Shepherding God’s Flock – part 5
Acts 20:17-38 (28-31)
April 28, 2013
As you know we have been studying through this sermon
That Paul delivered from Miletus to the elders of the Ephesian church.
There was never really any doubt in any of our minds
As to the devotion and commitment Paul had to the church of God.
But this passage sort of spells that commitment out for us.
Thus far Paul has been leading in to the heart of the sermon.
We have seen three points, but they have all been simply
To get these men ready for the meat of the message.
PAUL’S EXAMPLE OF HOW A SHEPHERD LIVES
How He Served
Humility
True Concern
Endurance
How He Spoke
Powerfully
Profitably
Publicly
Personally
How He Shared
PAUL’S EXPECTATION OF WHAT A SHEPHERD RECEIVES
To Submit to the Spirit
To Suffer Hardship
To Succeed through Sacrifice
In short we learned that there are a great number of motives
As to why a man may aspire to the office of overseer,
But there are only a few genuine ones.
A shepherd can only successfully guide God’s flock
If he is first willing to die to self and live for God.
And last week we also saw Paul’s third point.
PAUL’S EXONERATION OF HIS OWN SHEPHERDING RECORD
• Paul knew what he was innocent of the blood of all men.
• He knew he had spoken all he was called to speak.
• And he knew he could move on from Ephesus with a clear conscience.
And this has really been the intro to his message.
At this point, there should be no doubt in the minds of these elders
That they had for three years witnessed
The way that shepherding was supposed to be done.
• Tonight we move to the heart of the sermon.
• Tonight we get the commands.
• Tonight we listen as Paul specifically lays it out for these elders
So tonight we get to point 4
#4 PAUL’S EXHORTATION TO HOW THEY SHOULD SHEPHERD
Acts 20:28-31
He has been more than open about his example,
He has preached a sermon on shepherding through his lifestyle
For the past three years.
And now Paul is ready to spell it out for these men.
As we look at this exhortation, there are three things we see.
1) THE REQUIREMENT (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.”
This is the basic command portion of the sermon.
And here we find three required duties of the shepherd.
GUARD YOURSELF
“Be on guard for yourselves”
This is in no way a call to be selfish, or to put self first,
Or to make sure you get your own share.
Rather, Paul commands the shepherd to guard himself
For the good of the sheep.
• If a shepherd is deceived, what will be the outcome of the flock?
• If a shepherd stumbles in sin, what will be the outcome of the flock?
The shepherd must guard himself.
This is the first and foremost reason
Why overseers are required to meet certain qualifications.
1 Timothy 3:1-7 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
You probably noticed, but of all of those qualifications,
Only one is ability based.
The overseer must be “able to teach”,
And that is important, for the flock must be fed.
But the majority of the list all deals with the shepherd’s character.
He must live a certain way.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:16 “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.”
It’s not just your doctrine, it is also your lifestyle.
It matters how a shepherd lives.
Paul even spoke of the possibility of disqualification:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
That last phrase is so important.
“I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
WHAT IS PAUL TALKING ABOUT?
Well, we know that in our lives there is a war going on.
Paul himself spoke of this war.
Romans 7:21-24 “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”
To the Galatians Paul wrote:
Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”
Literally Paul said I feel like a man with a dead man strapped to my back.
He knew there was a battle.
And he could either let the flesh control him,
Or he could determine to control the flesh.
• To let the flesh control him would be to ultimately disqualify himself.
• To control the flesh would be to be fit for ministry.
And that is the same thing Paul told Timothy and is telling these men.
You have got to guard yourself from sin.
The shepherd is more than a preacher, he is also an example.
AND HERE IS THE DEAL
It doesn’t matter how good of a preacher a shepherd is,
If he is not a good example, he is not useable by God.
In our mission meetings we have talked a great deal lately
About being a useable person on this mission trip.
Peter said it like this:
2 Peter 1:5-8 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
If you want to be useful and fruitful in your ministry,
Then your character matters.
Paul would tell Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:20-23 “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”
Be a useful vessel
1 Timothy 6:11 “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”
And this is why the shepherd must guard himself.
• He must guard against temptation, but within and without
• He must guard against presumptuous sin.
• He must guard against worldliness.
• He must guard against laziness.
So Guard yourself
GUARD THE FLOCK
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock”
And all one has to do to understand the analogy and necessity here
Is spend a little time around sheep.
Sheep are mindless creatures, and naturally prone to self-destruction.
• If there is poisoned water, a sheep will drink it.
• If there are poisonous weeds, a sheep will eat it.
• If there is a dangerous hill, a sheep will walk out on it.
They are always naturally bent on heading toward danger.
In a book I read on shepherding, someone asked an actual sheep breeder what he thought his most valuable tool was in keeping his sheep safe.
His answer was, “a fence”.
Sheep are prone to every danger that they are not protected from.
Couple that with the fact that they are almost completely defenseless.
(Their best defense is to ram their head into you)
The point is that they need constant protection.
And, like it or not, sheep is what we are compared to.
• We are prone to wander (just like the song)
• We are tempted by sin
• We are generally gullible and prone to deception
The shepherd’s job is to protect the sheep from these dangers.
When Paul gave Titus that list of qualifications,
He focused heavily on the overseer’s ability to refute deception.
Titus 1:9-11 “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”
People will be deceived and they need to be protected.
• Do we remember Paul writing to the Galatians because someone had “bewitched” them and was about to have them all circumcised?
• Do we remember Paul writing to the Corinthians because some among them were saying “that there is no resurrection”?
• Do we remember Paul writing to the Thessalonians because someone wrote a letter as if from Paul saying that “the day of the Lord has come”?
Those were specific heresies that were destroying those local churches.
The sheep were being led astray, and Paul had to protect them.
He wrote to guard them from deception.
And this is what a shepherd must do.
1 Timothy 4:1-6 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.”
Paul knew that wolves would come in and give deceitful little heresies
That would prey on all sorts of emotions.
Look at those deceptions in that passage.
They are not carnal temptations, they are heresies
That play on the guilt of a person who longs to be righteous.
Things like “don’t get married, stay single to please God”
Things like “don’t eat those foods, God will be more pleased on this diet”
And Paul could see a dangerous legalism setting in
And so he told Timothy to remind people about the truth
And not to let them get carried away by such subtle dangers.
He must know and preach the truth and protect his flock.
Guard Self Guard the Flock
SHEPHERD THE CHURCH
“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.”
Here Paul first reminds of a very important reality,
And that is that the calling to shepherd is a Holy Spirit calling.
“the Holy Spirit has made you overseers”
And let me tell you why that is important.
• First, it indicates the means by which a man becomes an overseer of God’s church. Only God can make him one.
• Called either through inner desire given by the Spirit
• Called by others after spiritual gifts are recognized
• Secondly it highlights the authority that the overseer has in the church.
It is not his own authority, but God’s authority given to Him.
If the Holy Spirit has appointed him to oversee the church,
Then he most certainly has the authority to do it.
The office and presence of overseers is the Lord’s doing.
And He does it with this in view.
“to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
He puts those men there to care for His flock.
To know them, to guide them, to feed them, to protect them, etc.
They are called to lead the sheep in the direction of God’s will.
It is their job to keep the sheep headed in the right direction.
And we even see the importance of this task
As we see the value of the sheep.
“which He purchased with His own blood”
There are few statements in Scripture that indicate
God’s love for the church like this one.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
God values the church so much
That He paid the price of the blood of His Son for her.
I cannot fathom her worth to Him, but I know it is great.
And so when Paul tells these men to care for His church
They must know that this is something that is near to His heart.
This is not some minor responsibility.
This is not some insignificant duty.
God here is putting His most prized possession under their care.
• He wants it guarded
• He wants it fed
• He wants it guided
AND THAT IS THE REQUIREMENT.
This is what God expects of the shepherd / elder / overseer.
• They are to guard themselves to be the best example.
• They are to guard the flock from heresy and deception.
• They are to shepherd the flock in their best interest.
They are required to do this.
Let me give you the second.
2) THE REALITY (29-30)
“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.”
And again we see why shepherds are needed.
Why not just turn a flock out to pasture?
Why not just send them out and let them go?
Because there are dangers that wait for the sheep.
Not the least of which is predators.
And just as they are a threat to a literal flock,
They are also a threat to a spiritual flock.
“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock”
Jesus said:
Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
Peter said:
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
Jude said:
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
They are false prophets, spiritual terrorists,
Who sneak their way in and deceive the flock.
The reality is that God’s flock is precious to God
And that then makes her the target of the enemy.
Satan hates her because God loves her.
And so wolves are always out to destroy her.
AND HERE IS THE REAL KICKER
“and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.”
Paul says wolves are coming and some of them are some of you.
Was not Judas an imposter wormed into the fold?
And incidentally this was true.
• When Paul wrote to Timothy we find him telling Timothy to stay in
Ephesus because certain men are teaching strange doctrines.
• By the time Revelation is written we find that Ephesus had actually
“left her first love”
Paul knew what he was talking about.
“perverse” is from DIASTREPHO
It means “to distort” or “to twist”
They will twist the truth, they will distort the truth.
They won’t be all out lies, just little distortions of truth.
And with that, they will “draw away the disciples”
The idea is that instead of being devoted to Jesus,
They would fall away and start following the man instead.
DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER
Listen to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4 “I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”
• Paul saw Corinth as the bride engaged to Jesus.
• And Paul saw himself as the one in charge of getting her safely to the
wedding.
The problem was she was gullible and easily seduced.
Other Jesus’s were coming in and calling to her.
Other prophets were trying to hook her up with their Jesus.
And Paul is burdened and frustrated with her willingness to stray.
This is the reality of a shepherd’s life.
The shepherd is called to safely deliver a bride
That is prone to wonder and too gullible to know better.
Couple that with the fact that wolves and deceivers are everywhere
And it makes the shepherd’s work a fulltime job.
The Requirement The Reality
3) THE REMINDER (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.”
And there we are back to Paul as the example.
He commands them to shepherd, tells them why a shepherd is needed,
And then again reminds them of how it is done.
“night and day”
“three years”
“did not cease”
“with tears”
Those are all phrases of intense and constant devotion to the calling.
Paul knew what it took to protect and feed and guide God’s flock.
It was a relentless job.
This is why I would again argue that it is a job bigger than one man.
And that is why Paul is entrusting this job to this group of elders.
Keeping God’s flock following after God, free from deception,
And fed on His word is an enormous job.
And yet it is a very important job,
For the sheep are tremendously important to God.
This is why they must shepherd.
• Left on their own, without a shepherd, the sheep will scatter, get deceived, and ultimately be led away from Christ.
Someone must guide them.
Paul was enlisting these men.
That is Paul’s exhortation to how they should shepherd.
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.”
