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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