of the elders which are among
you, I exhort, who am also an elder." Peter addresses the elders. These are not older men especially. Sometimes they are elders or
chosen who are older and more experienced. But these are men
whose work it is to preach the gospel, teach the Word of God. And Peter said, I'm talking to
you men, you preachers and pastors, teachers, elders. I'm also an
elder. He was an apostle, but he's also
an elder. An apostle is a special messenger,
ambassador sent to the world by our Lord Jesus Christ. who
saw the Lord, who these apostles were taught the gospel by the
Lord Himself. An elder is generally confined
to a local congregation. We'll see that in just a moment.
But Peter, very humbly and rejoicing, proclaims himself to be one with
us, though he's an apostle. of our Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, I'm delighted to be an elder, one of you fellas. And
that's something. And he said, I'm a witness of
the suffering of Christ. He was an eyewitness of the life
of our Lord. Our Lord's whole life was a life
of suffering from the cradle to the cross. He was a man of
sorrows, a man acquainted with grief. His suffering was not
confined only to the cross nor to the body. It was a life of
suffering. And it was soul, agony of spirit. And he said, I'm a witness, an
eyewitness to his suffering. But in addition to that, I'm
a witness. I'm sent to tell what I know. whom I know and what I've seen.
I'm a witness. You know, before our Lord ascended
to heaven, He said to His disciples, you are my witnesses. You're
my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts
of the earth. And this is what Peter is saying.
I'm an eyewitness to His sufferings, and I'm a witness, a proclaimer,
of his sufferings, a preacher of his gospel. Paul said, we
preach Christ and him crucify, his precious blood. And he said,
and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Peter
was on that mountain when our Lord went through this experience,
this particular special experience on the Mount of Transfiguration.
He took Peter, James, and John and went up to that mountain.
And there the glory of God shone around them and upon him. His clothes glistened. And there appeared with him Moses
and Elijah. Moses represented the law. The
ceremonial law, the Levitical law, the moral law, God gave. The law came through Moses, by
Moses. Elijah represented the prophets.
And there was the summit of all summits. Moses and Elijah and
the Lord Jesus talk what they talk about. The scripture says
about the work that he would accomplish at Jerusalem, his
death. And then the Father spoke and
said, this is my beloved Son, hear ye Him. Peter said, I was
a partaker of that glory. And not only that, but Peter
saw Him when He came forth from the tomb and ascended to glory.
He was standing on top of that mountain when the cloud received
Him out of their sight. And they watched Him go. And
then they saw the angel standing about, and the angel said, Ye
men of Galilee, while you're standing here gazing into heaven,
this same Jesus which is taken up from you shall so come in
like manner as you've seen Him go. Peter said, I'm a partaker
of that glory. And then thirdly, he's talking
about the glory. It shall be ours when our Lord
comes to receive us unto Himself. And I would like for you to turn
with me to John 17. And this is what we're talking
about. John 17, verse 22, and the glory. John 17, 22, the master praying
here to the Father, and the glory which Thou gavest me. I have
given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in
them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and
that the world may know thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am." Just a moment
Do you envy the Apostle Peter when he saw the Lord glorified
before his eyes and the Father speak, wait your time, you'll
see it too. Listen, that they also may behold
my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before
the foundation of the world. Back to my text, 1 Peter 5. or
the Apostle Peter's instruction to the elders. Verse 2, feed
the flock of God which is among you. You see, the elder's ministry
is to an extent limited to those with whom he worships, the church
fellowship. You particularly, you have a
ministry outside. You'll go to other places, but
your main ministry is to feed the flock which is among you.
A good shepherd may be a blessing to other shepherds
and to other flocks, but boy, this is his flock. This is his
flock. This is where his heart is and
where his ministry is and where his attention is. His sheep. He calls them by name. They know
Him and He knows them. And they're His love. You feed the flock. Feed them
what? Feed them the Word. That's what Peter, the Lord said
that Peter could write this. Oh my, how he could write this.
He sat by that fire that day. And our Lord said, Do you love
Me? He said, Yes, Lord. You feed My lambs. You love me? Yes, Lord, you know I love you.
Then you feed my sheep. You love me? Peter was grieved
that he asked him the third time. He said, Lord, you know everything.
You know I love you. Well, feed my sheep. Take them
into the green pastures of the Word. Lead them beside the still
waters of the Word. Feed them the Word of God. That's
the children of bread. This morning we went through
that book of Ruth. And so many people have been
talking to me today about what a blessing, what a blessing that
was to them to go through that book again. That's the best meal
you can serve is the Word of God. Feed them. I enjoyed studying
it, preparing it, and preaching it to you, and you rejoiced in
receiving it. Feed the flock of God which is
among you. Preach the Word. Be instant,
in season, out of season. There's no season for the preaching
of the Word of God. It's every season. Desire the
sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. Comfort
one another with these words. Listen. Oh, I say to... The preacher said to me one time,
he said, I just don't like to study. He doesn't belong in the
ministry. Study to show yourself approved
unto God. A workman that needeth not be
ashamed. You know, back here, that was the purpose for ordaining
the first deacons. Their disciples had multiplied. The Lord had saved a lot of people
in Jerusalem. And the preachers were concerned
with all kind of business, taking care of people that lost their
jobs and their homes and things. Distributing food and all these
things. And Peter called the church together
and he said, now, it's not right for the pastors and preachers
to leave the Word of God and make sure that people have enough
to eat and serve tables. You look out among you seven
men of good report and faith and you put them over these things
and we'll give ourselves to what? Minister the Word in prayer.
And a good pastor, like a good shepherd, will find the fields
of clover and take his sheep in there and watch over them
while they feed. And he said, verse 2, take the
oversight thereof. Take the leadership. You have
the leadership. You have the oversight. You have
the rule. Now, be diligent, take the oversight
now, not by constraint, not grudgingly, not by constraint, but willingly,
with a ready hand and a willing heart and a strong desire to
teach them. And don't do it, don't do it
for filthy lucre. Don't do that. I'd like to say
to every preacher, and you elders here, I'm responsible for these
elders, not preachers out there, but I'd like to say to every
one of them, do what Abraham did. You know,
over here, turn to Genesis chapter 14 a minute. Genesis 14. In Genesis 14, when those fellows
were going to make Abraham Wealthy. He said to them in Genesis 14,
verse 22, Abraham said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted
my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, who owns the heaven
and the earth. I've lifted my hand, my heart,
my knees. I've made them known to the Most
High God, who owns all things, even you fellows. I'll not take
from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not
take anything this time, lest you say I've supplied Abraham's
needs. I've taken care of old Abraham.
I did it and all. He said, I've lifted my hand
to God. And I would say to every elder and every preacher who
would listen to me, don't put out any sermon Or write any paper
or any letter whose end is to raise money, or promote yourself,
or let people know what you've done. Don't ever do it. I'll say that again. Don't ever
preach a sermon, or write an article, or put out a paper whose
end, in design, is to raise money. to appeal to people, to get them
to send money to you, or raise money for yourself or your ministry.
Make your needs known to God. And I'm not talking about something
I don't know anything about. Because that's been the practice
here all these years. We're not trying to impress anybody,
or coerce anybody, or put any pressure on anybody. If God doesn't
lay it on their hearts, I'm not going to. Now that's right. And
I solemnly appeal to you, and I say that. God will let you
support yourself. He'll let you. But if you lean
on the everlasting arms 100%, wait on God. This is one of the
evidences we have that God's in something if He supplies the
need. Without us, urging or promoting,
if he miraculously supplies the need. And if we're working and
doing something for which he does not supply the need, that's
evidence we need to quit. Now don't you, he said, you feed
the flock, which is among you, and you take the leadership,
and don't you do it by constraint or grudgingly or because it's
a job. that you have to do. You do it willingly, as unto
the Lord, and not for money, but of a ready mind. And this
in verse 3, don't... We're overseers, the pastors,
they're not lords, they're overseers. They're shepherds, under-shepherds.
They're not lords over God's heritage. Well, how do you lead?
You do it by example. You do it by example. You yourself
are an example of doctrinal soundness. You yourself are an example of
believing doctrinal soundness and truth, the gospel. People are not going to follow
an uncertain sound and an uncertain leader. They
will follow a person who believes what he believes, believes the
Word of God. And He's given Himself to it.
Don't expect those who hear us to give themselves to Christ,
committed, holy and completely, lock, stock and barrel, unless
we are. Be an example of faith. Believe
God. Be an example of love. Love one
another. Be an example of commitment. I'm told there's a certain pastor
who told a man that he didn't give anything to church
in the offerings. He said, they support me, why
should I give? The pastor is supposed to be
an example in all things, giving of himself and of his means of
everything, an example of honesty and kindness and generosity and
grace and mercy. That's how we lead. We lead by
example. Understand that? We don't lead
with a law and the whip of the law, do this or else. Do this
and God will reward you. Do this or your conscience will
hurt you. No. This is God's way. And I'll show
you how sweet it is. That's right. I'll show you how
sweet it is. And when the chief shepherd,
watch verse 4, when the chief shepherd shall appear. Who's
that? That's Christ. He said, I'm the
good shepherd. And when that great shepherd
of the sheep shall appear. And when the chief shepherd,
well, are preachers shepherds? They're under-shepherds. The
shepherd is under the shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not walk. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. He leadeth me beside still water.
But my pastor is the under-shepherd. God will bless me through him
and through his ministry and through his teaching, by his
leadership. And when he shall appear, you
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. What is
this crown of glory? Is this something that we're
going to wear on our heads? No, sir. This crown of glory
is God's eternal glory that I read about from John 17. And the glory
which thou hast given me, I've given them. It's the crown of glory and happiness. It's the crown of rejoicing,
and it's the crown of righteousness. This will help you turn to 2
Timothy. 2 Timothy 4, verse 8. This will help you. 2 Timothy 4, verse 8. Paul was
talking about, the time of my departure is at hand. Verse 7,
I fought a good fight, I finished my course, I've kept the faith.
Now watch this. Henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness. which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but
to everybody who loves his appearing." That's all of us. And this crown
of glory, and this crown of rejoicing, and this crown of righteousness
is the crown worn by all of these people. I guess the last great time when
this nation was totally united. Totally united. I would say 99,
44, 100 percent united in purpose, in cause, in unity, in effort
was World War II. I thank God I lived in those
days. Everybody, from the president down to the boys and girls who
were collecting paper, And all these different things to help
the war effort to the old granddaddies who had their victory gardens
in the backyard. Everybody had the same enemy,
had the same commander-in-chief, fighting the same battle with
the same goal, to win the victory all together. And when the war was over, it
was a time of victory and rejoicing for every blessed one of us.
Not only to the general in the field, and to the soldier in
the foxhole, and to the sailor on the ship, and the airman in
the plane, but to the mamas at home who gave their boys, to
the women who worked in the factories while the men were gone, to the
children who collected things to help the war effort, to the
people who did without, tires and sugar and all these other
things, gasoline. Everybody! That's what he's talking
about here. When the Lord Jesus comes in
His victory, it's going to be a victory for everybody who loves
Him. Everybody who loves Him. It's
going to be a crown of glory, rejoicing, and righteousness
for everybody that loves Him. He's appearing. The same. It
won't be any different. Verse 5, "...Likewise, ye younger..."
Now we're talking about We're talking about age and experience. You're younger. You're younger
in years and you're younger in faith. You haven't been saved very long
or you're younger in years. And you younger in faith and
younger in years, submit yourself to your pastor, to your leaders.
Listen to them. One place it says, whose faith
follow, whose example follow, who watch for your souls as those
who must give an account. You follow, you submit yourself. The elders are familiar with
the scriptures. The elders are men of experience, taught in
the word, called of God, gifted to preach. The elders lead the
church. And the church is led and the
people follow these men whom God has set over you. Obey them that have the rule
over you. Turn to Acts 20 and listen to
Paul as he exhorted the elders. Acts 20. Before he went to Rome,
before he was beheaded, he had a final word for the elders. You read the whole chapter when
you get home. Well, let's look at verse 17,
Acts 20. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus
and called the elders of the church. Now verse 28, he says,
Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which
the Holy Ghost has made you overseers to feed the church of God. which
he purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing
the flock, and also of your own selves shall men arise speaking
perverse things to draw disciples after themselves." Now be careful,
you elders. Feed the flock of God over which
He has made you an overseer." An overseer. So you younger,
submit yourself to the elder. Submit yourself to the elder.
And every member, read the rest of that verse 5 there. All of
you, be subject to one another. Be subject to one another. This
is a family. Don't let any rift come between the family. Don't
let outside influences divide the family. Don't allow that. No matter how sweet the outside
influence is, don't let it come into the family. See, men seek
to draw disciples after themselves. There's a preacher in this country.
doesn't call any names, but he's noted for this. To go to certain places and win
the friendship of certain people in the church and then wean them
away from the pastor, from the church. He's noted for that.
He's gone to several places and he has a ministry of his own
that he's promoting. And he selects different people
in different places to follow him and promote his ministry. And after he's gone, something
happens. I have several examples of this. All of you submit yourselves
to one another. This is a family. Be clothed
with humility. God resisteth the proud. He gives
grace to the humble. Humble yourself. What is it to
humble yourself? It's to be willing to listen,
be willing to serve, be willing to cooperate, be willing to do
what's best for the family, for the glory of God, the good of
that congregation. Be aware of the welfare and the
needs of others. Be ready to do a humble task
for the glory of God. Look not for recognition or praise,
but humble. Listen to verse 6. This is a
powerful scripture. Humble yourselves, each of you,
each of us, therefore under the mighty hand of God. I stopped
right there when I was studying this. The mighty hand of God. That sounds awesome, doesn't
it? Let me tell you it is. The mighty hand of God. The omnipotent
hand of God. the powerful hand of God, which
cannot be stopped, which cannot be resisted, able to crush, tear
down, destroy, punish me. Madness to oppose the mighty
hand of God. What madness! Now, wait a minute. If that mighty hand is the hand
of my Father, And I'm just a little kid. And that mighty, big, powerful
hand is the hand of my father as a little child. I don't mind
being under it. Back, I was out, had supper last
night with a little fella, four years old. We came out of the
restaurant. I said, give me your hand. My big old hand wrapped
around that little old hand. He just smiled and handed me
his hand. I said, cars are dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt.
And his hand was just engulfed with mine. But he wasn't afraid,
because he knew I loved him. And if you love him and he loves
you, you don't mind humbling yourselves under that mighty
hand, because that mighty hand, the more mighty it is, the more
it protects you. The bigger it is. Now, he wouldn't
have given that hand to another little kid. If another four-year-old said,
give me your hand, his pride wouldn't have taken that now.
You hold your own hand, kid. But my mighty hand. And if He's
your Father, that mighty hand, the more mighty it is, the more
sovereign it is, the more powerful it is, the more it defends you
and protects you and feeds you and provides for you. Get under
the mighty hand of God. Madness. madness, folly to resist
it. Because I tell you, that mighty
hand will one day in his own time exalt those who have been
humbled and humble those who have been exalted. Exalt yourself
and feel his wrath. Humble yourself, feel his protection. Feel his protection. And verse
7, cast all your care on Him. All of it. Oh, I wish I could
do that all the time. Ought to, want to, should. All my worries and anxiety and
concerns about all my friends and family and self, my children,
my loved ones, cast your care on Him. He cares for you. You
can't do anything about it, but He can. You can't protect them. You can't keep them. You can't
save them. He can. Test your job. What are we going to eat? What
He gives us. What are we going to drink? By
the living water. What are we going to wear? He'll
clothe you. He'll clothe the lilies of the field. He feeds
the sparrows. Even in the winter, the birds
don't die of starvation, do they? And yet they don't have any farms
or barns. Cast your health on Him, your
age. Even down to old age, all my
people shall prove my sovereign, omnipotent, eternal love. Cast your death on Him too. How
am I going to die? The way He purposed. When am
I going to die? When He wills. And cast your eternal state on
Him. Why? He cares for you. How much? Enough to die for us. Now watch verse 8. Be sober. That word means serious. Careful. Be careful in our profession. Be sober and serious and watchful. There's another word for it.
Be watchful in our prayers, in our doctrine, in our church practices,
in our methods, in the way we do things. Be careful. Wait on
the Lord. Find His will. Don't rush to
judgment or service. Wait on God. Be sober. Be diligent. Why? We have an
enemy. The devil. He says he's your
adversary. He hates your Lord. He hates
the church. He hates the Word. He hates you.
And he's a powerful, subtle, crafty adversary. Paul said, I'm not
ignorant of his devices. And the older you get, And the
longer you've been in the ministry, the more you're aware of his
devices and his subtlety and craftiness. And he's a roaring
lion. He's an evil one. He's a powerful
lion. And what he's doing is seeking
whom he may destroy. Whom he may destroy. Whom he
may devour. Our Lord taught us to pray, to
be deliberate, from the evil one. And He'll take advantage
and He'll use anything and anybody, so be careful, be watchful, be
serious. Be aware of His devices. He'll destroy you. If you have
a good home and a family, do everything you can to protect
it and keep it together. Don't let Him come in divide
you. Don't do that. I've known brothers
and sisters whose parents died and they get in a fight over
some furniture and never speak again. Don't let that happen. That's Satan. That's Satan who
seeks whom he may devour and he subtly uses, just give in. Give up and give in to preserve. The unity of the home. Mothers
and dads, for Christ's sake, for the gospel's sake, for your
children's sake, for your sake, keep your home together. Don't
let anything or anyone, that's God's first institution, before
He revealed the church was the home. Keep it together. If you have a good fellowship
with a friend, Cherish that friendship. Keep that friendship. Especially
old friends. Don't let some new person come
along and destroy that deep, sweet fellowship that you've
had so long. So long. Be careful. Satan's
subtle. He'll destroy you. Your church
fellowship, your fellowship with your pastor, with the elders,
don't you let somebody destroy that. Because it will destroy
you. And when you're destroyed, your
children will be destroyed. I've seen that happen. I've seen
people fall out. Fall out with the pastor. Fall
out with the elders. Fall out with the way the church
is led to do things. And leave. And you know what
happens to the children, don't you? So Satan does that. He's an adversary. He's a roaring lion. He's a powerful
adversary. And he's a subtle, crafty, evil-minded
person. Watch out, he'll destroy your
peace. Destroy your peace. And it says in verse 9, "...whom
resist steadfast in the faith, protect by God's grace what you
have." Protect it. Knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren and in the world. You know, the
misunderstandings and trials that we go through, sicknesses,
loss of loved ones, these things. That's not just happening here,
that's happening everywhere where God's people meet. Everywhere. We're still in the
flesh. Though we have the Spirit, but
we're still human beings. There needs to be a lot of understanding
and a lot of surrender and submission and commitment and willingness
to seek not our own things, but the things of others. Because if you ever let her go,
it's hard to get it back. Almost impossible. And then he
says in verse 10, But the God of all grace, The God of all
grace. He's the fountain of every blessing.
He's the fountain. The life giver. The giver of
every perfect gift. The source of all mercy, love,
and life. God of all grace. Old Thomas
Bradbury said this, all the grace I've ever experienced, or shall
experience, all the way through this earthly
sojourn, And home to glory is of the Lord and of Him only.
All my grace and mercy, not some grace, all grace. Not most grace. He's the God
of all grace. And this sweeps away all human
merit, works, deeds, importance, We're empty vessels
that He's filled with Himself to overflow Him. And I'll tell
you this, if it's all of grace, and it is, the God of all grace,
if it's all of grace, then no person is ineligible except those
who are unwilling to receive it. Is that correct? If it's
all of grace, then nobody's ineligible. You say, me too? Unless you're unwilling. Whosoever
will, then take the water of life. Hungry? Take it. Listen. If it's all of grace, my sins
present no problem. No matter what they are. Past,
present, or future. If it's all of grace, my sins
are not even considered. No problem. Listen. If it's all
of grace, listen. My works neither take away or
add to it. It's complete in Christ. Right? If it's all of grace, my works
do not take from it or add to it. Notice, if it's all of grace,
no matter how young I am in Christ or how long I've been hanging
around, it's of no consequence. Isn't that right? If it's all
of grace, no matter how young I am, you young folks listen
to me, and you old folks listen to me, no matter how young I
am, or how long I've been around, it's no consequence. It's all
of grace. If it's all of grace, the honored
Apostle Paul is no more loved, honored, exalted, or glorified
than the thief on the cross. It's all of grace. Why, listen, the God of all grace
who had called us into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after
you suffered a while. And it's not over. The suffering
is some more out yonder waiting. I'm trying to prepare us for
it. But He'll make you perfect right now. He'll mature you.
That perfect is not We're perfect in Christ, but mature you, establish
you, make you unwavering, unmovable.
I shall not be moved. You know, the Apostle Peter flitted
around until finally he established, wasn't he? That gives us all
hope, doesn't it? Finally, the Lord said, when
you're converted, you'll strengthen your brethren. Well, finally
he was. And he was a pillar. He'll establish you. He'll strengthen
you. We're all weaklings in ourselves. In Christ we're strong, but we're
all weaklings. You say, I'm so weak, join the
crowd. We're all weak. But when I'm
weak, I'm strong. Inhale. And He'll settle you. What's the difference, preacher,
in being established and being settled? Let me tell you, I think
I know. I think I got something here.
There's a difference. A man can be established in faith,
in doctrine. I know whom I have believed.
I've known that a long time. I've known that a long time.
Some of you have too. But I am finding it possible to settle down. Did
your mama ever say to you, settle down now? Settle down. Just settle down. Your teacher.
Just settle down. What do you mean by that? You
don't mean change what they believe, but how they act. You don't mean
change what you know, but change how you respond to it. You see? He'll settle you. It takes a
long time. Don't be discouraged. We're not
there yet completely. But I do know what it means to
settle down. Settle down. What are you going to do about
this? Not one thing. He'll take care of it. How are
we going to pay this? If he's in it, he'll pay it. Just settle down. Just settle
down. Who are we going to take your
place when you leave? Just settle down. He'll reveal
it. Isn't that right? Come into me,
I'll give you rest. Learn of me, and you'll find
rest. Settle down. Alright, I hope
that was a blessing. I hope God will bless it with
our heart. Let's sing a song.