time job. This is not something that,
you know, well, you're going to do other more important things
this week. No, you're not. Feed the sheep and do it with
everything you've got. And he tells them, you take the
oversight thereof. Now that doesn't mean you take
the oversight thereof and you're like, you know, that old overseer
in the South, you know, when they had slavery and you're beating
people and you're watching every little move they make and you're
micromanaging everything they do. No. That means that you take
care of the flock. It's not that you're bossing
them around. You take care of them. You watch out for them
and protect them. The word actually means to take
care of and look after carefully. Look after them carefully. And
this is hard work now. So you do it willingly, not by
constraint, not because you've been drafted, not because you've
been forced into service. You do it because you love the
Lord and you love his people. You desire to feed them. You
desire the best for them. God's preachers aren't draftees.
John didn't get drafted into this. He's not a mercenary. God's preachers are volunteers.
They say with Isaiah, here am I, send me. They're volunteers. And they're certainly not mercenaries,
not for filthy lucre. If preaching is done out of covetousness,
your motive is filthy. The kind of person who desires
to live a life of ease by living off of the sheep is a filthy
person. I just can't. say that strongly
enough, how repulsive it is to desire to live off the sheep.
That's not looking out for the sheep. That's not taking the
watch care over them. It's making merchandise of men's
souls. To the pastor, to God's pastor,
the sheep are a whole lot more than fleece. You know, the false
prophet looks at the sheep, he sees fleece. Remember the Bugs
Bunny Roadrunner cartoon? The coyote, when he'd look at
the sheep, what'd he see? A lamb job was God's pastorcy. Someone to be loved, taken care
of, and fed. Someone who God's given him to
feed, to take care of. And the church should supply
the pastor's needs. Absolutely. But that's not his
goal. His goal is to feed the sheep.
And not as lords over God's heritage. Not as a tyrant. Brother Henry
told me one time, He said, people hear you preach and then they
go out and they do the exact opposite of what you told them
to do. And you cannot over-pastor them. That's what he said. Trying
to over-pastor them would be a tyrant. Being lords over God's
heritage. You're not supposed to do that.
Peter said you lead by example. Be an example of faith to the
flock. Be an example of looking to Christ.
Be an example of waiting on him. Be an example of kindness and
honesty. That's that's the command to
elders. Now, I said all that, and I recognize that that doesn't
apply to just but precious few people here, because most of
us, that's not what we are elders or pastors. But this is good
teaching for us, because, you know, this teaches the flock.
This teaches us what we can expect from a pastor and what we should
expect from a pastor. It's not. presumption on your
part to expect to come here and have your pastor feed you the
word. That's what you should expect, honestly, because that's
God's command to the pastors and elders to feed the sheep.
So he says in verse four, when the chief shepherd shall appear,
you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Now,
pastors and elders are the under shepherds, Christ is the chief
shepherd and we're the under shepherds, the Jews called them
little shepherds. You know, the chief shepherd,
he's the one who owns the sheep. He supervises all the little
shepherds that take care of his flock. And the little shepherds,
they go and do the small jobs that the chief shepherd assigns
to them. They go where they're told to
go to the pasture they're told to go with the little flock that
they're told to take. And they go feed those sheep
and watch over those sheep, protect them. They go where they're told
and do what they're told because they're the little shepherd.
He's the chief shepherd. And when the chief shepherd shall
appear, all of God's children, not just elders and pastors,
all of God's children will receive a crown of glory that fadeth
not away. And that's opposed to the wreath
of whatever it was made of leaves that the Olympic champion received.
Well, that wreath in short order, all it's going to be is a fire
hazard. The crown of glory that God's going to give his children
is a crown that fadeth not away. It's eternal. And it's not a
crown of glory we earned. It's a crown of glory Christ
earned for his people. Actually, Christ is our crown
of glory. He is the crown of glory to be
made like him. And that's what all of his people
will receive when he appears. Now, verse five, he says, likewise,
you younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. May all of you
be subject one to another and be clothed with humility, for
God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Now, young
people would be wise to listen to the older. They've got experience
that we don't have. They've been through things that
we haven't been through. It's just like a child listening
to their parent. You know, I've been through things
my daughters haven't been through. I've got experience they haven't
had yet. So they'd be wise to listen to
some things that I've got to tell them. But that doesn't mean
that the younger are less important or that they're less able or
that they don't have any ability whatsoever. Timothy was a young
man, wasn't he, in the ministry. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 4.
1 Timothy 4, verse 12. Paul tells Timothy, let no man
despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in
word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. Now look over at Job 32. I'll
show you another example here of a young man who still gave respect to the
elder. But just because we need to remember
this, that you give respect to the elderly, you listen to them,
you weigh what they have to say. But just because someone's old
doesn't mean they're always right. Maybe not. Look here, Job 32,
verse 1. So these three men ceased to
answer Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then was kindled
the wrath of Elihu, the son of Berechel, the Buzite, of the
kindred of Ram. Against Job was his wrath kindled,
because he justified himself rather than God. Also, against
his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they found no
answer, and yet they had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited until
Job had spoken, because they were elder than he. See, he gave
respect to the elder and listened to what they had to say. And
when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these
three men, then his wrath was kindled. And Elihu, the son of
Berechel the Buzite, answered and said, Now boys, I am young,
and you are very old. Wherefore, I was afraid, and
durst not show you mine opinion. I said, Days and multitude of
years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man,
and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great
men are not always wise, neither do the aged understand judgment."
And then Elihu, the young man, showed them what was what. But
the point of all that is this. He listened to years first, because
they ought to have the wisdom. And in the case when they didn't,
then the young man should speak. Now, those of you who are older,
you may have known a fellow when he was a snot-nosed kid. Years
later, he's not a snot-nosed kid no more. You may have changed
his diaper when he was in the nursery, but he's not that baby
in the nursery anymore. Could be. The Lord's taught him
something. Maybe he has. So don't dismiss
him just because he's younger. All of you, Peter says, be subject
one to another. All of you be willing to listen
to one another. All of you bear one another's
burdens. It's not just the younger people have to bear the older
people's burden. All of you bear one another's burdens. All of
you be willing to bear the infirmities and weaknesses of each other.
And serve one another with cheerfulness. Even if it's the most menial
task, washing one another's feet, serve one another with cheerfulness. Think of others as better than
ourselves. And the only way we can ever
do that, to be subject one to another, is if we're clothed
with humility, just covered with humility and set pride aside. If the Lord would give us the
grace to do that, we'd be a whole lot happier. Humility brings
peace. and unity and love with one another. And pride destroys all that.
So clothe yourselves with humility. Pray that the Lord would clothe
you with humility. Because even people, human beings,
resist proud people. You never want to be around somebody
who's bragging on themselves all the time, so proud of themselves
and never can see what anybody else has done. People resist
someone who's proud. Well, if we hate pride and other
creatures, Think how that appears to God. This is a maggot being
proud. Oh, he resists the proud. He
hates the proud, but gives grace to the humble. I read this this
week. This is good. Where God gives
grace to be humble. If we're going to be humble,
God had to give grace to do that, right? Where God gives grace
to be humble, he'll give more grace. He'll give the grace of
faith. He'll give the grace of love,
the grace of joy, the grace of wisdom, and the grace of more
humility. He giveth more grace. So, since
God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble, verse 6
says, humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time. I remember in the days
following the tax on our country in 9-11, The president got together and
had a worship service, a preaching service at the National Cathedral.
Had two or three different men come in. And one of them, I think
it was the last one, he got up and he looked President Bush
right in the eye and gave that the most powerful man in the
world some of the best advice he received in his whole presidency.
And he quoted this verse to him. He pointed that finger at the
president of the United States and he said, you humble yourself.
under the mighty hand of God. Just humble yourself. Seek His
will. Seek His way. You humble yourself
under the mighty hand of God. And we'd be wise to do the same.
Just to bear every affliction patiently under His hand. To
serve the Lord. To serve His people patiently.
under his hand, because that mighty hand, one day, is going
to crush his enemies. And that mighty hand is going
to exalt his people to glory. Now, verse 7, he says, casting
all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Now that's a
precious verse. Cast all your care on him, for
he careth for you. David said the same thing in
Psalm 55. Look over there, Psalm 55. Psalm 55, verse 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord
and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous
to be moved. Cast your burden on the Lord.
Cast every care on the Lord. Cast every worry. How many things
do you have to worry about? Cast those worries on Him. Cast
every fear, everything that you've got that makes you afraid, every
anxiety. Cast them on the Lord. He will
take care of it. Jehovah Jireh will provide. Cast your care on Him. What a
burden. This is such a blessing. What
a burden that we don't have to carry. Cast it on the Lord. He'll
carry it. He'll sustain thee. How much
easier is it to walk when you don't have to carry the burden
of all of our fears and all of our worries and all of our cares?
Just cast them on the Lord. He'll carry them. Last week, most of you all know,
we were at the Ohio State-Michigan game. We had to park a ways away
from the stadium. And as we were leaving the stadium,
walking back to the car, Janet had a purse full of warm weather
supplies. She had blankets and all this
stuff. And she was carrying all this
stuff back to the car. And she started complaining about how
far we had to walk. I said, here, give me all that stuff, and I'll
carry it. Well, she gave me the blankets
and stuff. And I said, here, give me your purse. I'll carry
it, too. And she said, you're carrying
my purse? And I said, yes. She said, wow, you must really
love me because you carry my purse. Well, I carried it on
the side. It wasn't on the road, you know.
Our cares are embarrassing. The things we fear and worry
about are embarrassing. Cast them on the Lord. He'll
carry them because He loves His people. The songwriter said,
oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry. Everything to God in prayer,
take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Just leave
it. Let him cast it on him. He's already bore the burden
of every sin of his people. Well, why won't he take these
things, too? He will. Well, how do I know the Lord
will carry all my cares? How do I know I can cast them
on him? Because Scripture says, God's Word, the inerrant Word
of God says, he careth for you. Now, that's such a precious statement,
we could not believe it if it weren't written in God's Word.
He careth for you. The Almighty cares what happens
to a worm like you and me. He cares what happens to your
body. So he made provision for it, hadn't he? Now, he won't
always keep the body or the mind free from pain and grief and
so forth, but he'll give the grace to bear it. He gives peace
in those times. The Lord certainly cares for
the souls of His people. He gave His Son to redeem your
soul from destruction. He's given us so much physically. Can you imagine what He's given
us physically? How much more has He given us
spiritually? Everything, absolutely everything
he's given us in Christ. So cast every care on him. Now, cast every care on the Lord,
that doesn't mean that you just dance through life, just not
caring about what goes on around you and oblivious to the dangers
that are around you, because look at verse eight. He says,
be sober. Be vigilant because your adversary,
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he
may devour. Now cast all your care on the
Lord, but at the same time, you be sober and be vigilant. You
watch because there's dangers all around. We have enemies,
the chief of whom is Satan. And we need to be watchful, watchful
of our own selves, watchful of my attitude and my conduct. Watchful
about my attitude of worship, how I hear the gospel. We need
to be watchful of our own doctrine. That's what Paul told the Ephesian
elders. You watch of your doctrine. He didn't tell them watch about
everybody else's. He said of your doctrine, watch. This word vigilant
means to take heed, lest through remission some destructive calamity
suddenly overtake us. Be watchful so these dangers
don't suddenly overtake you. John Gill says one of the old
translations says that this verse is translated to be prudent and
cause your heart to understand. Now be prudent and understand
the dangers that are around you. Cast all your cares on the Lord,
but be prudent and understand the dangers that are around you.
We have to beware because Satan is a roaring lion going around
seeking whom he may devour. He's called a lion because of
his strength like a lion. He's violent like a lion. That
lion just may lay there and look so peaceful for a while, but
wait till he's hungry. He takes his prey violently.
He's a cunning hunter. And Peter knew about that, too,
didn't he? When Satan desired to sift him as wheat and did.
Peter knows about this danger and Satan's on God's leash. God
just soon stay out of the reach, wouldn't you? That circumference
of that leash. But you won't always be able to. Because look
at verse 9. Peter says, Whom resist steadfast
in the faith. You're not always going to be
able to avoid Him. So resisting steadfast in the
faith. Knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. There
will be times we have to resist these temptations and trials
of Satan. And they'll be afflictions. They'll
be real afflictions. Satan tries to afflict the people
of God to pull them away from Christ. That was Satan's whole
goal in trying Job. He said, well, look at Job. He
worships you for a reason. You put a wall around him. But
take everything he has and he won't worship you. Well, Lord,
let him take everything he has. Job still worshipped him. He
said, well, take his children and he won't worship you. He
took his children. Job still worshipped him. Satan
said, yeah, I'll touch his body and he won't worship you. Lord,
let him touch his body. Job said, though he slay me,
Yet will I worship him. And these trials come upon us
and they take comfort that they're common to all believers. You're
not the only one suffering these things. Believers throughout
history have and other believers right now in this world have.
And take comfort in this. Our Lord faced him, didn't he?
And resisted him in the faith with the word of God. And we're
to do the same thing. Now, verse 10. Peter says, But
the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory
by Christ Jesus, after that you suffered a while, make you perfect,
establish, strengthen, and settle you. Our God is the God of all
grace. He's the fountain of grace. He's
the giver of grace. He's the sustainer of grace.
And He's called His people to eternal glory. And He'll never
take that call back. It's an eternal call. The gifts
and calling of God are without repentance. He's not going to
take it back. But till then, we're called on to suffer for
a while, just a short time, a while. And that suffering will produce
maturity, make you perfect. That word really is maturity.
Now, you're already perfect in Christ. If you are in Christ
Jesus, you are perfect. You will never be more perfect
in God's sight than you are right this second. But in ourselves,
we still have a lot to learn. We got a lot of growing up to
do, a lot of maturing to do. And that's what this suffering
will produce, maturity. It'll establish you. It'll establish
you on the rock, Christ Jesus. Now, you're already built on
the rock, Christ Jesus, aren't you? The wise man built his house
on the rock. David said in Psalm 62, he only
is my rock. I shall not be greatly moved.
Then later on in that same psalm, he says, he only is my rock.
I shall not be moved. He's established, established
by grace. He said, won't be greatly moved.
Now he says, I shall not be moved. Established. This suffering will
strengthen you. Trials increase the strength
of our faith by teaching us to depend more on Christ. And they'll
settle you. They'll sell you. You tell your
children all the time, just settle down. And when your children
settle down, you're happier and they're happier both. Just settle
down. Just settle down. Be calm and confident, quiet. Not running around like a chicken
with your head cut off. Just settle down. Because you've
learned to cast all your cares on Him. Just settled. And you'll
notice this is not a prayer that Peter has for the elect. This
is a promise. The Lord will do these things.
This is what he'll do for his people. Not to him, be the glory
and the praise forever. All right. Well, I run out of
time. I hope I'll bless you.