What Will Be The Relationship Between The Sheep, The Flock, The Shepherd And Our Destiny?
Good Morning Friends,
If you have read the Bible you know it begins in a garden and ends in a city. Now about 50 percent of the world’s population is urban and the other half rural. But this is a fairly recent reality. Historically people have lived in rural agricultural areas of the world. 5000 years ago, we were all hunter gatherers. What is interesting is that today 80 percent of the world’s poverty is in rural areas and these people are migrating to the cities. By 2050 70% of the world will live in urban areas…towns and cities. The world will increase by 2 billion people with half of this growth coming from Africa. Birth rates will drop, and people will live longer. The economic center of the world will shift from the mid-Atlantic to the area between India and China. And a new generation will establish as yet unknown taboos and cultural limits on what is currently considered acceptable human behavior. The future will bring a changing geopolitical world that would do well to read the Bible more and to pray in fellowship. But because today many people have lost interest in organized religion, rationalizing that religion is not what it is supposed to be, they embrace the ways of our individualistic society and try to journey this path to the future on their own. Some things must be done alone, but the problem is that people lack spiritual community if they do not do things of our faith together. People bowl alone. How sad. However, Christ calls us to walk together as a flock on the journey to a shining city on a hill. Friends, we come to the faith through a community of believers drawn together because of the common experience of having met at the Cross. Many sheep are put under the care of spiritual leaders. Some are good leaders and some not so good. Therefore, as we end our study of 1 Peter, in contemplation of the future, we ask today’s question. What Will Be The Relationship Between The Sheep, The Flock, The Shepherd And Our Destiny?
Scripture: Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. Through Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
1 Peter 5:1-14 (NRSV)
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes* with sighs too deep for words. And God,* who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit* intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.*
Romans 8:22-27 (NRSV)
Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:15-18 (NRSV)
Message: We are coming to the end of the Book of 1 Peter. The closing admonitions of Peter reminds me of the reality that Jesus asked him to feed his sheep on the Shores of Sea of Galilee. The theme is like a reoccurring melody….Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” And when Peter responds in the affirmative. Jesus instructs Peter to, “Then feed my sheep.” This is repeated three times and it is a message for all those in leadership facing the challenge of being the Body of Christ together. I imagine that Peter was thinking of not only his denial of Christ but also Christ’s directive to him to nourish others in the faith. And so even though the writing is to a particular population, it is also a message for us all. And in trying to soak in its wisdom it becomes clear that the way we do church is a problem in the way we raise our children and send them away to places that they are not connected. Peter tells us to suck it up. The Head Shepherd is coming. He tells the leadership how to act. Sending the children off to sow their wild oats is really crazy. We are to be a Church about people in community as a fellowship that learns the Bible together as families and is trained to recognize the real thing when it comes to our faith. Friends need to understand that the Good Shepherd calls his flock and guides them in doing the will of God, but we need to be the Body of Christ together not alone. The example of the early Church communities is guidance in the face of adversity. From the very beginning of the church Christians were persecuted for their faith in Jesus. At first, they were persecuted by the Jewish religious authorities, such as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion. Later the Roman Empire persecuted Christians. From Nero in the first century to Diocletian in the first part of the fourth century, Christians were regularly martyred for proclaiming that Jesus was and is the Son of God. Throughout history we have even persecuted our own for denominational issues. The church has always had both the wheat and the tares and so we live in an imperfect world. Today, in countries around the world, Christians regularly face persecution and death for their faith. In our affluence we forget that suffering and struggle is part of the Christian experience. But 1 Peter was written as letter not only to a persecuted church, but to bodies of believers that struggled with living out their faith. The difficulty many of us face is not necessarily persecution. Most of our struggles come from a failure remain constantly under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The secret to an effective Christian life is found in living in His strength, not in our own, in living under His control and not under self-rule. So, it is easy to serve our Lord when times are good, and it costs us nothing to hold our faith. But there are times when we grow weary, when we feel defeated, when it seems that the circumstances of life will surly overwhelm us. It is in moments like these that we choose between dealing with life in our own strength or remaining dependent on the Spirit of God living within us. If you find yourself in this situation, take heart. God has a word of encouragement for us. His desire is to use these difficulties to strengthen us, to perfect and establish us, and to demonstrate to us how He wants to care for us as sheep of the flock. Through persecution we are humbled and realize that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called to His purpose. Our problem is that we often will not accept the sovereignty of God in our lives. Living under the delusion of self-rule, we complain, struggle, and squirm. Allowing God to humble us means that we remember that God is in control. Nothing will happen that He has not allowed. When He allows it, He has a purpose for it, and that purpose is always for our good. It means accepting all that happens to us without resentment or rebellion against God. Humility means accepting God’s rule instead of ours. It means accepting His rule when we do not understand. It means accepting His rule when He does not give us an explanation. Grace friends is given to the humble. It is not until our pride is dead that He will exalt us. Humility means we lose our pride, but we gain God’s favor. When we are humbled, when we come to a sense of our own weakness, we will be forced to depend upon Him. In today’s scripture we have the promise that as God accomplishes His purpose in us there are four things He will do. The God of all grace, the God who shows unmerited favor toward us and loves us, and as the King James version of the Bible translates, will perfect us, confirm us, strengthen us and establish us. Even His purpose in allowing persecution and suffering is motivated by nothing other than perfect love for us. He is the God of all grace. He will have mercy on us. As we stand firm and resisting the devil, God will bring us to wholeness and give us a resolute and determination in our faith that makes us strong in the face of anything in our way. God will be a foundation that is unshakable. We are to put off our old nature and be born anew. But not perhaps in the way you might think. Friends, the road is narrow that lead to life. Evil is real and will exert pressure on us to sin. Do not be surprised by the dangers we have to face. We are called to suffer through them for righteousness sake. Temptations will come urging us to depart from the path Christ walks and we are to follow in his steps on the journey into the future. The amazing thing is that same human characteristic the Serpent used in the Garden to trick Adam and Eve is used by God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit to defeat evil and redeem us. Adam was willing to die and give up utopia in the garden in order to be free. Christ, the Second Adam was willing to die and give up utopia in heaven in order to set us free. So too the martyrs in the Church are willing to die in order for freedom to reign in the abiding sovereignty of Christ. Temptations are real but we need not face them alone. We are not to walk the path alone. God the Shepherd King walks with us and so too the fellowship of the faithful saints. Endure and in the end, we will share the crown of glory with Christ.
And So, our destiny is a crown of glory and honor. And though the trial of the Christian may be greater than those who are not Christian, we who are suffering servants with Christ will certainly have glory with him as well. Peter pulls no punches about the persecution we will face for our beliefs. But the letter does not stop with having courage in the face of adversity. Peter wrote the letter to share with all believers of the undying hope and promises of Christ. It is not a superficial hope, but one based on trust in God who works through Jesus to achieve His purpose for us. The path of the Christian may be long and hard, and temptations may change from generation to generation, but there are some things we learn together that we cannot learn on our own. In community the struggles of those who make it up are reflected in the whole. And when we look in the mirror, when we look at the church, we might not like what we see. And we might realize that the problem with the church is us. You see, authentic community reflects the struggles of those who make it up. If we look in the mirror, we might realize the problem with the church. In our search for an authentic community we need to be realistic about who we are. The church is a hospital for recovering sinners not a club for practically perfect saints. Difficult people are part of the church. But the loners and difficult people will get picked off were it not for the grace of member of the church. The test is to care about the difficult people of the church. We need the love of the community to go the distance. We need to embrace the difficult people for they will always be part of the church membership. The thing is that the community is gathered by God not chosen by the family of God. We cannot choose our family. God places these people in our lives. These people share our lives. Patterns of our life are formed in our families and so too in our family of God. The flock forms our spiritual character. And God wants us to be part of a flock but also part of Jesus. We are gifted for one another. We need diversity to function properly. But when no one is being saved we nitpick each other to death. We are to pray for the lost. We are to pray for God’s presence. We are to pray for the church leaders and stand firm in the faith. The enemy of the church and community is like a lion seeking who he may devour. Imagine going of a lion safari. We count the people on the bus and one of us wanders off. We need to help those who are isolated and discouraged. Be controlled and alert not just for yourself but for others in the flock. You cannot journey in the Christian life alone. There are dangers. Thank God for those who help us when we struggle. Friends, the Church is more than a place of worship. It is a place of journeying together to a destiny of being like Christ. Here as Christians, willing to endure the discomfort of sanctification, we get to look on redemption’s hope of glory. Here Christians can see the holy ground that has been there all the time…waiting to be discovered in an awakening of the Spirit. Friends, this is more than putting up with the inconveniences of the present by looking forward to a better day. It is more than foregoing things because the goal is more inviting than the indulgence. Here scripture reminds us of the importance of believing the outcome has greater value than the discomfort required to achieve it. But it is more still for this hope is not just the key to discipline that comforts and encourages and orders our commitment to Jesus Christ, it is the key to the Kingdom we seek.
Pray we appreciate all that Jesus does for us in forgiving our sins and opening our eyes and taking care of us and restoring our lives by dying for us and living for us. Pray we discover the freedom Christ offers us. Pray we believe we will experience an incomparable glory and that this hope overwhelms any present suffering. Pray we eagerly expect our humble glory to be amazing. Pray we have real reasons for hope in the glory that God will redeem us to a heavenly purpose, on the journey and in the presence of the divine, as a hint of what is to come…the blessing of a new creation.
Pray for leaders who start out with passion but fall into routines and lose vision. Pray we have a heart for mission motivated by love. Pray for our leaders to practice what they preach in an authentic way. Pray their desire for gain be focused on Christ not personal power or money. Pray our focus be on what we can give not get. Pray we not be hypocrites. Pray we realize that the health of the church is based in part in how our leaders shepherd the flock around the pitfalls of the journey. Pray we appreciate all that Jesus does for us in forgiving our sins and opening our eyes and taking care of us and restoring our lives by dying for us and living for us and in each of our roles in helping others on the journey. Pray we realize nevertheless that it is Jesus’ church not our own. Pray therefor that we realize our priority is our commission as Christians. Pray Christ is our Lord and King as well as Shepherd. Pray we cloth ourselves in humility. Pray we realize that we are gifted for one another. Pray we realize the importance of diversity to function properly in carrying out our commission as Christians. Pray we are humbled before God, dependent on God, alert to the dangers of life and of God’s will, pray we tenaciously stand our ground against evil. Pray we are prepared for the battles ahead. Pray we clothe ourselves with the nature of Christ. Pray we be humble before God, dependent upon God’s strength, and alert to the dangers on the journey. Pray we embrace God’s plan for us to defeat temptations as we find true freedom in Christ. Pray we embrace the Word of God to lead us down the pathway of righteousness, and to be a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet so that truth might be revealed. Pray we be tenacious and put on the full armor of God, not of man in facing our giants. Pray we realize that God will fight the battles for us and share with us the joy of winning.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 