Shepherding God’s Flock – pt. 2
Acts 20:17-38 (19)
April 7, 2013
Tonight we are going to continue on that topic and text that we began last Sunday night, namely the concept of shepherding the flock of God.
Last week we really just sort of laid a foundation for shepherding,
And talked about the basis of it.
Namely that:
• Israel’s shepherds had ravaged the flock
• Christ came as the Good Shepherd, and gathered the flock
• Christ then entrusted His flock to the apostles
• Since that day care of God’s flock has been passed down over and over
And it is important we maintain that perspective through the entire study
Because it makes sure that we keep our perspectives pure.
Often times today we see a man “Surrender to the Ministry”.
In effect he is saying that God is calling him to serve in some capacity
And typically we rejoice when someone does that
That is a good thing
However, it is vitally important in this process
That we remember that it is not then,
Nor will it ever be about the minister.
The focus is always on the flock.
And so when that sort of thing happens
We do rejoice that one individual expresses a call of God in his life,
But we never simply take it a face value.
There must be examination
There must be a clear expectation
Paul would even go so far as to say
That we must not be hasty in endorsing such a one.
1 Timothy 5:22 “Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.”
And we may come back to that point at a later date,
But for now at least it is sufficient for you to understand
That shepherding God’s flock is a serious thing.
Let me say it this way.
GOD LOVES HIS FLOCK
He evidenced that by sending His own Son to die
In order to redeem His flock back to Himself.
Furthermore, God maintains a personal relationship through His Son
With each and every one of His sheep.
So to stand in a place as a caretaker of God’s flock is no laughing matter. It is serious to God, it matters to Him, and it must be done properly.
And this is precisely what Paul is talking about
Here with the Ephesian elders.
• Because Paul was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost,
• He sailed past Ephesus,
• But having landed in Miletus, he now is holding a sort of “Pastor’s Conference”
• In which he has called the elders of that church to him for some final
exhortation.
What we find here is really valuable stuff
In regard to shepherding the flock of God.
Now last week we spent quite a while in introduction,
Building the concept of shepherding and elders
And we barely made it into our text at all.
I did give you the first major point.
#1 PAUL’S EXAMPLE OF HOW A SHEPHERD LIVES
Acts 20:17-21
And the main thing we first noticed is that Paul immediately lifted himself up as an example of how a shepherd should care for God’s flock.
(18) “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,”
In other words, you didn’t just hear what I spoke, you saw how I lived.
I gave you a practical example of how to shepherd the flock of God.
And we even mentioned how many today
Would view Paul’s efforts there as extremely arrogant.
And yet, we recognized that this also is part of the divine order.
On one hand Shepherds are supposed to be an example:
1 Peter 5:3 “nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”
And on the other hand, the flock is supposed to follow their example.
Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”
And that is why Paul not only repeatedly told churches
To follow his example or to imitate his faith,
But that is also why he told the next generation of preachers
To make sure they set a good example for their flocks.
1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”
Titus 2:7-8 “in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
Shepherds are supposed to be examples for the flock
The flock is supposed to follow the shepherd’s example.
And that is what Paul is doing here.
Tonight I want to venture in to
Some of the examples he set for these elders to follow.
Namely Paul lifts up three aspects of his ministry for them to imitate.
• How I Served (19)
• How I Spoke (20)
• How I Shared (21)
So let’s look here at the first one.
1) HOW I SERVED
(19) “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;”
And it is vitally important that from the start
We recognize the recipient of his service.
Paul doesn’t mention how he served the flock,
But rather how he served “the Lord”
And this is an important distinction.
The service Paul rendered was not solely for the flock, but for the Lord.
Did he serve the flock? Yes
But his reason for serving the flock
Was that he loved the flock’s Shepherd.
This was the basis behind Jesus asking Peter to feed His sheep wasn’t it?
Jesus didn’t ask Peter:
“Peter, do you love the flock?”
Jesus three times asked Peter, “Peter, do you Me?”
It is an important perspective.
A shepherd must serve the sheep motivated by his love for Christ.
WHY?
Because not all sheep are loveable all the time.
It’s like with your marriage.
You do what you do for your spouse during the hard times
Because Christ asked it of you.
Well, it is the same with shepherding.
• It cannot just be done out of a fondness for the flock.
• The needs of the flock are never a strong enough motivator.
The shepherd must first and foremost
Have a love and affection for Christ.
He must desire to serve Christ.
He must desire to give back to Him.
As a boy we fed John Lovelace’s cows
(We didn’t do it because we loved the cows)
This is Paul’s motive.
He is serving Christ.
What he does for the flock, he really does for Christ.
And really, this isn’t just the call to shepherds
But is really our motive in all activity.
Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
Really, all of our work is for Christ, and when you know it is for Christ
You do a much better job.
Because unlike the people we often serve, Christ deserves it.
So Paul is serving Christ.
And here he is lifting up his example of how he served Him.
In verse 19 he gives three ways in which he served.
WITH HUMILITY
“serving the Lord with all humility”
Some would obviously find fault with this statement,
Especially when you realize that Paul is saying to copy him.
It almost sounds like he is saying,
“Be like me because I am so humble”
But Paul isn’t self-serving in his request.
He is merely pointing out that if anyone is going to be an effective shepherd, then humility is necessary.
• Now, what does he mean by that?
• What does a humble shepherd look like?
Does he walk around all day, with his head held low
constantly talking about how unworthy he is?
(No, often times that type of false humility is really just self-serving.)
A humble shepherd is one who realizes that on his own,
He cannot perform the task at hand.
He isn’t smart enough
He isn’t strong enough
He isn’t experienced enough
Shepherding God’s flock is beyond what he is capable of on his own.
And let me give you some examples of Paul’s humility in this regard.
Consider the letter he wrote to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
That is a tremendous picture of humility.
• He didn’t come spouting what he knew, he came preaching God’s truth.
• He didn’t come trusting his own methods, he came trusting God’s Spirit
This is a picture of humility.
I enjoy listening to preaching,
I don’t even mind watching preaching on television.
But the fastest way to turn me off when you are preaching
Is to go on some tirade of preaching based solely
On your own logic or experience.
I don’t listen to preaching to get practical examples
From another man’s experiences.
I listen to preaching to have my spirit edified
By a proper understanding of God’s truth.
To me, it is sheer arrogance for a preacher to draw only
From the bank of his own intelligence.
That is to assume that what he has to say
Is just as good as what God has to say.
Paul didn’t have that type of arrogance, he preached the truth,
And he put his own ego on the back burner.
Let me give you another example of Paul’s humility.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
If you will remember, the Corinthian church was plagued by division.
Some claimed to be of Paul, some of Apollos, some of Cephas, and some of Christ.
But Paul definitely did not fuel that fire, instead he extinguished it.
He explicitly stated that he in himself was nothing to honored,
He was merely a servant, God is the One who deserves all the glory.
• Where do you ever find Paul boasting about his success?
• Where do you ever find Paul relating baptismal numbers?
• Where do you ever find Paul marketing some church growth program he implemented?
What you will find is Paul counting himself nothing
And giving God all the glory.
Romans 15:18-19 “For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
That is the kind of humility that Paul had.
• He wasn’t so arrogant as to preach his own message
• He wasn’t so arrogant as to assume success was his doing
AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
WHY?
Because if you walk in arrogance, God won’t help you.
TURN TO: 1 PETER 5:1-7
We read this passage last week as we talked about
The establishment of elders and their role as an example to the flock.
(VERSES 1-4)
And those are tremendous words,
And literally saturated with a call to humility.
Don’t be domineering
Don’t rule according to your own will
Be an example
That is all laced with humility
And then Peter gives admonition to those younger men
Who are under the authority of the elders
(VERSE 5)
And notice at the end of that verse, “and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,”
WHY?
“for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
You had better walk in humility because if you don’t,
God will be opposed to your ministry.
We learned from Isaiah that God does not share His glory.
And He will not give grace
To one who is only going to use it to glorify himself.
Humility is so important.
So Peter continues (VERSES 6-7)
So humble yourselves.
And that is exactly what Paul is saying to these Ephesian elders.
Imitate me.
Walk in humility.
Don’t trust in your own logic, don’t trust in your own experience,
Don’t assume you have some right to shepherd
Because you are smarter than everyone else.
Walk in humility, trust God’s word, trust God’s ways, lean on His strength.
Humble yourself in obedience to His will.
If you don’t do that, you cannot succeed as a shepherd.
So when Paul tells them to follow his example of service,
The first specific is to do so with humility
WITH TRUE CONCERN
“serving the Lord with all humility and with tears”
This is not to say that shepherds who cry are better than those who don’t.
What it does refer to is the amount of concern that the shepherd has.
Paul had fully given himself to God’s flock.
• It mattered to him how they turned out.
• It mattered to him how they walked.
• He really did care.
And there are passages that speak to this great concern.
Romans 9:1-3 “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,”
2 Corinthians 2:4 “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.”
Even in this passage:
Acts 20:29-31 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. “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.”
That is a man who genuinely and deeply cares for his flock.
It was no small thing for them to struggle
It was no small thing for them to disobey
It was no small thing for them to fall into sin
You are familiar with that passage in 2 Corinthians 11
When Paul outlined his hardships in ministry,
I love the last one he gives:
2 Corinthians 11:28-29 “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?”
Paul cared. It mattered.
I remember talking to a pastor on one occasion who had left his church
Based on some personal struggles and sin in his own life.
As he told me about the account, he looked at me with a smug grin on his face and said, “Man that church fell apart when I left.”
It was like a dagger to me.
Not only was he totally unconcerned
About the effect his sin might have on that congregation,
He was actually arrogantly relishing in the fact
That the church now struggled without him there.
I think I can confidently say that flock is better off with him gone.
Shepherds care about the flock at all times.
And consider Paul, God kept him on the move,
But did he ever forget the previous churches he started?
No, he continually cared for them.
And the underlying concern is for their spiritual health.
You don’t find Paul commenting much on physical ailments
(although he does some),
His predominant concern was the spiritual well-being of the flock.
That was Paul he served with humility and with tears.
Let me show you a third way in which Paul served.
WITH ENDURANCE
“and with trials which same upon me through the plots of the Jews”
It is not necessary to recount all the suffering Paul endured
In order to shepherd the flocks throughout Asia.
Beatings, imprisonments, mobs, mockings, stonings
Paul dealt with more than his fair share of trials.
And yet, he pressed on.
Toward the end of his life, when he wrote a letter to Timothy
Telling him to endure, Paul made a great statement:
2 Timothy 2:10 “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”
• Why would Paul continue to face hardships?
• Why would Paul continue to enter synagogues?
• Why would Paul continue to preach?
Because he loved God’s flock.
He loved the flock that had already come to Christ,
And he loved the flock that had been ordained to come to Christ.
He endured for them.
Even now, he is on his way to Jerusalem, why?
Because he is serving the saints in the Jerusalem church.
And he knows it will cost him.
Acts 20:22-24 “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”
That is endurance.
Remember what he wrote to the Philippians?
Philippians 1:21-26 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.”
That was a man that continually faced opposition,
Yet endured through it anyway all because he loved Christ
And determined to shepherd His flock.
A good shepherd doesn’t quit when it gets hard,
A good shepherd endures.
• So the flock is struggling…
• So the flock is sinning…
• So the flock doesn’t seem interested in the things of God…
• So the flock is straying…
That shepherd can’t quit, that is why they need a shepherd.
False shepherds are those who quit.
John 10:11-15 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
And that is what Paul did.
He endured for the sake of those who are chosen.
And this is the example that he passed on to future shepherds.
Listen to him talk to Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:11-16 “Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
I quote that verse a lot in regard to being committed to preaching,
But do you also see the obvious call for endurance
Throughout that passage?
How long should he give attention to the public reading of Scripture?
“Until I come”
Even when it is hard, “Do not neglect” your spiritual gift.
So it is difficult, well “Take pains with these things”
Paul even adamantly tells him, “persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
Timothy, you have got to endure, you have got to push through,
Salvation literally hangs in the balance.
A good shepherd doesn’t quit until the sheep are safely home.
2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
There again the calling to “endure hardship”
So it’s hard, press on anyway.
And that is Paul’s example of how he served.
• When he served, he served with true humility, knowing all the power and wisdom had to come from God.
• When he served, he served with true concern, knowing that a shepherd who doesn’t care for his flock is a lousy shepherd.
• When he served, he served with genuine endurance, knowing that a shepherd who flees when the wolf comes is not a Christ-like shepherd.
And all the while, Paul knew that in his service of the flock,
It was really Christ he was serving.
That is how a shepherd serves.
That is what the flock should expect.
1 Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 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; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
