Sermon Tone Analysis

ATTN

SERMON SPICE - “23"

What a powerful description!

I know, when you first hear it, you probably think of Christ, and for good reason.

He called Himself the “Good Shepherd,” after all, and He is called in our text today, the “Chief Shepherd.”

But, the Bible doesn’t just refer to Jesus as a shepherd; it also refers to us . . .

you and me as shepherds.

Read our text this morning: 1 Peter 5:1-4

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: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

NEED

Now when you hear that, you may immediately say, “See there!

Those verses are talking to “elders” and since that means a pastor, this doesn’t apply to me.

I’m not a shepherd.

But I would say, “not so fast.”

It could apply to you for a couple of reasons.

First, when Peter wrote this, the offices of the church had not been so firmly established.

While it is true that he was addressing leaders here, there was not a hard fast line between the preacher and the people.

That would come later, and, if I may say so, it was not necessarily a good thing when it happened!

But there’s another reason this could be talking to you.

I believe that every believer, if they follow the path God has intended for them, will, at some level, eventually become a leader of some sort and in some fashion.

Why else would we grow?

You see, if I am to win and influence others to follow Christ, I will have to exhibit the very qualities that Peter talks about in this passage.

Yes, if you are a Christian this morning, you need to listen because these words do apply to you!

But there’s another reason to listen.

You see, not only do these verses apply to you, but, if you are involved in real ministry, these verses can really help you.

You see, it is so easy to get discouraged when you’re in the sheep business.

The Bible describes God’s people as sheep for a reason.

Quite often sheep need guidance and they are often discouraging to work with.

Only someone with a shepherd’s heart will stick with the job.

These verses can encourage the one who has gotten so disgusted with the flock he wants to turn them into lamb chops and be done with it!

BACKGROUND

You see, Peter was writing to a group of people in this letter who knew what discouragement was.

They were undergoing significant persecution and quitting may have seemed like an appealing option.

He knows that people under this kind of pressure needed the intensive care of a shepherd, not the abusive instructions of a king.

That’s why, in this paragraph of scripture, the main thought is found in verse 2 where he says, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you.”

So, he writes those leading the church and tells them to act like shepherds.

In fact, he’s so adamant about it that he turns the noun into a verb.

He doesn’t just tell them to be shepherds.

He says, Shepherd your people!

Pretty direct, isn’t it?

You may wonder what it means, though.

Chances are, you, like I, have never had the experience of caring for sheep, physically at least.

Why does Peter pick this picture and why should we be concerned about it?

Well, I want to give you three reasons right from this passage.

In the first place, you should be a shepherd:

DIV 1 - BECAUSE IT DESCRIBES OUR CALLING.

EXP

I don’t believe that the concept of “shepherding” was something that Peter just “thunk up.”

I believe he used it because he had experienced it.

For one thing, he had, for many years by this time, been a “shepherd.”

Now that wasn’t his job or career.

No, he had been a fisherman.

He did not keep physical sheep, he kept spiritual ones.

He, in fact, calls himself a “fellow elder.”

He looks at the leaders of these churches and says, “I’m one of you.

I’m an elder too.”

But his affinity for shepherding goes beyond that and it is quite significant.

The next thing he says is that he is “a witness of the sufferings of Christ.”

He had been with Jesus, and that experience was why I believe he mentions being a shepherd here.

You see, he was able to be a shepherd to others because Jesus had been a shepherd to him.

Jesus was so gentle with Peter.

He presented Him with truth.

For 3.5 years Peter had followed along behind Him as he told parables, confronted demons, healed sick people and taught the people.

That truth he heard had it’s impact, not because Peter was a good memorizer and could parrot back all the sayings of Christ.

That truth had impact because Peter had been taught it by the life of Christ.

You see, it was Jesus the shepherd who, in the middle of the gale, came walking on the water to Peter.

It was Jesus the Shepherd who so inspired the heart of Peter that, when He saw Him and knew it was Jesus, made his famous request: “Bid me walk to you on the water.”

I don’t think the request surprised Jesus, actually.

I think Jesus knew what Peter would asked and that’s why he came walking out in the first place: He wanted to teach Peter about faith.

I think as much as Peter must have always celebrated that moment of letting go and trusting, Jesus celebrated it with him.

And this gentle, teaching Savior could also confront.

Jesus wasn’t one to let His disciples walk around with spinach in their teeth and not tell them.

He knew how to confront.

When Peter tried to discourage Jesus from going to the cross, Jesus called him the devil and told him to stand aside.

Shepherding involved presenting truth, testing faith, confronting error and so much more.

If you summed it all up, you might say this: Shepherding is loving!

I know that because when the end came, John said this about Jesus:

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

Peter experienced that never ending love too.

You remember that it was Peter who, after bragging about his love for Jesus, ended up betraying him.

Do you remember what Jesus said to him before it ever happened?

He said in Luke 22:31–32 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon!

Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

That’s love!

To know that the person whom you’ve poured your heart into is going to stab you in the back when you need them the most, yet you still reach out to them?

That’s incredible love!

And it didn’t stop there.

Perhaps the scene that shows what a shepherd Jesus was takes place over in John 21.

There, the disciples have all gone out fishing.

Jesus knows it and he goes to the edge of the lake and builds a fire.

Then he calls out to the boys in the boat.

“You caught anything?”

They shout back, “No!” Then he says the words that immediately connects with their hearts.

He says “Well, throw your nets on the other side of the boat.”

Immediately the fish jump into the net so much that they couldn’t even bring it in.

Peter says, “Guys, That’s Jesus!” and his heart is so filled with love for his shepherd that he jumps in and swims to shore.

(By the way, when you really shepherd someone and you show them this kind of love, if they really fall in love with Jesus they’ll have this kind of enthusiasm!).

But that’s not the best part.

You remember what happens next, don’t you?