SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/18/2012 11:08:27 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Take the oversight
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: 1Peter 5:2
Message of the verse: “2
shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under
compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid
gain, but with eagerness; (NASB) “2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you,
exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have
you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; (ESV)”
I will be
looking at the second sub-point under the main point “A Loving Concern for
God’s Sheep (1Peter 5:2-3) in today’s SD.
After working mostly in the OT and taking as much as a paragraph to a
chapter in one SD it is a bit different going back to the NT and taking a verse
or a part of a verse in one SD.
The pastors
job in the church is different than others who are a part of the local church
in that he is among them and also over them and this can be a problem if it is
not understood by all of the sheep in the flock. Some of the sheep may look at the shepherd as
just one of them, but he has been called to a leader over them, and some may
want to put him on a pedestal and make him a “super saint.” We have to remember that the Lord Jesus is
the head of the Church and in His great wisdom He has put the pastor (elder,
bishop, or shepherd) over the local church.
It is His design. Going back to
when the Church began we see that the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth trained
twelve men and chose them to be His apostles.
Christ then died for the Church leaving these twelve men to carry on His
new ministry, the Church. The Church was
built upon the Lord and then the Apostles, and then we see that after local
churches were started that these apostles would go into these local churches to
appoint elders or pastors to lead over the church. It is God’s design to speak through these elders
or pastors to convey His message to them so that they can grow up in the Lord
and be able to go and tell others about the Lord and how they can be saved from
their sins by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ into their lives. If one looks back at how the Lord started with
the twelve men He chose then they might not believe that through these twelve
men the Roman world was turned upside down.
How can we explain this? It was
the plan of God and we surely see His attribute of wisdom in all of this. I also see that it is a “God Thing” that caused
all of this to happen, for when one looks at the true church today and how it
functions, and who is being used to do the will of God one can only give glory
to the Lord. If the church is running in
the way that the Lord has designed it to run then it will bring glory to the
Lord and part of the process is the Holy Spirit of God speaking to the Pastors
that He has chosen to shepherd the local flocks by teaching and preaching and
leading the flock.
Peter
mentions sins that the shepherd can surely be tempted by and the first sin we
will call laziness. Dr. Wiersbe points
out that he knew a man who was a pastor who played golf most every day and then
on Saturday he would listen to other pastor’s sermons and preach them to his
flock on Sunday. He then adds “He seems
to be getting away with it, but what will he say when he meets the Chief
Shepherd?”
A Pastor
has to have a pastor’s heart, and that means that he loves the sheep and serves
them because he wants to, and not because he has to. A lazy shepherd does not have a pastor’s
heart.
The next
sin Peter mentions is covetousness and a Pastor must not serve the Lord to get
rich, but again because he loves the sheep.
This is one of the qualifications that Paul writes to Timothy about in
explaining the qualifications of a Pastor in 1Timithoy 3:3. There are times when a pastor has to have a
“Tent making” ministry like Paul had, but it is better when the flock can fully
support the shepherd so that he has more time to fulfill his ministry among the
sheep.
Dr. Wiersbe
writes the following in explaining the words “ready mind.” “It is the same word that Paul used in Romans
1:15—‘I am so eager to preach the Gospel’ (NIV). It means a willingness to serve because of a
readiness and an eagerness within the heart.
This is the difference between a true shepherd and a hireling: a hireling works because he is paid for it,
but a shepherd works because he love the sheep and has a heart devoted to
them.” He then suggests reading Acts
20:17-38 to see this in action.
Be an example to the flock (v. 3): “3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to
your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” (NASB)
“3 not domineering over those in
your charge, but being examples to the flock.” (ESV) “ 3 You should aim not at being dictators but
examples of Christian living in the eyes of the flock committed to your charge.”
(Phillips) “3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to
your care, but lead them by your own good example.” (NLT)
Whenever I
read this passage I think of two different animals. I think of cattle and sheep and I remember
watching many “cowboy” movies where there are cattle drives as part of the
movie. The cowboys would have to get
behind the cattle on their horses and drive them in order to make the get to
where they wanted them to go. Sheep are
different for they have to be led, led beside still waters because they will
not drink fast rushing water for they are afraid of it. Sheep are not smart and on occasions they
will follow the wrong sheep and get themselves into a lot of trouble that they
can’t get out of. When sheep are about
to be killed for their meat the place where this takes place will put a sheep
in front of them and lead them to the place where they are to be killed. They call this sheep the “Judas” sheep. I suppose that there are a lot of these kind
of “sheep” who are in the pulpits of churches around the world today leading
their fellow sheep to an eternity in hell.
The
shepherd is to be a good example to his flock and follow his good
examples. I can think that a good
shepherd will study the Word of God in order to have the Holy Spirit speak to
his heart in order to equip the saints to do the work and will of the Lord and
this is a good example to follow.
Visiting the sick and lonely is something good shepherds do and set an
example for others to follow. A good
shepherd will tithe from his income showing a good example for others to
follow.
I
personally do not want to follow a Pastor who gives me the impression that I am
to do what he says and not do what he does.
I desire to follow a pastor who does the things that bring honor and
glory to the Lord and so teaches me to do those things.
Lording it
over the flock is like driving cattle and not leading sheep.
4/18/2012 12:23:22 PM
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