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Category Archives: 1 Peter series – “Holding onto Hope in a Hostile World”


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54 Feeding or Fleecing the Flock? – Part 1

1 Peter 5:1-5

“And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t Lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

After talking to us about trials and how to handle hard times Peter now turns his attention to how the church is to be fed and led. In order to survive suffering, a church needs loving leaders and faithful followers. When each person on the team tackles their task, the kingdom wins. Now this passage is not a very popular one due to two problems, one has to do with the responsibility of pastors the other the response of parishioners. When it comes to the responsibility of pastors there are many preachers who have abused their position, and instead of feeding the flock they are fleecing the flock. The second problem has to do with the response of the sheep, we are called to submit to leadership, and when it comes to submission we tend to struggle. Instead of following we end up fighting. So today we are going to look at what God intended, His Will for His church not my wants and my way. On God’s team everyone has a position to play and a task to tackle, the question is are we going to respond to God’s way and Will or rebel? When it comes to leading Peter starts with the:

  1. Requirements / Call

What are the requirements of being an Elder? Well the requirements for elders are fleshed out in greater detail in Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and give us a great picture of what leaders should look like. But what’s interesting is Peter doesn’t give us a list of rules as a requirement he simply reminds us that the most important requirement for an elder is a close relationship with Christ. Peter tells us that he is not only an elder but a witness to the sufferings of Christ and that he will share in his glory when Christ returns. Peter is reminding us that it’s not about the position it’s about the Prince, the person of Jesus Christ. Effective leadership doesn’t revolve around a list of rules it revolves around our relationship with Jesus. Today most ministry seminars for church leaders focus on developing leadership skills not on developing our love for the Lord. Now there is nothing wrong with developing your leadership skills but if they are not tied to your time with Jesus then they will turn out to be a train wreck not a treasure. 

In over emphasizing leadership skills I think we have traded servants that lead for leaders who serve. What’s the difference, the motive behind the ministry driven by your identity. I am a servant who leads verses I am a leader that serves. We are servants first, position drives practice. How did the heroes of the faith fight and win the war, was it as a result of their great leadership skills or their time spent with the Lord? Successful leaders are not the most skilled they are the ones who spend the most time with the Savior. Look at the man preaching, Peter he wasn’t the founder of a Fortune 500 company he was a fishermen. Today we seem to have forgotten that God used fishermen to found the church. The list of requirements in Timothy and Titus are really just a reflection of a leaders relationship with the Redeemer. Our problem is that we make it about a list of rules and so we miss what the list is really reflecting, its reflecting time with the Lord. The requirements are really a reflection of our relationship with Jesus. Look at 1 Timothy 3:1-7, above reproach a reflection of my relationship with Jesus, faithful to his wife, a reflection of his relationship with Jesus, hospitable a reflection of his relationship with Jesus. They are not rules they are reflections, they paint a picture of a leader’s life with the Lord. What does the list reveal about your life with the Lord? It’s not that we shouldn’t sharpen our skills but many men in ministry today are spending more time honing their skills than sitting with the Savior. You want to develop your leadership, then spent time listening to the Lord. When it comes to leaders in the church today our problem is that we have made it about the list not the Lord. Look its not about a list of rules its about a relationship with the Lord. Maybe what we need in the church isn’t more skills and talents but more time with the Savior. You can’t lead the flock if you are not following the Lord. You will never successfully shepherd the sheep if you are not living in submission to the Savior.


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53 Hope in Hard times – Part 4

1 Peter 4:12-19

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. 14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God[a] rests upon you.15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” 19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

 3. Evaluate your suffering.

Peter calls us to ponder why we’re going through the problems. Our suffering might simply be the result of living in a fallen world but verses 15-16 provide two other possibilities to our problems.

  • The result of my failures.

When we go through trying times we need to evaluate our experiences and see if we are suffering as a result of sin or some stupidity in our lives. Sometimes our suffering is self-inflicted and Peter provides us with a  partial list of sins that lead to suffering. Its interesting to note that Peter puts being a busy body in the same list as murder. Because meddles in the lives of others often involved character assassination. The point is don’t whine and complain if what you are doing what is wicked and you have to wake up and face the consequences.

  • The result of my faith.

Peter says we can suffer as a result of sin or service, and that there is no shame when we suffer for our faith. For Peter this passage was personal because early on he was ashamed of Christ and denied Him three times. But he didn’t live in his shame he faced his sin and was forgiven and Acts 5:41 says that Peter and the apostles: “departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” For the believer what we suffer for the Savior is a privilege, not a penalty. We need to evaluate our suffering and see if it is a result of sin and we need to repent or a result of being faithful and we need to rejoice. When hard times come you can either be a student or a victim. A victim asks “Why did this happen to me?” A student asks “want is God teaching me that I need to learn?” today we live in a “victim culture” where we have become experts at playing the blame game and toddlers when it comes to taking responsibility. But Peter reminds us that because God cares He is willing to chastise His church and clean house. Purification starts with God’s people, we don’t like punishment but pain can be purifying because it can purge the puss. Lastly and maybe most importantly we must 

4. Entrust your suffering to the Savior

When we suffer we should rely and rest on the Redeemer. We really have two choices, we can complain against God or we can commit ourselves to Him. You can turn to Him or turn on Him. The word “commit” is a banking term that means to deposit for safekeeping. Paul practiced this in 2 Timothy 1:12: “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Jesus used the same exact word when He cried out in a loud voice from the cross: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” What about you have you deposited your life into His hands? How do you find solace in the suffering, trust in God’s sovereignty. Rest in the character of your creator, He made you and He made challenges for you. Only God can use sorrowful tragedy to set the stage for surprising triumph. You will never handle the suffering in your life if you don’t settle the sovereignty issue. God is in charge and because he is concerned more with our character than our comfort he is willing to transform us through trials. But remember nothing comes to us that is not first filtered through the Father’s loving hands.

Conclusion:

Trials are designed to teach us so that our character and our conduct change. So what’s your response to trials, how do you handle the hard times?