SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/13/2012 9:40:19 AM
My Worship Time Focus: A Loving concern for God’s sheep
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1Peter 5:2-3
Message of the verses: “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; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”
A Loving Concern for God’s Sheep (1Peter 5:2-3): The following is a list of verses from the Scriptures that we will see the image of the flock: (Psalms 23; 100; Isa. 40:11; Luke 15:4-6; John 10; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:20-21; 1Peter 2:25; Revelations 7:17). Isaiah 53: 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
In order to understand better why it is that we have been called sheep and why it is that we need a shepherd we need to take a brief look at some of the characteristics of sheep. Dr. Wiersbe writes a brief description of sheep in his commentary which I will use to better enlighten us on what sheep are like: “Sheep are clean animals, unlike dogs and pigs (2Peter 2:20-22). Sheep tend to flock together, and God’s people need to be together. Sheep are defenseless, for the most part, and need their shepherd to protect them (Psalm 23:4).
“Sheep are very useful animals. Jewish shepherds tended their sheep, not for the meat (which would have been costly) but for the wool, milk, and lambs. God’s people should be useful to Him and certainly ought to ‘reproduce’ themselves by bringing others to Christ. Sheep were used for the sacrifices, and we ought to be ‘living sacrifices,’ doing the will of God (Romans 12:1-2).
“Peter reminded the shepherd-elders of their God given responsibilities.”
Feed the flock of God (v. 2): “2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.” (AKJV)
In the NASB the word that is translated “feed” in the KJV is translated “Shepherd” and this word means to care for the sheep or in this case the people of God or those who are under the care of the Pastor in a church. The Philips paraphrase Bible puts verse two this way, “Shepherd your flock of God, looking after them not because you feel compelled to, but willingly, as God would wish. Never do this work thinking of your personal gain but with true compassion.” In the same way a shepherd takes care of his sheep the Pastor must do the same for his flock, for there are those who are out there who would want to do similar things to the flock of God that thieves and murders do to real sheep and the Pastor must protect them. Paul give some references to this in his message to the Ephesian church in Acts 20:28-35: “28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 32 "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 "I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 "You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. 35 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ’It is more blessed to give than to receive.’" Paul is stating that there will be attacks from outside of the church and also inside the church and (I have seen both).
We know that shepherds would led their flocks, going before them to make sure that there were not any kind of trouble ahead of them, like snakes, pits, or poisonous plants, and he would also make sure that the sheep would have calm waters to drink from. I see great similarities in a Pastor’s work with the church of God, for it is also the job of the Pastor to protect the sheep that God has given to him. It is his job to bring the Word of God to the flock that God has given to him, and so he must spend much time in the Word of God and in prayer in order to be in tuned with the Holy Spirit of God so that he is bringing his flock the message that God has designed for them to hear at that point in their lives. I believe that one of the most important things that a believer does is be in the local church that God has called them to be in so that they can hear the messages that God desires for them to hear and to be in fellowship with the people that God has designed for them to be with. It is a shame that people are so quick to leave a church when things get a little difficult or they don’t like the music or the pastor and so they run to another church where they will be certain to find similar situations. I am not saying that there is not a time when believers are to leave a church for Biblical reasons, but it does take time to make sure that these kinds of situations are going on in the church before you leave. A Pastor is to lead his flock, and not drive them and that is probably one of the reasons that God uses the analogy of a shepherd and not one who drives cattle.
A Pastor sometimes has to take the time to talk to a wayward “sheep” to make sure that he is getting the help he needs. We see that Jesus spoke of this in a parable when a shepherd of 100 sheep was missing a wayward sheep and so the shepherd searched until he found it and rejoiced because he did find it. It is a shame that many pastors today desire only to speak to great crowds and not take time for individuals. Jesus spoke to many large crowds but He also took time to seek out individuals. I have been studying the fifth chapter of Mark and in that chapter Jesus took time to seek out a gentile who had thousands of evil spirits living in him. Jesus cast out those demons and then we know that this person became a believer as Jesus told him to go out and tell others what the Lord had done for him.
There were sometimes needs in the life of sheep when the shepherd would have to discipline the sheep for its own good, and other sheep may have other special needs and the shepherd would have to deal with those needs. The shepherd may have to put oil on wounds or other medicine, or I have even heard that a shepherd had to break the leg of a wayward sheep, and I am sure that this was not a pleasant thing to do. These kinds of things a faithful Pastor may have to do from time to time to members of his flock. It is important to remember that all discipline is done in order to bring the wayward “sheep” back into fellowship with the flock and not done to get even with the.
Being a faithful Pastor is no easy job and I believe that it is so important that a pastor must be certain of his calling, knowing that without a doubt that God has called him into the Pastorate, for the job is a very hard job, but at the same time very rewarding. One of the things that a Pastor must know is that the sheep do not belong to him, but to Jesus Christ who paid for them with His blood. The Church belongs to Jesus Christ for the same reason. There will come a day when all Pastors will give an account to the Lord for the work that they are doing at the local church that God has called them to be at. This is a sobering thought and it is one great reason that the sheep should be praying for the pastor.
We will continue to look at verse two in the next SD from 1Peter.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am convicted from this section of Scripture to make sure that I pray more for the Pastor that I sit under. I am also convicted for the need to join the church I have been attending. It has been almost two years since I made the decision to leave a church I had attended for 32 years because of reasons that I truly felt were Biblical reasons and now it is time to join with others in the church I have been attending for about a year.
4/13/2012 10:55:04 AM
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