Title: Overview of Biblical Eldership: All Elders are Pastors
Meta: In 1 Peter 5 the Bible identifies those who shepherd the flock as the elders. It is not just one of the elders who shepherds. The Bible teaches that all of the elders are to equally shepherd the flock. This is because all elders are pastors. There is equality, and yet diversity among them; and all must strive to shepherd with humility.
Tags: pastors,elders,bishops,church,leadership,deacons,Tim Conway,Ephesians 4:11,1 Peter 5:1,shepherd

1
00:00:00,743 --> 00:00:06,971
Today, I actually am going to have you

2
00:00:06,971 --> 00:00:10,678
turn to Ephesians,

3
00:00:10,678 --> 00:00:14,487
but not to pick up our exposition

4
00:00:14,487 --> 00:00:16,321
of the letter, but rather

5
00:00:16,321 --> 00:00:19,516
to dive in in Ephesians 4

6
00:00:19,516 --> 00:00:21,726
as kind of a launching pad

7
00:00:21,726 --> 00:00:24,952
for a sermon that's going to

8
00:00:24,952 --> 00:00:29,560
take us all over Scripture.

9
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,814
But before we start,

10
00:00:32,814 --> 00:00:34,253
you can find that text,

11
00:00:34,253 --> 00:00:42,610
Ephesians 4:7

12
00:00:42,610 --> 00:00:49,313
In fact, we'll read the text and then pray.

13
00:00:49,313 --> 00:01:02,603
Ephesians 4:7-13

14
00:01:02,603 --> 00:01:04,051
Read along with me.

15
00:01:04,051 --> 00:01:07,645
"But grace was given to each one of us

16
00:01:07,645 --> 00:01:17,310
according to the measure of Christ's gift.

17
00:01:17,310 --> 00:01:22,721
Therefore, (it says,)

18
00:01:22,721 --> 00:01:24,416
when He ascended on high,

19
00:01:24,416 --> 00:01:27,179
He led a host of captives

20
00:01:27,179 --> 00:01:31,421
(or He led captivity captive)..."

21
00:01:31,421 --> 00:01:35,939
And what Paul is specifically

22
00:01:35,939 --> 00:01:37,680
wanting to target right here

23
00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:39,012
from Psalm 68

24
00:01:39,012 --> 00:01:43,850
is the fact that He gave gifts to men.

25
00:01:43,850 --> 00:01:48,310
7 - there's grace.

26
00:01:48,310 --> 00:01:49,339
It's given

27
00:01:49,339 --> 00:01:51,704
according to the measure of Christ's gift.

28
00:01:51,704 --> 00:01:56,030
8 - "He (Christ) gave gifts to men."

29
00:01:56,030 --> 00:01:59,615
Now there's a little aside here.

30
00:01:59,615 --> 00:02:02,247
The ESV has parenthesis.

31
00:02:02,247 --> 00:02:04,549
Because Paul's going to say a little bit here

32
00:02:04,549 --> 00:02:06,923
about the ascension and the descension

33
00:02:06,923 --> 00:02:08,725
before he gets back to talking about

34
00:02:08,725 --> 00:02:10,718
the giving of the gifts.

35
00:02:10,718 --> 00:02:12,465
So, very quickly, these two verses

36
00:02:12,465 --> 00:02:13,604
in saying He ascended,

37
00:02:13,604 --> 00:02:15,360
what does it mean, but that

38
00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:17,020
He had also descended

39
00:02:17,020 --> 00:02:20,657
into the lower regions of the earth.

40
00:02:20,657 --> 00:02:22,513
Basically, He had come from heaven

41
00:02:22,513 --> 00:02:23,557
down to earth.

42
00:02:23,557 --> 00:02:25,213
He who descended is the One

43
00:02:25,213 --> 00:02:27,128
Who also ascended

44
00:02:27,128 --> 00:02:28,590
far above all the heavens

45
00:02:28,590 --> 00:02:31,499
that He might fill all things,

46
00:02:31,499 --> 00:02:34,390
and in having done that,

47
00:02:34,390 --> 00:02:36,698
He gave the apostles,

48
00:02:36,698 --> 00:02:38,678
the prophets, the evangelists,

49
00:02:38,678 --> 00:02:43,837
the shepherds and teachers -

50
00:02:43,837 --> 00:02:46,655
and I will tell you,

51
00:02:46,655 --> 00:02:51,578
this message deals specifically with shepherds.

52
00:02:51,578 --> 00:02:54,145
V. 11, "the shepherds."

53
00:02:54,145 --> 00:02:58,365
"He gave the shepherds."

54
00:02:58,365 --> 00:03:02,612
Or your Bible may say, "the pastors."

55
00:03:02,612 --> 00:03:03,443
For what reason?

56
00:03:03,443 --> 00:03:06,870
To equip the saints for the work of ministry.

57
00:03:06,870 --> 00:03:09,797
For building up the body of Christ.

58
00:03:09,797 --> 00:03:12,048
"Until we all attain to the unity of the faith

59
00:03:12,048 --> 00:03:13,859
and of the knowledge of the Son of God

60
00:03:13,859 --> 00:03:15,360
to mature manhood

61
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:16,809
to the measure of the stature

62
00:03:16,809 --> 00:03:18,370
of the fullness of Christ."

63
00:03:18,370 --> 00:03:19,786
Now, I recognize, He gave

64
00:03:19,786 --> 00:03:21,724
apostles, prophets, evangelists,

65
00:03:21,724 --> 00:03:24,052
pastors and teacher to equip the saints

66
00:03:24,052 --> 00:03:25,412
for all of this,

67
00:03:25,412 --> 00:03:29,237
but I want to specifically target the shepherds,

68
00:03:29,237 --> 00:03:32,179
the pastors.

69
00:03:32,179 --> 00:03:35,989
That's where we're going today.

70
00:03:35,989 --> 00:03:39,982
Let's pray.

71
00:03:39,982 --> 00:03:42,706
Father, I pray

72
00:03:42,706 --> 00:03:46,471
that Your Word

73
00:03:46,471 --> 00:03:50,147
may it be a lamp unto our feet.

74
00:03:50,147 --> 00:03:51,918
Lord, my desire is that this church

75
00:03:51,918 --> 00:03:53,577
be guided by Your Word.

76
00:03:53,577 --> 00:03:55,178
I want to be biblical.

77
00:03:55,178 --> 00:03:56,838
I want our church to be biblical.

78
00:03:56,838 --> 00:03:58,763
I want our leaders to be biblical.

79
00:03:58,763 --> 00:04:00,701
Lord, we want to do things

80
00:04:00,701 --> 00:04:04,801
according to this truth that You've given to us.

81
00:04:04,801 --> 00:04:06,294
You've directed us.

82
00:04:06,294 --> 00:04:09,856
You've given us a great body

83
00:04:09,856 --> 00:04:13,743
of words put together into thoughts

84
00:04:13,743 --> 00:04:17,701
that show us the very mind and will of our God.

85
00:04:17,701 --> 00:04:19,184
And we pray, Lord,

86
00:04:19,184 --> 00:04:22,618
we know from 1 Corinthians 2

87
00:04:22,618 --> 00:04:27,233
that we need help

88
00:04:27,233 --> 00:04:31,473
to properly discern and recognize

89
00:04:31,473 --> 00:04:32,798
the realities,

90
00:04:32,798 --> 00:04:35,292
to see and to understand

91
00:04:35,292 --> 00:04:37,902
and to comprehend aright,

92
00:04:37,902 --> 00:04:40,590
to feel in proper balance,

93
00:04:40,590 --> 00:04:43,896
to grasp truth.

94
00:04:43,896 --> 00:04:45,880
We need to be led by the Spirit.

95
00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,275
We need to be guided by the Spirit.

96
00:04:48,275 --> 00:04:49,888
We are spiritual people,

97
00:04:49,888 --> 00:04:51,346
and we pray that the Spirit

98
00:04:51,346 --> 00:04:55,339
would feed us with this spiritual food.

99
00:04:55,339 --> 00:04:57,516
We ask it in Christ's name,

100
00:04:57,516 --> 00:05:00,692
Amen.

101
00:05:00,692 --> 00:05:07,280
Now, I have three main points.

102
00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:11,740
Identity.

103
00:05:11,740 --> 00:05:17,900
The second one is equality and diversity.

104
00:05:17,900 --> 00:05:21,339
The third is humility.

105
00:05:21,339 --> 00:05:23,603
So, identity.

106
00:05:23,603 --> 00:05:28,839
We want to identify these shepherds.

107
00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,963
Second, we want to show

108
00:05:31,963 --> 00:05:34,066
that there is an equality,

109
00:05:34,066 --> 00:05:37,462
but there is also a diversity.

110
00:05:37,462 --> 00:05:39,534
And then I want to end

111
00:05:39,534 --> 00:05:42,325
by targeting humility.

112
00:05:42,325 --> 00:05:46,202
And under this first heading of identity,

113
00:05:46,202 --> 00:05:49,154
I have a number of subpoints.

114
00:05:49,154 --> 00:05:50,650
The derivation of this word,

115
00:05:50,650 --> 00:05:52,205
the definition of this word,

116
00:05:52,205 --> 00:05:55,274
the description of those who

117
00:05:55,274 --> 00:05:57,509
are these sorts of people.

118
00:05:57,509 --> 00:06:04,269
The origination of pastors.

119
00:06:04,269 --> 00:06:07,467
The designation of these guys.

120
00:06:07,467 --> 00:06:09,798
How are they called?

121
00:06:09,798 --> 00:06:13,710
Before we move on the second point.

122
00:06:13,710 --> 00:06:16,791
Derivation - I want to talk about that.

123
00:06:16,791 --> 00:06:17,699
Derivation.

124
00:06:17,699 --> 00:06:21,039
(Incomplete thought)

125
00:06:21,039 --> 00:06:24,117
Now, see, right from the beginning

126
00:06:24,117 --> 00:06:26,594
I want to tell you.

127
00:06:26,594 --> 00:06:29,598
You say, why are we looking at this?

128
00:06:29,598 --> 00:06:32,072
Well, we're looking at this for this reason:

129
00:06:32,072 --> 00:06:38,922
That we want to grasp properly

130
00:06:38,922 --> 00:06:41,582
what are pastors?

131
00:06:41,582 --> 00:06:43,285
who are they in the church?

132
00:06:43,285 --> 00:06:45,099
Where do they fit?

133
00:06:45,099 --> 00:06:48,837
How do they relate to one another?

134
00:06:48,837 --> 00:06:49,646
Who are they?

135
00:06:49,646 --> 00:06:50,431
Where are they?

136
00:06:50,431 --> 00:06:51,941
Where are they in Scripture?

137
00:06:51,941 --> 00:06:54,506
Where are they in the church?

138
00:06:54,506 --> 00:06:58,257
We're in a season where we have

139
00:06:58,257 --> 00:07:01,942
multiple elders in the church.

140
00:07:01,942 --> 00:07:05,820
We're considering, and have considered,

141
00:07:05,820 --> 00:07:10,828
the possibility of more elders in the church.

142
00:07:10,828 --> 00:07:12,929
What are we talking about

143
00:07:12,929 --> 00:07:17,150
when Scripture says that Jesus Christ

144
00:07:17,150 --> 00:07:19,095
gave gifts to men

145
00:07:19,095 --> 00:07:23,071
and He gave shepherds?

146
00:07:23,071 --> 00:07:24,570
What are we talking about?

147
00:07:24,570 --> 00:07:27,308
Well, we use the term pastor today.

148
00:07:27,308 --> 00:07:29,771
But there's a lot of traditional garbage

149
00:07:29,771 --> 00:07:31,890
actually, that is attached

150
00:07:31,890 --> 00:07:33,708
to the idea of pastor.

151
00:07:33,708 --> 00:07:35,526
(incomplete thought)

152
00:07:35,526 --> 00:07:37,345
Leaders in churches,

153
00:07:37,345 --> 00:07:39,781
they can be called doctor,

154
00:07:39,781 --> 00:07:43,932
people are called reverend,

155
00:07:43,932 --> 00:07:48,260
or even, ridiculously, the most reverend.

156
00:07:48,260 --> 00:07:50,082
But, people are called pastors.

157
00:07:50,082 --> 00:07:51,036
And a lot of times,

158
00:07:51,036 --> 00:07:53,736
we've kind of lost why we do that.

159
00:07:53,736 --> 00:07:56,498
It's more just a traditional thing

160
00:07:56,498 --> 00:07:59,271
that we throw titles around.

161
00:07:59,271 --> 00:08:01,025
We throw these tags around.

162
00:08:01,025 --> 00:08:04,397
And maybe not a lot of thought goes into it.

163
00:08:04,397 --> 00:08:07,235
Maybe it's more of a traditional thing

164
00:08:07,235 --> 00:08:09,104
that you're used to.

165
00:08:09,104 --> 00:08:11,981
Let me tell you something.

166
00:08:11,981 --> 00:08:15,614
The term "pastor" - what's its derivation?

167
00:08:15,614 --> 00:08:17,024
Where is it derived from?

168
00:08:17,024 --> 00:08:23,152
Basically, it comes from the Latin.

169
00:08:23,152 --> 00:08:25,970
In Latin, there is a word "pastor."

170
00:08:25,970 --> 00:08:27,737
What's that word?

171
00:08:27,737 --> 00:08:30,391
Well, it's basically shepherd.

172
00:08:30,391 --> 00:08:31,700
It's a herdsman.

173
00:08:31,700 --> 00:08:34,261
It's one who tends the flock.

174
00:08:34,261 --> 00:08:36,172
When we use the term pastor,

175
00:08:36,172 --> 00:08:37,875
you need to understand right away,

176
00:08:37,875 --> 00:08:41,766
what you are saying is shepherd.

177
00:08:41,766 --> 00:08:43,009
That's it.

178
00:08:43,009 --> 00:08:44,888
You see a shepherd out in the fields -

179
00:08:44,888 --> 00:08:46,559
when we were just over in Europe,

180
00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:49,835
we saw lots of sheep in the fields.

181
00:08:49,835 --> 00:08:52,822
A shepherd is one who tends the sheep.

182
00:08:52,822 --> 00:08:56,070
That's what a pastor is.

183
00:08:56,070 --> 00:09:00,071
The Greek word is poimen.

184
00:09:00,071 --> 00:09:02,609
The Latin word is pastor.

185
00:09:02,609 --> 00:09:07,390
The English word is shepherd.

186
00:09:07,390 --> 00:09:10,062
Yes, it has become pastor

187
00:09:10,062 --> 00:09:13,398
by way of pulling the Latin over.

188
00:09:13,398 --> 00:09:15,003
But I'm afraid that often when

189
00:09:15,003 --> 00:09:16,606
we use the term pastor,

190
00:09:16,606 --> 00:09:19,089
we don't think shepherd.

191
00:09:19,089 --> 00:09:20,837
We rather oftentimes think

192
00:09:20,837 --> 00:09:22,247
the guy that preaches most,

193
00:09:22,247 --> 00:09:24,393
he's got a designated parking place out here,

194
00:09:24,393 --> 00:09:26,013
he's got an office in the church -

195
00:09:26,013 --> 00:09:27,578
a lot of times we think that.

196
00:09:27,578 --> 00:09:30,657
It's like the one guy that heads up the church.

197
00:09:30,657 --> 00:09:35,541
But you don't want to think that way.

198
00:09:35,541 --> 00:09:39,978
The word means shepherd.

199
00:09:39,978 --> 00:09:43,650
And we need to think about this.

200
00:09:43,650 --> 00:09:47,456
This is a gift that is given to the church.

201
00:09:47,456 --> 00:09:48,848
What is the gift?

202
00:09:48,848 --> 00:09:51,268
The gift is a shepherd.

203
00:09:51,268 --> 00:09:55,751
This word pastor is not used in the Bible

204
00:09:55,751 --> 00:09:57,775
as a title for people;

205
00:09:57,775 --> 00:10:00,469
it's used as a description

206
00:10:00,469 --> 00:10:03,919
of the kind of gift that a man has

207
00:10:03,919 --> 00:10:06,082
who has been given to the church.

208
00:10:06,082 --> 00:10:07,825
This gift of shepherd

209
00:10:07,825 --> 00:10:11,361
has been given by Christ to the church

210
00:10:11,361 --> 00:10:15,034
to equip you.

211
00:10:15,034 --> 00:10:17,623
So let's think practically,

212
00:10:17,623 --> 00:10:19,819
what does this look like?

213
00:10:19,819 --> 00:10:22,313
Well, I think one of the best places -

214
00:10:22,313 --> 00:10:24,633
maybe perhaps two or three places

215
00:10:24,633 --> 00:10:25,947
that we can look at

216
00:10:25,947 --> 00:10:28,445
that really define shepherd for us

217
00:10:28,445 --> 00:10:30,584
in biblical terms

218
00:10:30,584 --> 00:10:33,073
is found in our Old Testaments.

219
00:10:33,073 --> 00:10:34,434
Perhaps one is in Isaiah -

220
00:10:34,434 --> 00:10:36,278
I don't want to look there right now.

221
00:10:36,278 --> 00:10:37,600
The two I want to look at -

222
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:39,982
one is in Ezekiel 34,

223
00:10:39,982 --> 00:10:42,534
the other one in Zechariah 11.

224
00:10:42,534 --> 00:10:47,528
But turn to Ezekiel 34.

225
00:10:47,528 --> 00:10:50,028
Ezekiel 34 and Zechariah 11

226
00:10:50,028 --> 00:10:55,134
actually show us bad shepherds.

227
00:10:55,134 --> 00:11:00,494
They're both texts where God finds fault

228
00:11:00,494 --> 00:11:04,186
with the shepherds in Israel.

229
00:11:04,186 --> 00:11:05,729
And He's not talking about men

230
00:11:05,729 --> 00:11:09,573
who oversee literal sheep.

231
00:11:09,573 --> 00:11:11,916
He's talking about the spiritual leaders

232
00:11:11,916 --> 00:11:15,023
in Old Testament Israel.

233
00:11:15,023 --> 00:11:18,106
And they're called shepherds.

234
00:11:18,106 --> 00:11:21,066
The Latin hadn't come along yet.

235
00:11:21,066 --> 00:11:25,593
The term pastor was not used yet.

236
00:11:25,593 --> 00:11:26,524
Notice this.

237
00:11:26,524 --> 00:11:28,961
Ezekiel 34:1

238
00:11:28,961 --> 00:11:31,001
And the reason I want to go through this

239
00:11:31,001 --> 00:11:32,997
is because the things that you find

240
00:11:32,997 --> 00:11:37,064
God fault these pastors for,

241
00:11:37,064 --> 00:11:40,236
it ought to tell you that the opposite,

242
00:11:40,236 --> 00:11:42,850
the thing that they're not doing,

243
00:11:42,850 --> 00:11:44,541
that they should be doing.

244
00:11:44,541 --> 00:11:46,087
Or the thing that they are doing

245
00:11:46,087 --> 00:11:47,949
that God labels as bad,

246
00:11:47,949 --> 00:11:49,626
if you're a good shepherd,

247
00:11:49,626 --> 00:11:52,072
you're doing the opposite.

248
00:11:52,072 --> 00:11:53,402
Right?

249
00:11:53,402 --> 00:11:55,232
That's why I want you to look at this.

250
00:11:55,232 --> 00:11:56,474
Because this is going to give you an idea

251
00:11:56,474 --> 00:11:57,828
about what the shepherds

252
00:11:57,828 --> 00:11:59,117
ought to be doing.

253
00:11:59,117 --> 00:12:00,510
I know, you've got this idea

254
00:12:00,510 --> 00:12:01,937
about a shepherd with sheep,

255
00:12:01,937 --> 00:12:03,936
and obviously lead them to green pastures

256
00:12:03,936 --> 00:12:04,748
and still waters,

257
00:12:04,748 --> 00:12:06,988
and you want to make sure that they get fed.

258
00:12:06,988 --> 00:12:07,923
Yes.

259
00:12:07,923 --> 00:12:09,285
That's right.

260
00:12:09,285 --> 00:12:10,593
We have that imagery.

261
00:12:10,593 --> 00:12:12,205
But let's see it.

262
00:12:12,205 --> 00:12:15,308
Let's see what God expects.

263
00:12:15,308 --> 00:12:17,191
"'The Word of the Lord came to me,'

264
00:12:17,191 --> 00:12:19,143
says Ezekiel, 'Son of man,

265
00:12:19,143 --> 00:12:22,329
prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.

266
00:12:22,329 --> 00:12:24,726
Prophesy and say to them,

267
00:12:24,726 --> 00:12:27,449
even to the shepherds,

268
00:12:27,449 --> 00:12:32,299
'Thus says the Lord God.

269
00:12:32,299 --> 00:12:36,117
(Oh, we don't want this said of us.)

270
00:12:36,117 --> 00:12:38,002
(Ever.)

271
00:12:38,002 --> 00:12:40,893
Ah, shepherds of Israel,

272
00:12:40,893 --> 00:12:46,818
who have been feeding yourselves.

273
00:12:46,818 --> 00:12:55,239
Should not shepherds feed the sheep?'"

274
00:12:55,239 --> 00:12:58,779
We should feed the sheep.

275
00:12:58,779 --> 00:13:00,925
Especially feed them with the Word.

276
00:13:00,925 --> 00:13:02,609
But this isn't God saying,

277
00:13:02,609 --> 00:13:04,625
Oh, you're feeding yourself with the Word.

278
00:13:04,625 --> 00:13:07,127
You're in the Word everyday. You're studying Scripture,

279
00:13:07,127 --> 00:13:08,749
and you're not giving it to them.

280
00:13:08,749 --> 00:13:10,879
That's not what's happening here.

281
00:13:10,879 --> 00:13:12,412
What they're doing is

282
00:13:12,412 --> 00:13:14,605
they're using God's people

283
00:13:14,605 --> 00:13:16,708
for their own pleasure,

284
00:13:16,708 --> 00:13:18,229
for their own profit,

285
00:13:18,229 --> 00:13:22,096
for their own increase.

286
00:13:22,096 --> 00:13:24,024
"You eat the fat.

287
00:13:24,024 --> 00:13:26,845
You clothe yourselves with the wool.

288
00:13:26,845 --> 00:13:28,286
You slaughter the fat ones,

289
00:13:28,286 --> 00:13:30,700
but you do not feed the sheep."

290
00:13:30,700 --> 00:13:32,716
Brethren, whether it's Old Testament

291
00:13:32,716 --> 00:13:35,791
or New Testament,

292
00:13:35,791 --> 00:13:45,224
food - food is behind health.

293
00:13:45,224 --> 00:13:48,690
One of the primary functions

294
00:13:48,690 --> 00:13:51,892
of the shepherd or the herdsman

295
00:13:51,892 --> 00:13:56,105
is to make sure that the sheep

296
00:13:56,105 --> 00:13:59,358
are eating the right food.

297
00:13:59,358 --> 00:14:00,518
Nothing poisonous,

298
00:14:00,518 --> 00:14:02,882
nothing that's going to destroy them,

299
00:14:02,882 --> 00:14:04,814
nothing that's going to harm them,

300
00:14:04,814 --> 00:14:06,541
nothing that's going to agitate

301
00:14:06,541 --> 00:14:08,757
their whole system.

302
00:14:08,757 --> 00:14:11,197
Good food.

303
00:14:11,197 --> 00:14:15,345
Notice this, "The weak you have not strengthened."

304
00:14:15,345 --> 00:14:18,986
So a good shepherd should be strengthening the weak.

305
00:14:18,986 --> 00:14:20,840
The sick you have not healed.

306
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,275
You know we always have

307
00:14:22,275 --> 00:14:24,209
spiritually sick people in the church.

308
00:14:24,209 --> 00:14:26,381
Always.

309
00:14:26,381 --> 00:14:29,742
The elders here see that all the time.

310
00:14:29,742 --> 00:14:33,301
"The injured you have not bound up."

311
00:14:33,301 --> 00:14:35,898
Obviously, God is speaking here

312
00:14:35,898 --> 00:14:38,393
in spiritual terms,

313
00:14:38,393 --> 00:14:40,507
and we should be thinking the same way too.

314
00:14:40,507 --> 00:14:43,099
People become injured spiritually.

315
00:14:43,099 --> 00:14:45,719
It's not just we're watching out

316
00:14:45,719 --> 00:14:49,545
for the physical maladies that take place,

317
00:14:49,545 --> 00:14:53,113
but this is a spiritual reality of injury.

318
00:14:53,113 --> 00:14:57,344
"The strayed you have not brought back.

319
00:14:57,344 --> 00:14:59,695
The lost you have not sought.

320
00:14:59,695 --> 00:15:01,774
And with force and harshness,

321
00:15:01,774 --> 00:15:03,921
you have ruled them."

322
00:15:03,921 --> 00:15:05,947
They don't care about the flock.

323
00:15:05,947 --> 00:15:07,355
It's forced.

324
00:15:07,355 --> 00:15:08,315
It's harshness.

325
00:15:08,315 --> 00:15:10,130
Because all they're concerned about

326
00:15:10,130 --> 00:15:11,414
is having the flock to do

327
00:15:11,414 --> 00:15:12,938
what they want the flock to do.

328
00:15:12,938 --> 00:15:15,730
And basically, that is feed them.

329
00:15:15,730 --> 00:15:17,343
Give to them.

330
00:15:17,343 --> 00:15:21,250
Make them great.

331
00:15:21,250 --> 00:15:22,979
"So they were scattered,

332
00:15:22,979 --> 00:15:24,988
because there was no shepherd,

333
00:15:24,988 --> 00:15:27,310
and they became food for all the wild beasts."

334
00:15:27,310 --> 00:15:28,313
That's another thing.

335
00:15:28,313 --> 00:15:31,715
We are to protect from the beasts.

336
00:15:31,715 --> 00:15:33,020
And they're everywhere.

337
00:15:33,020 --> 00:15:34,851
"My sheep were scattered."

338
00:15:34,851 --> 00:15:36,662
There's wolves.

339
00:15:36,662 --> 00:15:39,605
Brethren, there are wolves.

340
00:15:39,605 --> 00:15:42,107
And they come in sheep's clothing.

341
00:15:42,107 --> 00:15:43,632
But no matter how they come

342
00:15:43,632 --> 00:15:44,994
and how they're disguised,

343
00:15:44,994 --> 00:15:46,663
there's lions that go about.

344
00:15:46,663 --> 00:15:49,953
Roaring lions seeking to devour.

345
00:15:49,953 --> 00:15:51,553
"They wandered over the mountains

346
00:15:51,553 --> 00:15:52,665
and every high hill.

347
00:15:52,665 --> 00:15:53,818
My sheep were scattered

348
00:15:53,818 --> 00:15:55,253
over all the face of the earth

349
00:15:55,253 --> 00:15:57,115
with none to search or seek for them.

350
00:15:57,115 --> 00:15:58,608
Therefore, you shepherds hear

351
00:15:58,608 --> 00:15:59,776
the Word of the Lord,

352
00:15:59,776 --> 00:16:01,353
as I live declares the Lord God,

353
00:16:01,353 --> 00:16:04,054
surely because My sheep have become a prey

354
00:16:04,054 --> 00:16:06,395
and My sheep have become food

355
00:16:06,395 --> 00:16:07,544
for all the wild beasts,

356
00:16:07,544 --> 00:16:09,313
since there was no shepherd..."

357
00:16:09,313 --> 00:16:12,513
Isn't this interesting?

358
00:16:12,513 --> 00:16:15,609
He's calling them shepherds

359
00:16:15,609 --> 00:16:20,032
and yet He says there was no shepherd.

360
00:16:20,032 --> 00:16:25,298
No true shepherd.

361
00:16:25,298 --> 00:16:27,739
You know, you can have churches

362
00:16:27,739 --> 00:16:31,507
where you call men "pastor,"

363
00:16:31,507 --> 00:16:35,880
and there be no true pastor in that church.

364
00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:38,316
Names don't make people.

365
00:16:38,316 --> 00:16:42,194
They never do.

366
00:16:42,194 --> 00:16:43,555
"Because My shepherds..."

367
00:16:43,555 --> 00:16:44,713
Isn't that interesting -

368
00:16:44,713 --> 00:16:46,130
there's no shepherd,

369
00:16:46,130 --> 00:16:47,403
and because My shepherds

370
00:16:47,403 --> 00:16:49,296
"have not searched for My sheep,

371
00:16:49,296 --> 00:16:51,166
but the shepherds have fed themselves,

372
00:16:51,166 --> 00:16:52,825
and have not fed My sheep."

373
00:16:52,825 --> 00:16:54,505
You see, they're living their life

374
00:16:54,505 --> 00:16:56,030
more concerned about their ease,

375
00:16:56,030 --> 00:16:57,943
their pleasure, their comfort, their stuff,

376
00:16:57,943 --> 00:16:59,110
their food, their house,

377
00:16:59,110 --> 00:17:01,702
their clothing, their cars,

378
00:17:01,702 --> 00:17:04,178
their retirement, their stuff,

379
00:17:04,178 --> 00:17:10,534
their money, their increase...

380
00:17:10,534 --> 00:17:12,019
and that consumes their mind

381
00:17:12,019 --> 00:17:14,143
and they're not thinking about the flock.

382
00:17:14,143 --> 00:17:15,959
And brethren, I can tell you this,

383
00:17:15,959 --> 00:17:18,036
all you have to do is look at a man's life

384
00:17:18,036 --> 00:17:22,064
and you can tell whether that's the case.

385
00:17:22,064 --> 00:17:23,290
"Therefore you shepherds,

386
00:17:23,290 --> 00:17:25,660
hear the Word of the Lord,

387
00:17:25,660 --> 00:17:28,511
'Thus says the Lord God,

388
00:17:28,511 --> 00:17:32,561
Behold, I am against the shepherds."

389
00:17:32,561 --> 00:17:34,381
And this is a fearful thing.

390
00:17:34,381 --> 00:17:39,162
"I will require My sheep at their hand."

391
00:17:39,162 --> 00:17:41,449
Brethren, you have this in the New Testament.

392
00:17:41,449 --> 00:17:44,175
You are to obey your leaders. Why?

393
00:17:44,175 --> 00:17:47,913
They keep watch over your souls,

394
00:17:47,913 --> 00:17:50,731
and they have to give an account.

395
00:17:50,731 --> 00:17:53,010
And God's going to require it.

396
00:17:53,010 --> 00:17:55,469
It's a fearful thing.

397
00:17:55,469 --> 00:18:00,229
It is a fearful thing.

398
00:18:00,229 --> 00:18:02,875
Many men like to just charge right into

399
00:18:02,875 --> 00:18:05,339
wanting to be leaders in the church.

400
00:18:05,339 --> 00:18:07,854
But God's going to require it.

401
00:18:07,854 --> 00:18:10,634
It makes me tremble, brethren.

402
00:18:10,634 --> 00:18:12,225
And I know this,

403
00:18:12,225 --> 00:18:15,026
on that day of judgment,

404
00:18:15,026 --> 00:18:18,469
John isn't going to be there.

405
00:18:18,469 --> 00:18:22,058
David's not going to be there.

406
00:18:22,058 --> 00:18:24,265
James - not going to be there.

407
00:18:24,265 --> 00:18:26,832
Tawfiq's not going to be there.

408
00:18:26,832 --> 00:18:31,991
I'm going to be standing before the Lord

409
00:18:31,991 --> 00:18:37,300
by myself.

410
00:18:37,300 --> 00:18:38,438
You know it.

411
00:18:38,438 --> 00:18:41,972
1 Corinthians 3

412
00:18:41,972 --> 00:18:44,053
And our work and how we built

413
00:18:44,053 --> 00:18:55,270
is going to be tested by fire.

414
00:18:55,270 --> 00:18:57,258
"I will require My sheep at their hand

415
00:18:57,258 --> 00:18:59,518
and will put a stop to their feeding the sheep.

416
00:18:59,518 --> 00:19:01,755
No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves.

417
00:19:01,755 --> 00:19:05,118
I will rescue My sheep from their mouths

418
00:19:05,118 --> 00:19:08,067
that they may not be food for them."

419
00:19:08,067 --> 00:19:09,837
And I'll just say this, brethren,

420
00:19:09,837 --> 00:19:12,001
again, an Old Testament prophet Jeremiah

421
00:19:12,001 --> 00:19:14,126
says, "I will set shepherds over them

422
00:19:14,126 --> 00:19:16,937
who will care for them."

423
00:19:16,937 --> 00:19:18,248
How?

424
00:19:18,248 --> 00:19:20,859
Christ gives them to the church.

425
00:19:20,859 --> 00:19:24,266
That's what we saw in Ephesians 4.

426
00:19:24,266 --> 00:19:28,206
He gives real shepherds to the church

427
00:19:28,206 --> 00:19:30,543
of His own making

428
00:19:30,543 --> 00:19:34,411
who will watch over the flock

429
00:19:34,411 --> 00:19:36,418
and take care of it.

430
00:19:36,418 --> 00:19:39,167
"And they shall fear the sheep no more

431
00:19:39,167 --> 00:19:40,187
nor be dismayed,

432
00:19:40,187 --> 00:19:41,673
neither shall any be missing,

433
00:19:41,673 --> 00:19:42,630
declares the Lord."

434
00:19:42,630 --> 00:19:44,590
Now I want you to turn to Zechariah 11,

435
00:19:44,590 --> 00:19:47,358
just three verses here.

436
00:19:47,358 --> 00:19:50,978
Again, this is the negative.

437
00:19:50,978 --> 00:19:52,526
As you can see from the negative

438
00:19:52,526 --> 00:19:55,206
what the positive ought to look like.

439
00:19:55,206 --> 00:20:06,555
Zechariah 11

440
00:20:06,555 --> 00:20:08,576
Right before Malachi.

441
00:20:08,576 --> 00:20:11,529
"Then the Lord said to me,

442
00:20:11,529 --> 00:20:15,326
(This is Zechariah now speaking)

443
00:20:15,326 --> 00:20:18,397
'Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd."

444
00:20:18,397 --> 00:20:20,955
So already you see,

445
00:20:20,955 --> 00:20:22,454
this is not a good shepherd;

446
00:20:22,454 --> 00:20:23,883
this is a foolish shepherd.

447
00:20:23,883 --> 00:20:25,825
"For behold, I am raising up in the land

448
00:20:25,825 --> 00:20:27,236
a shepherd who does not care

449
00:20:27,236 --> 00:20:29,084
for those being destroyed,

450
00:20:29,084 --> 00:20:33,658
or seek the young."

451
00:20:33,658 --> 00:20:35,497
You see what a bad shepherd does?

452
00:20:35,497 --> 00:20:42,529
He doesn't care for those being destroyed.

453
00:20:42,529 --> 00:20:44,881
Whether it's destroyed in this world

454
00:20:44,881 --> 00:20:48,235
or headed to eternal destruction,

455
00:20:48,235 --> 00:20:50,185
there's no care, there's no concern,

456
00:20:50,185 --> 00:20:52,835
there's no outrage.

457
00:20:52,835 --> 00:20:56,818
"Or seek the young."

458
00:20:56,818 --> 00:21:00,277
"Or heal the maimed."

459
00:21:00,277 --> 00:21:03,235
The ESV says here, "Or nourish the healthy."

460
00:21:03,235 --> 00:21:07,897
Even the healthy sheep need to be taken care of.

461
00:21:07,897 --> 00:21:10,093
"But devours the flesh of the fat ones."

462
00:21:10,093 --> 00:21:14,853
Do you see the issue again?

463
00:21:14,853 --> 00:21:17,974
Listen, men are in ministry for a reason.

464
00:21:17,974 --> 00:21:19,978
It's either because God has called them

465
00:21:19,978 --> 00:21:22,254
or they're hoping some way or another

466
00:21:22,254 --> 00:21:27,289
to get something else out of it.

467
00:21:27,289 --> 00:21:30,162
Maybe just a paycheck.

468
00:21:30,162 --> 00:21:32,005
There was a day -

469
00:21:32,005 --> 00:21:34,066
you could go back and read about

470
00:21:34,066 --> 00:21:37,304
many men who went to seminary,

471
00:21:37,304 --> 00:21:38,655
who went to school to become

472
00:21:38,655 --> 00:21:40,381
leaders in the church -

473
00:21:40,381 --> 00:21:45,166
they did it because it earned good money.

474
00:21:45,166 --> 00:21:47,296
Not because they were called to it.

475
00:21:47,296 --> 00:21:49,927
"Tearing off even their hooves.

476
00:21:49,927 --> 00:21:51,875
Woe to my worthless shepherd

477
00:21:51,875 --> 00:21:54,268
who deserts the flock.

478
00:21:54,268 --> 00:21:58,862
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye.

479
00:21:58,862 --> 00:22:00,427
Let his arm be wholly withered,

480
00:22:00,427 --> 00:22:02,255
his right eye utterly blinded."

481
00:22:02,255 --> 00:22:03,329
I'll tell you,

482
00:22:03,329 --> 00:22:09,026
better to never step into such a position

483
00:22:09,026 --> 00:22:13,183
than to step in it and not be faithful.

484
00:22:13,183 --> 00:22:15,703
God will require it of you.

485
00:22:15,703 --> 00:22:18,949
It is no small thing.

486
00:22:18,949 --> 00:22:24,927
So, origination.

487
00:22:24,927 --> 00:22:26,672
What's the source?

488
00:22:26,672 --> 00:22:28,331
Well, let's think more about this.

489
00:22:28,331 --> 00:22:30,458
Go back to Ephesians 4.

490
00:22:30,458 --> 00:22:33,666
We've mentioned that it comes from Christ.

491
00:22:33,666 --> 00:22:35,080
Christ gives these.

492
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,618
But let's focus in on this a bit more.

493
00:22:38,618 --> 00:22:54,693
Ephesians 4:7

494
00:22:54,693 --> 00:22:56,465
And brethren, I feel this.

495
00:22:56,465 --> 00:23:04,090
Every one of these descriptions -

496
00:23:04,090 --> 00:23:12,843
each one makes me feel smaller

497
00:23:12,843 --> 00:23:19,528
and each one just fills with a responsibility.

498
00:23:19,528 --> 00:23:24,370
Paul talked about who is sufficient for these things.

499
00:23:24,370 --> 00:23:29,738
And undoubtedly, he of all men had a right to say that

500
00:23:29,738 --> 00:23:32,269
with everything that was committed to him.

501
00:23:32,269 --> 00:23:35,102
But having God's people committed to you,

502
00:23:35,102 --> 00:23:36,946
what a thing that is.

503
00:23:36,946 --> 00:23:40,212
Ephesians 4:7

504
00:23:40,224 --> 00:23:41,546
Now notice this,

505
00:23:41,546 --> 00:23:47,165
"Grace was given to each one of us

506
00:23:47,165 --> 00:23:50,379
according to the measure of Christ's gift."

507
00:23:50,379 --> 00:23:51,775
We see it.

508
00:23:51,775 --> 00:23:54,642
Christ's gift.

509
00:23:54,642 --> 00:23:57,401
"Therefore it says,

510
00:23:57,401 --> 00:23:59,859
when He ascended on high,

511
00:23:59,859 --> 00:24:02,595
He led a host of captives."

512
00:24:02,595 --> 00:24:06,051
Or He led captivity captive.

513
00:24:06,051 --> 00:24:08,782
That's the literal.

514
00:24:08,782 --> 00:24:13,191
"And He gave gifts to men."

515
00:24:13,191 --> 00:24:16,584
Now you need to see the picture here.

516
00:24:16,584 --> 00:24:17,893
"In saying He ascended,

517
00:24:17,893 --> 00:24:20,068
what does it mean, but that He also descended

518
00:24:20,068 --> 00:24:22,481
into the lower regions of the earth. He Who descended is the One

519
00:24:22,481 --> 00:24:24,664
Who ascended far above all the heavens

520
00:24:24,664 --> 00:24:26,242
that He might fill all things

521
00:24:26,242 --> 00:24:29,500
and He gave..." these gifts.

522
00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:31,931
Which include shepherds.

523
00:24:31,931 --> 00:24:33,695
Now, what you want to notice here,

524
00:24:33,695 --> 00:24:35,378
when I talk about the origination,

525
00:24:35,378 --> 00:24:36,927
where do they come from?

526
00:24:36,927 --> 00:24:39,187
They come from Christ.

527
00:24:39,187 --> 00:24:40,568
But more than that,

528
00:24:40,568 --> 00:24:42,903
they come as a result of His ascension.

529
00:24:42,903 --> 00:24:44,906
And that is being emphasized.

530
00:24:44,906 --> 00:24:46,383
You know what Paul is doing?

531
00:24:46,383 --> 00:24:47,904
Do you know what used to happen

532
00:24:47,904 --> 00:24:49,622
when a general or a king

533
00:24:49,622 --> 00:24:51,850
would go off to war?

534
00:24:51,850 --> 00:24:53,779
And he would conquer?

535
00:24:53,779 --> 00:24:55,387
You can read about these things.

536
00:24:55,387 --> 00:24:58,721
These great generals.

537
00:24:58,721 --> 00:25:00,417
You read about Titus

538
00:25:00,417 --> 00:25:02,295
who went and defeated Jerusalem.

539
00:25:02,295 --> 00:25:03,685
And he came home.

540
00:25:03,685 --> 00:25:05,552
And do you know what he came home with?

541
00:25:05,552 --> 00:25:07,060
He came back to Rome.

542
00:25:07,060 --> 00:25:13,448
And they would have this main highway,

543
00:25:13,448 --> 00:25:14,920
this main street

544
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:18,602
where it was the street of victory.

545
00:25:18,602 --> 00:25:20,410
Oftentimes, you go to major cities,

546
00:25:20,410 --> 00:25:23,070
and they have these streets

547
00:25:23,070 --> 00:25:25,661
that lead up to their capitol building,

548
00:25:25,661 --> 00:25:28,272
or lead up to some great ediface

549
00:25:28,272 --> 00:25:31,560
of their national pride.

550
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:33,806
(incomplete thought)

551
00:25:33,806 --> 00:25:35,910
And there was an arch in Rome.

552
00:25:35,910 --> 00:25:37,136
Was there not?

553
00:25:37,136 --> 00:25:39,069
Through which the conquerors would walk

554
00:25:39,069 --> 00:25:40,836
and they would come home

555
00:25:40,836 --> 00:25:41,830
and what happened?

556
00:25:41,830 --> 00:25:44,705
I'll tell you what - Titus, after he defeated Jerusalem,

557
00:25:44,705 --> 00:25:48,034
he came home with a hundred thousand Jews

558
00:25:48,034 --> 00:25:49,541
that were made slaves.

559
00:25:49,541 --> 00:25:51,054
Do you know what you would do?

560
00:25:51,054 --> 00:25:52,179
You would walk in

561
00:25:52,179 --> 00:25:55,634
and typically chained and naked

562
00:25:55,634 --> 00:25:58,025
behind the great conqueror would be

563
00:25:58,025 --> 00:25:59,874
the leaders, the generals,

564
00:25:59,874 --> 00:26:01,425
perhaps even the king

565
00:26:01,425 --> 00:26:02,959
of those who were conquered,

566
00:26:02,959 --> 00:26:04,239
and they would be walking

567
00:26:04,239 --> 00:26:06,879
and there would be people lining the street

568
00:26:06,879 --> 00:26:08,846
and they would be shouting out,

569
00:26:08,846 --> 00:26:10,573
that he's been victorious!

570
00:26:10,573 --> 00:26:14,308
Victory cries!

571
00:26:14,308 --> 00:26:18,366
And he's leading captivity captive.

572
00:26:18,366 --> 00:26:20,719
I hate the way the ESV has that.

573
00:26:20,719 --> 00:26:22,903
Because when you think about leading

574
00:26:22,903 --> 00:26:25,650
captivity captive,

575
00:26:25,650 --> 00:26:28,342
what are you saying?

576
00:26:28,342 --> 00:26:33,012
You're saying one of two things:

577
00:26:33,012 --> 00:26:38,632
Either those who were captive,

578
00:26:38,632 --> 00:26:40,849
I've delivered and they're now captive to me,

579
00:26:40,849 --> 00:26:42,860
which would be a picture of Christianity.

580
00:26:42,860 --> 00:26:46,246
But I think that's not the picture here.

581
00:26:46,246 --> 00:26:47,934
I think the picture of those

582
00:26:47,934 --> 00:26:49,587
who held others captive,

583
00:26:49,587 --> 00:26:52,693
He's now taken captive.

584
00:26:52,693 --> 00:26:55,017
You know, there's similarites between

585
00:26:55,017 --> 00:26:57,016
what we have here in Ephesians

586
00:26:57,016 --> 00:26:58,516
and what's over in Colossians.

587
00:26:58,516 --> 00:26:59,627
In Colossians, it says,

588
00:26:59,627 --> 00:27:01,156
"He disarmed the rulers

589
00:27:01,156 --> 00:27:02,219
and authorities

590
00:27:02,219 --> 00:27:03,816
and put them to open shame

591
00:27:03,816 --> 00:27:05,721
by triumphing over them

592
00:27:05,721 --> 00:27:08,127
in the cross."

593
00:27:08,127 --> 00:27:09,393
Or in Revelation 5:5,

594
00:27:09,393 --> 00:27:10,391
"Weep no more.

595
00:27:10,391 --> 00:27:12,276
Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,

596
00:27:12,276 --> 00:27:13,239
the Root of David,

597
00:27:13,239 --> 00:27:14,578
has conquered."

598
00:27:14,578 --> 00:27:16,412
Who has He conquered?

599
00:27:16,412 --> 00:27:17,930
He's conquered the devil.

600
00:27:17,930 --> 00:27:19,652
And He's conquered death.

601
00:27:19,652 --> 00:27:21,030
And He's conquered sin.

602
00:27:21,030 --> 00:27:22,337
They held men captive.

603
00:27:22,337 --> 00:27:24,413
They were the captors.

604
00:27:24,413 --> 00:27:27,060
And He's taken the captors captive.

605
00:27:27,060 --> 00:27:28,258
That's what's happened.

606
00:27:28,258 --> 00:27:30,263
And He's coming victorious.

607
00:27:30,263 --> 00:27:33,006
And you know what was typical?

608
00:27:33,006 --> 00:27:35,993
To have the great general come,

609
00:27:35,993 --> 00:27:39,502
and he's got all the spoils of war.

610
00:27:39,502 --> 00:27:41,111
Because I guarantee you,

611
00:27:41,111 --> 00:27:42,333
you don't take Jerusalem

612
00:27:42,333 --> 00:27:44,776
without taking all Jerusalem's gold

613
00:27:44,776 --> 00:27:47,940
and silver and precious stones

614
00:27:47,940 --> 00:27:49,676
and all their art work,

615
00:27:49,676 --> 00:27:52,349
and all their riches.

616
00:27:52,349 --> 00:27:56,697
And you bring it home to Rome.

617
00:27:56,697 --> 00:27:59,446
And you know what they did?

618
00:27:59,446 --> 00:28:02,695
They shelled out lots of it to their soldiers,

619
00:28:02,695 --> 00:28:04,343
but they also gave it to

620
00:28:04,343 --> 00:28:06,765
the population in general.

621
00:28:06,765 --> 00:28:09,143
They bestowed gifts.

622
00:28:09,143 --> 00:28:12,704
That's what conquerors did.

623
00:28:12,704 --> 00:28:15,420
That's the picture of Christ.

624
00:28:15,420 --> 00:28:17,343
He soars through the heavens.

625
00:28:17,343 --> 00:28:18,573
He's ascended. Why?

626
00:28:18,573 --> 00:28:20,809
Because He died. He resurrected.

627
00:28:20,809 --> 00:28:22,421
And now He's ascended.

628
00:28:22,421 --> 00:28:24,517
And He's entering the gates of glory,

629
00:28:24,517 --> 00:28:26,257
and He's triumphant.

630
00:28:26,257 --> 00:28:29,147
And there's captivity captive.

631
00:28:29,147 --> 00:28:31,058
And He gives gifts to men.

632
00:28:31,058 --> 00:28:36,131
This is a picture of the triumphant general.

633
00:28:36,131 --> 00:28:42,394
What you need to recognize is this:

634
00:28:42,394 --> 00:28:48,404
Do you know why you have pastors?

635
00:28:48,404 --> 00:28:54,918
Because Christ paid the price.

636
00:28:54,918 --> 00:28:59,558
Yes, He went to the cross to redeem us.

637
00:28:59,558 --> 00:29:01,552
But He rose from that grave

638
00:29:01,552 --> 00:29:02,999
and He rose ascended

639
00:29:02,999 --> 00:29:05,591
that He might give gifts to men.

640
00:29:05,591 --> 00:29:07,731
And I'll tell you this,

641
00:29:07,731 --> 00:29:09,178
how does the gift come?

642
00:29:09,178 --> 00:29:10,945
The gift comes by the Holy Spirit.

643
00:29:10,945 --> 00:29:13,007
Now, the Holy Spirit makes us overseers.

644
00:29:13,007 --> 00:29:17,250
The Holy Spirit imparts spiritual gifts.

645
00:29:17,250 --> 00:29:20,350
But you know what Jesus said?

646
00:29:20,350 --> 00:29:21,891
He looked at His disciples

647
00:29:21,891 --> 00:29:23,601
and He said it is more profitable

648
00:29:23,601 --> 00:29:25,688
for Me to go - to ascend to My Father,

649
00:29:25,688 --> 00:29:26,671
because if I ascend,

650
00:29:26,671 --> 00:29:28,299
I'm going to send the Spirit to you.

651
00:29:28,299 --> 00:29:29,896
What you need to recognize is this:

652
00:29:29,896 --> 00:29:31,518
Jesus needed to ascend

653
00:29:31,518 --> 00:29:33,050
in order to send the Spirit,

654
00:29:33,050 --> 00:29:34,711
and in the sending of the Spirit,

655
00:29:34,711 --> 00:29:37,511
all the spiritual gifts that we have in this church.

656
00:29:37,511 --> 00:29:39,541
Do you recognize without the ascension

657
00:29:39,541 --> 00:29:40,734
there's no gifts?

658
00:29:40,734 --> 00:29:42,703
Do you recognize if He doesn't resurrect,

659
00:29:42,703 --> 00:29:44,733
He doesn't ascend?

660
00:29:44,733 --> 00:29:47,718
He died and He rose triumphant

661
00:29:47,718 --> 00:29:50,422
that He might give gifts to men.

662
00:29:50,422 --> 00:29:54,965
Pastors come at great cost to Christ.

663
00:29:54,965 --> 00:29:57,726
They don't just happen.

664
00:29:57,726 --> 00:30:01,067
They don't just come in off the streets.

665
00:30:01,067 --> 00:30:04,470
It cost Christ much for us to happen.

666
00:30:04,470 --> 00:30:06,215
That's where pastors come from.

667
00:30:06,215 --> 00:30:08,841
You know, there's a really faulty idea

668
00:30:08,841 --> 00:30:11,827
that pastors come from seminaries.

669
00:30:11,827 --> 00:30:15,728
That is so common

670
00:30:15,728 --> 00:30:17,065
in many circles.

671
00:30:17,065 --> 00:30:18,560
Not in this church,

672
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:19,938
but in many places,

673
00:30:19,938 --> 00:30:23,082
that is a common mindset.

674
00:30:23,082 --> 00:30:26,637
Churches don't make pastors.

675
00:30:26,637 --> 00:30:30,597
Individuals don't make themselves pastors.

676
00:30:30,597 --> 00:30:32,990
They come from Christ.

677
00:30:32,990 --> 00:30:36,750
It's a gift from the risen, ascended Christ.

678
00:30:36,750 --> 00:30:38,482
Think about this.

679
00:30:38,482 --> 00:30:42,569
Men who are able to feed the flock,

680
00:30:42,569 --> 00:30:44,803
tend the flock,

681
00:30:44,803 --> 00:30:46,957
nurture the flock,

682
00:30:46,957 --> 00:30:48,572
to be an example,

683
00:30:48,572 --> 00:30:50,048
who pursue the sick

684
00:30:50,048 --> 00:30:51,831
and bring back the stray,

685
00:30:51,831 --> 00:30:53,426
and show mercy to the doubting.

686
00:30:53,426 --> 00:30:55,328
Men who can preach and teach

687
00:30:55,328 --> 00:30:56,179
and protect.

688
00:30:56,179 --> 00:30:57,342
They know the Bible.

689
00:30:57,342 --> 00:30:58,777
They can protect the people

690
00:30:58,777 --> 00:31:01,324
from bad doctrine.

691
00:31:01,324 --> 00:31:02,460
From wolves.

692
00:31:02,460 --> 00:31:03,709
Men like that.

693
00:31:03,709 --> 00:31:07,988
Men who are faithful.

694
00:31:07,988 --> 00:31:09,685
Isn't that what Timothy was told?

695
00:31:09,685 --> 00:31:11,375
He needs to seek out faithful men.

696
00:31:11,375 --> 00:31:12,487
Men that are faithful.

697
00:31:12,487 --> 00:31:14,245
What's that?

698
00:31:14,245 --> 00:31:16,191
When the wolves are coming,

699
00:31:16,191 --> 00:31:18,740
they don't abandon the flock.

700
00:31:18,740 --> 00:31:19,973
When times get hard,

701
00:31:19,973 --> 00:31:22,614
they don't run.

702
00:31:22,614 --> 00:31:24,476
They don't sit down.

703
00:31:24,476 --> 00:31:28,449
They don't stay in bed.

704
00:31:28,449 --> 00:31:33,726
When it's difficult,

705
00:31:33,726 --> 00:31:36,262
they don't flee.

706
00:31:36,262 --> 00:31:37,407
And I'll tell you,

707
00:31:37,407 --> 00:31:39,228
there's a thousand temptations

708
00:31:39,228 --> 00:31:41,389
to want to throw in the towel.

709
00:31:41,389 --> 00:31:42,501
But they won't do it.

710
00:31:42,501 --> 00:31:43,222
Why?

711
00:31:43,222 --> 00:31:44,416
Because they know,

712
00:31:44,416 --> 00:31:48,229
they are called to watch out for God's people.

713
00:31:48,229 --> 00:31:52,097
And because in God having His Son

714
00:31:52,097 --> 00:31:55,131
rise and ascend and give these gifts,

715
00:31:55,131 --> 00:31:56,500
and when that gift is given,

716
00:31:56,500 --> 00:31:58,173
that means that Christ -

717
00:31:58,173 --> 00:32:00,168
you have to see what's happening here -

718
00:32:00,168 --> 00:32:04,645
Christ is bestowing a measure of grace,

719
00:32:04,645 --> 00:32:07,300
enabling grace to men

720
00:32:07,300 --> 00:32:09,775
to be able to do these things.

721
00:32:09,775 --> 00:32:11,419
And He puts within them also

722
00:32:11,419 --> 00:32:13,227
a desire to do it,

723
00:32:13,227 --> 00:32:19,315
a burden to be responsible to do it.

724
00:32:19,315 --> 00:32:20,890
They're not going to run.

725
00:32:20,890 --> 00:32:24,401
They're willing to lay down their lives.

726
00:32:24,401 --> 00:32:27,425
Stay at their post.

727
00:32:27,425 --> 00:32:30,186
Shepherd the flock of God that is among them

728
00:32:30,186 --> 00:32:33,775
and exercise good, godly oversight.

729
00:32:33,775 --> 00:32:37,522
Such men don't accidentally appear.

730
00:32:37,522 --> 00:32:38,882
Christ went to the cross

731
00:32:38,882 --> 00:32:40,436
and He came forth the conqueror

732
00:32:40,436 --> 00:32:42,352
that He might bestow such gifts

733
00:32:42,352 --> 00:32:43,541
on the church.

734
00:32:43,541 --> 00:32:45,533
Now, here's the thing,

735
00:32:45,533 --> 00:32:50,753
I want us to think about designation.

736
00:32:50,753 --> 00:32:52,820
OK, so we know that Christ has given

737
00:32:52,820 --> 00:32:56,546
the gift of pastors to the church.

738
00:32:56,546 --> 00:32:58,981
But the question I have for you is this:

739
00:32:58,981 --> 00:33:01,760
Where are they?

740
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,169
You say what do you mean?

741
00:33:04,169 --> 00:33:05,907
They're right there in Ephesians 4.

742
00:33:05,907 --> 00:33:07,972
Yeah, but where else are they?

743
00:33:07,972 --> 00:33:10,859
Who are they?

744
00:33:10,859 --> 00:33:12,161
Where do you find them

745
00:33:12,161 --> 00:33:16,274
in the rest of Scripture?

746
00:33:16,274 --> 00:33:22,760
Show me anybody who's called "pastor."

747
00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:25,120
Which remember, it's the word "shepherd."

748
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:30,029
Show my anywhere where any man

749
00:33:30,029 --> 00:33:32,629
in the New Testament church

750
00:33:32,629 --> 00:33:38,695
is called a pastor or called shepherd.

751
00:33:38,695 --> 00:33:43,951
See, we do that traditionally.

752
00:33:43,951 --> 00:33:46,273
It's happening all over the United States today.

753
00:33:46,273 --> 00:33:49,293
Men are called, "Hey, Pastor."

754
00:33:49,293 --> 00:33:52,540
Show me one example of that in Scripture.

755
00:33:52,540 --> 00:33:55,037
Guess what?

756
00:33:55,037 --> 00:33:57,056
There's only one in the New Testament

757
00:33:57,056 --> 00:33:59,740
who is called "pastor."

758
00:33:59,740 --> 00:34:02,513
Do you know who that is?

759
00:34:02,513 --> 00:34:06,165
Christ said, "I am the Good Shepherd."

760
00:34:06,165 --> 00:34:11,263
The Overseer and Shepherd of our souls.

761
00:34:11,263 --> 00:34:15,370
That's how Scripture speaks.

762
00:34:15,370 --> 00:34:18,015
Designation.

763
00:34:18,015 --> 00:34:20,263
The truth is,

764
00:34:20,263 --> 00:34:22,793
no specific person in the New Testament

765
00:34:22,793 --> 00:34:24,476
is given the title of pastor.

766
00:34:24,476 --> 00:34:26,216
Paul isn't called a pastor.

767
00:34:26,216 --> 00:34:27,972
Peter is not called a pastor.

768
00:34:27,972 --> 00:34:29,360
James - I'm not talking about

769
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:30,644
James the brother of John,

770
00:34:30,644 --> 00:34:31,891
I'm talking about James,

771
00:34:31,891 --> 00:34:33,144
the brother of Jesus,

772
00:34:33,144 --> 00:34:36,582
who became definitely a chief

773
00:34:36,582 --> 00:34:40,005
among the elders at Jerusalem,

774
00:34:40,005 --> 00:34:42,559
never is he called pastor.

775
00:34:42,559 --> 00:34:48,174
Nobody is called pastor.

776
00:34:48,174 --> 00:34:51,977
Jesus isn't only called Shepherd/Pastor,

777
00:34:51,977 --> 00:34:55,774
He's called the Good Shepherd.

778
00:34:55,774 --> 00:34:59,587
He's called the Chief Shepherd.

779
00:34:59,587 --> 00:35:02,164
You find men like this,

780
00:35:02,164 --> 00:35:03,188
Colossians 4:17

781
00:35:03,188 --> 00:35:04,024
Don't turn there.

782
00:35:04,024 --> 00:35:06,227
"I say to Archippus,

783
00:35:06,227 --> 00:35:07,912
see that you fulfill the ministry

784
00:35:07,912 --> 00:35:09,689
that you have received in the Lord."

785
00:35:09,689 --> 00:35:10,515
It's interesting.

786
00:35:10,515 --> 00:35:14,101
Scripture calls these men out.

787
00:35:14,101 --> 00:35:18,081
It gives them no titles,

788
00:35:18,081 --> 00:35:23,856
except two.

789
00:35:23,856 --> 00:35:29,578
And it's never pastor.

790
00:35:29,578 --> 00:35:32,130
That's interesting.

791
00:35:32,130 --> 00:35:36,388
Christ alone bears the title.

792
00:35:36,388 --> 00:35:37,881
So who are they?

793
00:35:37,881 --> 00:35:42,811
If Christ ascended to give these gifts to the church -

794
00:35:42,811 --> 00:35:45,069
the gift of pastor -

795
00:35:45,069 --> 00:35:47,774
where are they?

796
00:35:47,774 --> 00:35:48,757
They're here.

797
00:35:48,757 --> 00:35:51,140
They're in the New Testament.

798
00:35:51,140 --> 00:35:52,634
And there's two primary verses

799
00:35:52,634 --> 00:35:56,622
that help us see exactly where they are.

800
00:35:56,622 --> 00:35:57,811
Let's look at them.

801
00:35:57,811 --> 00:36:15,103
Acts 20:28

802
00:36:15,103 --> 00:36:20,913
"Pay careful attention to yourselves

803
00:36:20,913 --> 00:36:37,450
and (implied) pay careful attention

804
00:36:37,450 --> 00:36:41,198
to all the flock."

805
00:36:41,198 --> 00:36:42,719
Now, that flock language

806
00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:43,875
ought to be a giveaway,

807
00:36:43,875 --> 00:36:46,846
we're dealing with shepherds.

808
00:36:46,846 --> 00:36:49,249
When you're told

809
00:36:49,249 --> 00:36:52,501
to pay careful attention to the flock,

810
00:36:52,501 --> 00:36:54,758
good indicator this is the herdsman;

811
00:36:54,758 --> 00:36:57,217
this is the pastor being addressed.

812
00:36:57,217 --> 00:37:01,838
The pastors being addressed.

813
00:37:01,838 --> 00:37:06,052
"In which the Holy Spirit

814
00:37:06,052 --> 00:37:09,762
has made you overseers."

815
00:37:09,762 --> 00:37:10,757
Now in Ephesians,

816
00:37:10,757 --> 00:37:12,886
the idea is the gift of Christ.

817
00:37:12,886 --> 00:37:16,072
Here, the idea is that the Holy Spirit

818
00:37:16,072 --> 00:37:18,757
makes overseers.

819
00:37:18,757 --> 00:37:21,308
Who are the overseers?

820
00:37:21,308 --> 00:37:23,571
The ones who are to pay careful attention

821
00:37:23,571 --> 00:37:26,695
to all the flock.

822
00:37:26,695 --> 00:37:28,582
You see the different terminology

823
00:37:28,582 --> 00:37:29,932
that's being used.

824
00:37:29,932 --> 00:37:33,822
Overseers are to pay careful attention

825
00:37:33,822 --> 00:37:34,769
to themselves

826
00:37:34,769 --> 00:37:38,503
and to all the flock

827
00:37:38,503 --> 00:37:40,643
to shepherd them.

828
00:37:40,643 --> 00:37:43,026
Now, your Bible may say something else.

829
00:37:43,026 --> 00:37:45,802
It may say to care for or to feed.

830
00:37:45,802 --> 00:37:48,641
Let me tell you this.

831
00:37:48,641 --> 00:37:53,472
This is the verb for pastor.

832
00:37:53,472 --> 00:37:55,987
We call men pastor.

833
00:37:55,987 --> 00:38:00,913
What they do is pastor the flock.

834
00:38:00,913 --> 00:38:02,731
There's a noun. There's a verb.

835
00:38:02,731 --> 00:38:04,776
This is the verb.

836
00:38:04,776 --> 00:38:11,957
This is the verb "to pastor" or "to shepherd."

837
00:38:11,957 --> 00:38:14,099
Who does it?

838
00:38:14,099 --> 00:38:16,026
The overseers.

839
00:38:16,026 --> 00:38:18,330
Pay careful attention to the flock.

840
00:38:18,330 --> 00:38:22,066
And they pastor the flock.

841
00:38:22,066 --> 00:38:23,607
The church of God,

842
00:38:23,607 --> 00:38:27,339
which He obtained with His own blood.

843
00:38:27,339 --> 00:38:30,000
Now, I'll tell you

844
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,983
these guys that are being addressed

845
00:38:31,983 --> 00:38:34,636
are also called something else.

846
00:38:34,636 --> 00:38:36,088
What else are they called?

847
00:38:36,088 --> 00:38:38,771
Look back up in v. 17.

848
00:38:38,771 --> 00:38:40,757
Acts 20:17

849
00:38:40,757 --> 00:38:44,917
"Now from Myletus, Paul sent to Ephesus

850
00:38:44,917 --> 00:38:48,440
and called the elders of the church to come to him."

851
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:51,718
If you want to know who he's talking to

852
00:38:51,718 --> 00:38:55,819
from v. 18 down to v. 28 and beyond,

853
00:38:55,819 --> 00:38:57,686
he's speaking to the elders

854
00:38:57,686 --> 00:39:00,531
of the church at Ephesus.

855
00:39:00,531 --> 00:39:04,849
So who are the pastors?

856
00:39:04,849 --> 00:39:06,208
You see it.

857
00:39:06,208 --> 00:39:08,034
It's the elders.

858
00:39:08,034 --> 00:39:09,855
The elders are responsible

859
00:39:09,855 --> 00:39:12,378
to pastor, to shepherd, to feed,

860
00:39:12,378 --> 00:39:14,712
to tend, to care for the flock.

861
00:39:14,712 --> 00:39:19,198
Now notice this:

862
00:39:19,198 --> 00:39:21,861
Is Paul singling out one man

863
00:39:21,861 --> 00:39:23,361
from among the Ephesian elders

864
00:39:23,361 --> 00:39:25,943
and telling him to pastor the flock?

865
00:39:25,943 --> 00:39:27,172
Does he say, OK,

866
00:39:27,172 --> 00:39:28,551
well, we've got this whole body,

867
00:39:28,551 --> 00:39:29,622
this council of elders,

868
00:39:29,622 --> 00:39:31,509
but you're the pastor.

869
00:39:31,509 --> 00:39:33,743
You - this individual over here -

870
00:39:33,743 --> 00:39:40,073
one man who maybe does most of the preaching.

871
00:39:40,073 --> 00:39:42,896
That's not the case.

872
00:39:42,896 --> 00:39:46,215
All the elders are overseers.

873
00:39:46,215 --> 00:39:50,023
All the elders oversee the flock.

874
00:39:50,023 --> 00:39:53,321
All the elders pastor the church of God.

875
00:39:53,321 --> 00:39:54,828
What do you call somebody

876
00:39:54,828 --> 00:40:00,105
whose responsibility is to pastor the church of God?

877
00:40:00,105 --> 00:40:02,514
What do you call them?

878
00:40:02,514 --> 00:40:04,510
Maybe pastor?

879
00:40:04,510 --> 00:40:08,021
What do you call men who are called

880
00:40:08,021 --> 00:40:09,883
to shepherd the flock?

881
00:40:09,883 --> 00:40:12,121
They're shepherds.

882
00:40:12,121 --> 00:40:15,268
If somebody is given a charge of overseeing the church,

883
00:40:15,268 --> 00:40:16,771
what do you call them?

884
00:40:16,771 --> 00:40:19,617
Overseers.

885
00:40:19,617 --> 00:40:24,631
Who are these overseers/pastors?

886
00:40:24,631 --> 00:40:27,396
They're the elders.

887
00:40:27,396 --> 00:40:31,539
Brethren, what you need to recognize is this:

888
00:40:31,539 --> 00:40:34,867
Every single elder in this church

889
00:40:34,867 --> 00:40:40,116
has a responsibility to pastor this church.

890
00:40:40,116 --> 00:40:41,712
All the flock.

891
00:40:41,712 --> 00:40:42,787
Did you notice that?

892
00:40:42,787 --> 00:40:44,340
All is in there.

893
00:40:44,340 --> 00:40:49,034
Every elder has a responsibility

894
00:40:49,034 --> 00:40:53,134
to tend to, to take careful attention of,

895
00:40:53,134 --> 00:40:58,061
to oversee, to shepherd all the flock.

896
00:40:58,061 --> 00:41:03,573
Every single person in the flock.

897
00:41:03,573 --> 00:41:04,873
I think you can see that.

898
00:41:04,873 --> 00:41:06,902
Paul doesn't single out a certain man.

899
00:41:06,902 --> 00:41:08,527
He's speaking to every single one

900
00:41:08,527 --> 00:41:10,511
of the elders from the church at Ephesus

901
00:41:10,511 --> 00:41:12,383
and charging every single one of them

902
00:41:12,383 --> 00:41:14,380
to pastor all the flock.

903
00:41:14,380 --> 00:41:15,835
And the thing is,

904
00:41:15,835 --> 00:41:18,067
Paul isn't simply making a suggestion here

905
00:41:18,067 --> 00:41:19,212
or telling the elders,

906
00:41:19,212 --> 00:41:20,803
well, you know what, elder,

907
00:41:20,803 --> 00:41:24,024
you might be able to rise up

908
00:41:24,024 --> 00:41:25,555
someday sometime

909
00:41:25,555 --> 00:41:27,794
to be a pastor,

910
00:41:27,794 --> 00:41:30,287
although now you're just a lowly elder.

911
00:41:30,287 --> 00:41:34,316
That's not what is happening here.

912
00:41:34,316 --> 00:41:36,840
He looks at every single one of these elders

913
00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:38,598
and he doesn't single out one.

914
00:41:38,598 --> 00:41:41,342
Was there a possibility that one had been an elder

915
00:41:41,342 --> 00:41:42,681
there longer than the rest?

916
00:41:42,681 --> 00:41:45,889
Was there a possibility that one did more preaching than the rest?

917
00:41:45,889 --> 00:41:49,876
Was there a possibility that the man that made up that eldership

918
00:41:49,876 --> 00:41:52,326
were differently and variously gifted

919
00:41:52,326 --> 00:41:53,784
and they did different things?

920
00:41:53,784 --> 00:41:55,434
Yes, absolutely,

921
00:41:55,434 --> 00:41:57,803
but you need to recognize this,

922
00:41:57,803 --> 00:41:59,311
no matter who they were,

923
00:41:59,311 --> 00:42:00,835
no matter how they were gifted,

924
00:42:00,835 --> 00:42:03,167
no matter how long they had been elders

925
00:42:03,167 --> 00:42:04,389
or what their age was

926
00:42:04,389 --> 00:42:05,720
or what their giftedness was

927
00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:08,744
or their ability to handle the Word of God,

928
00:42:08,744 --> 00:42:12,089
or their ability to nurture people

929
00:42:12,089 --> 00:42:14,289
or whatever...

930
00:42:14,289 --> 00:42:17,408
he said this to all of them.

931
00:42:17,408 --> 00:42:20,374
You have a responsibility to pastor,

932
00:42:20,374 --> 00:42:23,073
to shepherd, to feed, to tend

933
00:42:23,073 --> 00:42:25,354
all the flock.

934
00:42:25,354 --> 00:42:26,610
The church of God

935
00:42:26,610 --> 00:42:28,858
which He purchased with His own blood.

936
00:42:28,858 --> 00:42:30,815
There's a high price on the line here.

937
00:42:30,815 --> 00:42:32,503
And this isn't Paul,

938
00:42:32,503 --> 00:42:33,582
this is inspired.

939
00:42:33,582 --> 00:42:35,084
You've got to go behind Paul.

940
00:42:35,084 --> 00:42:38,321
This is God looking at these men and saying,

941
00:42:38,321 --> 00:42:44,340
I bought these people with My blood.

942
00:42:44,340 --> 00:42:48,616
Brethren, what you need to recognize is this:

943
00:42:48,616 --> 00:42:52,711
Get away from using pastor as a title.

944
00:42:52,711 --> 00:42:54,642
Because Scripture doesn't do it.

945
00:42:54,642 --> 00:42:57,699
When you call a man pastor,

946
00:42:57,699 --> 00:43:02,742
which every elder in this church is,

947
00:43:02,742 --> 00:43:06,465
do you know what you're saying to him?

948
00:43:06,465 --> 00:43:11,843
You're saying "shepherd."

949
00:43:11,843 --> 00:43:15,933
And you're not implying so much a title -

950
00:43:15,933 --> 00:43:18,495
now you might traditionally imply things

951
00:43:18,495 --> 00:43:19,608
by that word,

952
00:43:19,608 --> 00:43:21,421
but if you're going to be biblical,

953
00:43:21,421 --> 00:43:22,871
you know what you're saying

954
00:43:22,871 --> 00:43:26,096
when you call a man shepherd?

955
00:43:26,096 --> 00:43:31,889
God has called you to watch over my soul.

956
00:43:31,889 --> 00:43:33,564
God has called you to feed me.

957
00:43:33,564 --> 00:43:38,368
God has called you to tend to me.

958
00:43:38,368 --> 00:43:42,047
The people who He's bought with His own blood.

959
00:43:42,047 --> 00:43:46,756
And there's going to be an accountability in the end.

960
00:43:46,756 --> 00:43:50,297
And don't miss that it's the Holy Spirit here

961
00:43:50,297 --> 00:43:52,465
Who makes overseers.

962
00:43:52,465 --> 00:43:54,550
You see it.

963
00:43:54,550 --> 00:43:59,994
These men did not apply for the position.

964
00:43:59,994 --> 00:44:01,959
Look, that doesn't mean that it's wrong

965
00:44:01,959 --> 00:44:05,090
for a man to desire.

966
00:44:05,090 --> 00:44:07,208
But you need to recognize that if somebody

967
00:44:07,208 --> 00:44:09,967
is an overseer,

968
00:44:09,967 --> 00:44:14,284
the Spirit of God made them that.

969
00:44:14,284 --> 00:44:16,548
If somebody is a pastor,

970
00:44:16,548 --> 00:44:19,458
they're a gift from Christ.

971
00:44:19,458 --> 00:44:24,514
This is not a man-made aspect of the church.

972
00:44:24,514 --> 00:44:26,239
They weren't put in this position

973
00:44:26,239 --> 00:44:27,732
because they had more money,

974
00:44:27,732 --> 00:44:29,994
or were more popular,

975
00:44:29,994 --> 00:44:32,789
or happened to be a family member

976
00:44:32,789 --> 00:44:36,579
of somebody who was already in the leadership,

977
00:44:36,579 --> 00:44:38,681
or was more well-liked or successful

978
00:44:38,681 --> 00:44:40,476
in the business world.

979
00:44:40,476 --> 00:44:42,453
Only the Holy Spirit can equip a man

980
00:44:42,453 --> 00:44:43,427
for this work.

981
00:44:43,427 --> 00:44:44,994
Only the Holy Spirit can create

982
00:44:44,994 --> 00:44:50,984
the character, the gift, and the compulsion

983
00:44:50,984 --> 00:44:52,629
to qualify a man.

984
00:44:52,629 --> 00:44:54,964
By compulsion I mean

985
00:44:54,964 --> 00:44:58,254
with the gift and with the character,

986
00:44:58,254 --> 00:45:03,348
there needs to come a desire to want to do it.

987
00:45:03,348 --> 00:45:05,917
Just because a man may be exceptionally gifted

988
00:45:05,917 --> 00:45:07,562
and sound wonderful in the pulpit,

989
00:45:07,562 --> 00:45:10,299
if he's not going to be committed

990
00:45:10,299 --> 00:45:13,744
to the rigors of praying for

991
00:45:13,744 --> 00:45:15,877
and pursuing God's people

992
00:45:15,877 --> 00:45:19,944
and dealing with the problems.

993
00:45:19,944 --> 00:45:24,011
Brethren, a shepherd who watches over sheep

994
00:45:24,011 --> 00:45:26,486
understands something.

995
00:45:26,486 --> 00:45:32,579
Sheep don't have great defenses

996
00:45:32,579 --> 00:45:36,274
against enemies.

997
00:45:36,274 --> 00:45:39,610
They tend to stray.

998
00:45:39,610 --> 00:45:43,050
They have no offensive weapons.

999
00:45:43,050 --> 00:45:44,823
They don't have vicious teeth

1000
00:45:44,823 --> 00:45:46,656
or vicious claws

1001
00:45:46,656 --> 00:45:49,294
or high speed ability.

1002
00:45:49,294 --> 00:45:51,609
They're vulnerable.

1003
00:45:51,609 --> 00:45:53,528
And they tend to go astray

1004
00:45:53,528 --> 00:45:57,914
and they tend to do stupid things.

1005
00:45:57,914 --> 00:45:59,609
And the thing is, in all of this,

1006
00:45:59,609 --> 00:46:01,789
even though there are shepherds and

1007
00:46:01,789 --> 00:46:05,960
there's sheep,

1008
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:08,953
the shepherds themselves are sheep

1009
00:46:08,953 --> 00:46:12,127
doing the shepherding.

1010
00:46:12,127 --> 00:46:15,386
I read someplace where

1011
00:46:15,386 --> 00:46:20,103
sheep will actually be together

1012
00:46:20,103 --> 00:46:22,734
in the herd,

1013
00:46:22,734 --> 00:46:24,292
and a wolf will come

1014
00:46:24,292 --> 00:46:28,050
and tear one of them to shreds,

1015
00:46:28,050 --> 00:46:30,338
and the one next to it won't even run.

1016
00:46:30,338 --> 00:46:34,241
It just will stand there oblivious.

1017
00:46:34,241 --> 00:46:36,851
Almost like it's wanting to refuse to accept

1018
00:46:36,851 --> 00:46:41,970
the fact that his brother's being torn to shreds.

1019
00:46:41,970 --> 00:46:45,188
Now look, you have to recognize,

1020
00:46:45,188 --> 00:46:47,588
in eternity past, God could have

1021
00:46:47,588 --> 00:46:49,837
created things any way He wanted to.

1022
00:46:49,837 --> 00:46:52,021
He created sheep the way He created sheep

1023
00:46:52,021 --> 00:46:53,415
on purpose

1024
00:46:53,415 --> 00:46:58,552
because they were going to be a picture of us.

1025
00:46:58,552 --> 00:47:09,984
And so brethren, to pastor the flock,

1026
00:47:09,984 --> 00:47:13,178
if you imagine it an easy thing,

1027
00:47:13,178 --> 00:47:15,892
it's not.

1028
00:47:15,892 --> 00:47:17,705
It's often a discouraging thing

1029
00:47:17,705 --> 00:47:23,222
that draws forth sighs.

1030
00:47:23,222 --> 00:47:25,556
It's a burden.

1031
00:47:25,556 --> 00:47:27,673
It's a burden, because when you know

1032
00:47:27,673 --> 00:47:29,449
that there's problems in the church

1033
00:47:29,449 --> 00:47:34,459
or there's problems in people's lives -

1034
00:47:34,459 --> 00:47:35,931
I know how it is with me

1035
00:47:35,931 --> 00:47:37,516
and I'm assuming it's like this

1036
00:47:37,516 --> 00:47:39,972
with the rest of my brothers

1037
00:47:39,972 --> 00:47:41,901
who seek to lead this church -

1038
00:47:41,901 --> 00:47:44,805
that every time there's a probem,

1039
00:47:44,805 --> 00:47:46,409
it's another thing that

1040
00:47:46,409 --> 00:47:48,289
you actually feel the weight of

1041
00:47:48,289 --> 00:47:50,553
laid on your shoulders.

1042
00:47:50,553 --> 00:47:52,701
It doesn't mean that we always execute

1043
00:47:52,701 --> 00:47:55,152
a response that is perfect in accord with

1044
00:47:55,152 --> 00:47:57,039
the burden that's been laid on us.

1045
00:47:57,039 --> 00:47:58,689
Sometimes it's just a matter of

1046
00:47:58,689 --> 00:48:00,722
we can't get to every single thing.

1047
00:48:00,722 --> 00:48:05,784
But it is an incredible responsibility.

1048
00:48:05,784 --> 00:48:10,172
Before any man pridefully or lightly runs,

1049
00:48:10,172 --> 00:48:13,598
you just want to be real certain you make sure

1050
00:48:13,598 --> 00:48:19,014
you know Who owns this flock.

1051
00:48:19,014 --> 00:48:20,142
This church.

1052
00:48:20,142 --> 00:48:23,399
Shepherd the church of God,

1053
00:48:23,399 --> 00:48:25,965
which He obtained with His own blood.

1054
00:48:25,965 --> 00:48:31,589
God says take care of My people.

1055
00:48:31,589 --> 00:48:37,343
So the other text is found in 1 Peter 5.

1056
00:48:37,343 --> 00:48:45,966
Let's quickly turn over there.

1057
00:48:45,966 --> 00:48:51,273
1 Peter 5:1-4

1058
00:48:51,273 --> 00:48:52,667
Why am I taking you here?

1059
00:48:52,667 --> 00:48:54,654
Again, remember what we're dealing with:

1060
00:48:54,654 --> 00:48:55,523
designation.

1061
00:48:55,523 --> 00:48:58,021
How do you designate the men

1062
00:48:58,021 --> 00:49:05,994
who are called to oversee you as sheep?

1063
00:49:05,994 --> 00:49:07,296
Notice right off,

1064
00:49:07,296 --> 00:49:08,910
"I exhort the elders..."

1065
00:49:08,910 --> 00:49:09,952
Here it is again.

1066
00:49:09,952 --> 00:49:14,662
We have the same three words

1067
00:49:14,662 --> 00:49:18,610
that we had back there in Acts 20:28

1068
00:49:18,610 --> 00:49:21,492
and Acts 20:17.

1069
00:49:21,492 --> 00:49:23,187
We have the term elder.

1070
00:49:23,187 --> 00:49:27,101
We have the term overseer or oversight, rather.

1071
00:49:27,101 --> 00:49:31,884
And we have the verb form for shepherd.

1072
00:49:31,884 --> 00:49:34,390
Who is called to shepherd the flock?

1073
00:49:34,390 --> 00:49:35,765
Here it is.

1074
00:49:35,765 --> 00:49:37,642
"I exhort the elders among you,

1075
00:49:37,642 --> 00:49:38,741
as a fellow elder

1076
00:49:38,741 --> 00:49:40,768
and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,

1077
00:49:40,768 --> 00:49:41,785
as well as a partaker

1078
00:49:41,785 --> 00:49:43,784
in the glory that is going to be revealed,

1079
00:49:43,784 --> 00:49:45,333
shepherd..."

1080
00:49:45,333 --> 00:49:46,795
Your Bible may say feed,

1081
00:49:46,795 --> 00:49:51,766
but again, this is the verb form

1082
00:49:51,766 --> 00:49:54,106
of pastor.

1083
00:49:54,106 --> 00:49:56,948
Who is supposed to pastor?

1084
00:49:56,948 --> 00:49:58,462
The elders.

1085
00:49:58,462 --> 00:50:00,153
Not one of the elders.

1086
00:50:00,153 --> 00:50:03,519
Not a lead elder.

1087
00:50:03,519 --> 00:50:06,461
Not the elder above the other elders.

1088
00:50:06,461 --> 00:50:09,363
All the elders.

1089
00:50:09,363 --> 00:50:14,942
Equally.

1090
00:50:14,942 --> 00:50:19,115
"I exhort the elders,

1091
00:50:19,115 --> 00:50:24,079
shepherd the flock of God that is among you,

1092
00:50:24,079 --> 00:50:26,542
exercising oversight."

1093
00:50:26,542 --> 00:50:28,274
The overseer word.

1094
00:50:28,274 --> 00:50:30,082
The episcopas word.

1095
00:50:30,082 --> 00:50:32,680
We get Episcopalian from it.

1096
00:50:32,680 --> 00:50:34,445
Oversight.

1097
00:50:34,445 --> 00:50:36,725
"Not under compulsion."

1098
00:50:36,725 --> 00:50:38,235
There is a compulsion.

1099
00:50:38,235 --> 00:50:39,736
It's a willing one.

1100
00:50:39,736 --> 00:50:45,399
It's not a compulsion of unwillingness.

1101
00:50:45,399 --> 00:50:47,577
"As God would have you.

1102
00:50:47,577 --> 00:50:49,091
Not for shameful gain..."

1103
00:50:49,091 --> 00:50:52,803
Again, motive - why are you doing it?

1104
00:50:52,803 --> 00:50:54,644
What do you hope to get out of it?

1105
00:50:54,644 --> 00:50:57,399
And the shameful gain

1106
00:50:57,399 --> 00:50:59,615
isn't always money.

1107
00:50:59,615 --> 00:51:01,818
It's the respect you think you'll get.

1108
00:51:01,818 --> 00:51:04,593
The notoriety, the appreciation,

1109
00:51:04,593 --> 00:51:07,368
the pat on the back,

1110
00:51:07,368 --> 00:51:11,015
there's lots of ways that we can describe

1111
00:51:11,015 --> 00:51:13,022
shameful gain.

1112
00:51:13,022 --> 00:51:14,431
"...but eagerly,

1113
00:51:14,431 --> 00:51:16,722
not domineering over those in your charge."

1114
00:51:16,722 --> 00:51:17,737
Now listen,

1115
00:51:17,737 --> 00:51:19,110
to say not domineering

1116
00:51:19,110 --> 00:51:22,172
doesn't mean - when it talks about

1117
00:51:22,172 --> 00:51:23,763
the overseers of your souls,

1118
00:51:23,763 --> 00:51:26,232
the elders,

1119
00:51:26,232 --> 00:51:28,066
they reprove you.

1120
00:51:28,066 --> 00:51:29,225
They rebuke you.

1121
00:51:29,225 --> 00:51:31,242
Scripture talks about that.

1122
00:51:31,242 --> 00:51:36,097
Repeatedly, in the book of Revelation,

1123
00:51:36,097 --> 00:51:38,922
it talks about Christ pastoring -

1124
00:51:38,922 --> 00:51:40,410
that's the word -

1125
00:51:40,410 --> 00:51:42,937
with a rod of iron.

1126
00:51:42,937 --> 00:51:52,387
(incomplete thought)

1127
00:51:52,387 --> 00:51:54,897
Phillip Keller

1128
00:51:54,897 --> 00:51:57,549
I remember there was a book that was

1129
00:51:57,549 --> 00:52:00,653
written on shepherding

1130
00:52:00,653 --> 00:52:02,864
from a shepherd's perspective.

1131
00:52:02,864 --> 00:52:05,182
He shepherded sheep in New Zealand.

1132
00:52:05,182 --> 00:52:07,207
And I remember,

1133
00:52:07,207 --> 00:52:10,205
I believe John MacArthur tells this story

1134
00:52:10,205 --> 00:52:13,355
about the shepherd having to break the legs

1135
00:52:13,355 --> 00:52:15,289
on one of the male sheep

1136
00:52:15,289 --> 00:52:16,871
who kept wandering away

1137
00:52:16,871 --> 00:52:18,350
and would lead others away.

1138
00:52:18,350 --> 00:52:20,000
And finally he broke his legs.

1139
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:21,700
And then when he would come to feed him,

1140
00:52:21,700 --> 00:52:22,997
it would try to bite him.

1141
00:52:22,997 --> 00:52:24,545
So he left him there to starve

1142
00:52:24,545 --> 00:52:26,238
until he was so famished

1143
00:52:26,238 --> 00:52:28,026
that he would let him feed him.

1144
00:52:28,026 --> 00:52:30,031
And he would feed him by his own hands.

1145
00:52:30,031 --> 00:52:32,446
And then he would put him around his shoulder

1146
00:52:32,446 --> 00:52:35,317
because he had broken legs, and he would carry him like that

1147
00:52:35,317 --> 00:52:37,253
until he was healed and well.

1148
00:52:37,253 --> 00:52:41,398
And then he was the most loyal of the sheep.

1149
00:52:41,398 --> 00:52:44,785
I only spell that out because

1150
00:52:44,785 --> 00:52:46,362
when it says not domineering,

1151
00:52:46,362 --> 00:52:48,594
it doesn't mean that

1152
00:52:48,594 --> 00:52:51,717
shepherds never have to be strong

1153
00:52:51,717 --> 00:52:54,149
or rebuke or reprove or discipline

1154
00:52:54,149 --> 00:52:55,750
people out of the church,

1155
00:52:55,750 --> 00:52:57,380
do strong things

1156
00:52:57,380 --> 00:53:01,466
which love demands.

1157
00:53:01,466 --> 00:53:03,071
"...not domineering over those

1158
00:53:03,071 --> 00:53:04,486
in your charge."

1159
00:53:04,486 --> 00:53:07,083
Brethren, I'll tell you what domineering is all about.

1160
00:53:07,083 --> 00:53:08,298
It's when the leadership

1161
00:53:08,298 --> 00:53:10,606
begins to make its own rules

1162
00:53:10,606 --> 00:53:11,865
not found in Scripture.

1163
00:53:11,865 --> 00:53:14,856
Its own ways.

1164
00:53:14,856 --> 00:53:18,057
It's when it oppresses the flock

1165
00:53:18,057 --> 00:53:22,840
for their own purposes.

1166
00:53:22,840 --> 00:53:24,926
Brethren, there's a time when love

1167
00:53:24,926 --> 00:53:27,414
demands that we be strong with people.

1168
00:53:27,414 --> 00:53:33,396
That's not domineering.

1169
00:53:33,396 --> 00:53:36,764
"...being examples to the flock."

1170
00:53:36,764 --> 00:53:39,825
Not like those Pharisees

1171
00:53:39,825 --> 00:53:43,853
who do what they say,

1172
00:53:43,853 --> 00:53:46,498
but you don't want to imitate them.

1173
00:53:46,498 --> 00:53:48,550
We need to be examples to the flock.

1174
00:53:48,550 --> 00:53:49,758
And we recognize this,

1175
00:53:49,758 --> 00:53:53,138
rarely does a flock rise higher than its leaders.

1176
00:53:53,138 --> 00:53:55,807
That's just a reality.

1177
00:53:55,807 --> 00:53:57,851
"And when the chief shepherd appears,

1178
00:53:57,851 --> 00:54:00,360
you will receive the unfading crown of glory."

1179
00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:01,550
The elders.

1180
00:54:01,550 --> 00:54:06,418
Now, overseer is the episcopas word group.

1181
00:54:06,418 --> 00:54:09,360
Elders - that's the presbuteros -

1182
00:54:09,360 --> 00:54:12,006
we get Presbyterian from that.

1183
00:54:12,006 --> 00:54:16,725
The elders are to exercise oversight,

1184
00:54:16,725 --> 00:54:18,528
but they are to shepherd the flock

1185
00:54:18,528 --> 00:54:19,587
that is among you.

1186
00:54:19,587 --> 00:54:23,829
Again, I just ask you this,

1187
00:54:23,829 --> 00:54:25,808
are the elders supposed to shepherd?

1188
00:54:25,808 --> 00:54:26,522
Yes.

1189
00:54:26,522 --> 00:54:28,418
Are they supposed to provide oversight?

1190
00:54:28,418 --> 00:54:29,253
Yes.

1191
00:54:29,253 --> 00:54:31,423
What do you call people who shepherd?

1192
00:54:31,423 --> 00:54:33,631
Shepherds.

1193
00:54:33,631 --> 00:54:35,586
What do you call people who pastor?

1194
00:54:35,586 --> 00:54:36,562
(Same word)

1195
00:54:36,562 --> 00:54:38,434
You call them pastor.

1196
00:54:38,434 --> 00:54:40,664
That's where they are.

1197
00:54:40,664 --> 00:54:42,784
You want to know where these pastors

1198
00:54:42,784 --> 00:54:44,233
who are a gift from Christ,

1199
00:54:44,233 --> 00:54:46,388
where are they in the New Testament?

1200
00:54:46,388 --> 00:54:48,650
Nobody's ever given the title,

1201
00:54:48,650 --> 00:54:50,133
except Christ.

1202
00:54:50,133 --> 00:54:52,026
But if you want to know where they are

1203
00:54:52,026 --> 00:54:53,256
in the local church,

1204
00:54:53,256 --> 00:54:55,095
look at the elders.

1205
00:54:55,095 --> 00:54:58,606
Not just the guy who you happen to notice

1206
00:54:58,606 --> 00:55:00,600
is in the pulpit more than others.

1207
00:55:00,600 --> 00:55:02,042
That's not it.

1208
00:55:02,042 --> 00:55:06,765
It's every single man who is an elder.

1209
00:55:06,765 --> 00:55:08,177
He is an overseer.

1210
00:55:08,177 --> 00:55:10,519
He is to exercise oversight.

1211
00:55:10,519 --> 00:55:14,757
And he is to tend, to feed, to shepherd,

1212
00:55:14,757 --> 00:55:18,935
to pastor the flock.

1213
00:55:18,935 --> 00:55:21,010
That's the reality.

1214
00:55:21,010 --> 00:55:25,050
That's what we see here.

1215
00:55:25,050 --> 00:55:28,064
The idea here is

1216
00:55:28,064 --> 00:55:30,128
shepherd the flock.

1217
00:55:30,128 --> 00:55:32,072
It's an aorist imperative.

1218
00:55:32,072 --> 00:55:33,001
You're to do it.

1219
00:55:33,001 --> 00:55:34,429
You're to do it effectively.

1220
00:55:34,429 --> 00:55:35,643
You're not to delay.

1221
00:55:35,643 --> 00:55:37,121
There's a sense of urgency.

1222
00:55:37,121 --> 00:55:41,128
You can see it there.

1223
00:55:41,128 --> 00:55:43,535
Certain men - they have this charge:

1224
00:55:43,535 --> 00:55:45,860
To shepherd, to feed.

1225
00:55:45,860 --> 00:55:47,578
So let me ask you this:

1226
00:55:47,578 --> 00:55:49,384
What's an appropriate term

1227
00:55:49,384 --> 00:55:51,730
for any leader in the church?

1228
00:55:51,730 --> 00:55:53,468
Elder, yes.

1229
00:55:53,468 --> 00:55:55,142
Overseer, yes.

1230
00:55:55,142 --> 00:55:57,881
Pastor, yes.

1231
00:55:57,881 --> 00:56:00,175
Every one of them is suitable.

1232
00:56:00,175 --> 00:56:02,445
Every one of them is biblical.

1233
00:56:02,445 --> 00:56:04,457
Now, I just want to point something out.

1234
00:56:04,457 --> 00:56:06,448
Many of you may not be aware of this.

1235
00:56:06,448 --> 00:56:09,156
Any of you that have ever read the King James Version,

1236
00:56:09,156 --> 00:56:10,752
you may be aware of this.

1237
00:56:10,752 --> 00:56:14,243
The King James Version

1238
00:56:14,243 --> 00:56:19,836
has subscripts at the ends of -

1239
00:56:19,836 --> 00:56:23,716
and the ones I'm specifically interested in right now

1240
00:56:23,716 --> 00:56:27,662
are the ones at the end of the pastoral epistles.

1241
00:56:27,662 --> 00:56:28,975
Let me tell you something.

1242
00:56:28,975 --> 00:56:30,699
They are not inspired.

1243
00:56:30,699 --> 00:56:32,775
They don't have a verse number.

1244
00:56:32,775 --> 00:56:34,382
They're tacked on.

1245
00:56:34,382 --> 00:56:35,727
They're not inspired.

1246
00:56:35,727 --> 00:56:37,032
And in fact, I would say

1247
00:56:37,032 --> 00:56:38,464
they are erroneous.

1248
00:56:38,464 --> 00:56:40,217
You say what are you talking about?

1249
00:56:40,217 --> 00:56:42,242
Let me give you an example.

1250
00:56:42,242 --> 00:56:44,344
The one at the end of 2 Timothy says,

1251
00:56:44,344 --> 00:56:47,285
"the second epistle unto Timotheus

1252
00:56:47,285 --> 00:56:49,788
ordained the first bishop of the church

1253
00:56:49,788 --> 00:56:51,134
of the Ephesians.

1254
00:56:51,134 --> 00:56:52,665
Was written from Rome when Paul

1255
00:56:52,665 --> 00:56:54,813
was brought before Nero the second time."

1256
00:56:54,813 --> 00:56:56,099
All you have to do

1257
00:56:56,099 --> 00:56:58,285
is read your New Testaments thoroughly

1258
00:56:58,285 --> 00:56:59,511
concerning Timothy,

1259
00:56:59,511 --> 00:57:00,804
and you will find Timothy

1260
00:57:00,804 --> 00:57:07,157
was no first bishop of Ephesus.

1261
00:57:07,157 --> 00:57:08,368
Paul sent him to Ephesus

1262
00:57:08,368 --> 00:57:09,484
to correct some things,

1263
00:57:09,484 --> 00:57:10,821
but by the time you get to

1264
00:57:10,821 --> 00:57:11,741
the second epistle,

1265
00:57:11,741 --> 00:57:13,039
he is no longer at Ephesus.

1266
00:57:13,039 --> 00:57:14,997
And in fact, what was he?

1267
00:57:14,997 --> 00:57:17,236
He was an apostolic delegate,

1268
00:57:17,236 --> 00:57:19,192
or an apostolic representative,

1269
00:57:19,192 --> 00:57:20,881
much like some of the other men:

1270
00:57:20,881 --> 00:57:22,360
Titus, Epaphras,

1271
00:57:22,360 --> 00:57:27,027
men who were sent around to different places.

1272
00:57:27,027 --> 00:57:30,915
Your New Testaments never call

1273
00:57:30,915 --> 00:57:37,845
any specific individual by the title of bishop.

1274
00:57:37,845 --> 00:57:39,298
Yes, they're called overseers.

1275
00:57:39,298 --> 00:57:41,469
It's the same word - I recognize.

1276
00:57:41,469 --> 00:57:49,033
But, it's never applied specifically to one man.

1277
00:57:49,033 --> 00:57:52,763
Like that's Overseer Paul.

1278
00:57:52,763 --> 00:57:56,689
Or that's Bishop Peter.

1279
00:57:56,689 --> 00:57:59,354
That kind of terminology simply isn't used

1280
00:57:59,354 --> 00:58:02,165
in the New Testament.

1281
00:58:02,165 --> 00:58:06,324
Listen, there's also a subscript behind Titus

1282
00:58:06,324 --> 00:58:08,567
that says, "It was written to Titus,

1283
00:58:08,567 --> 00:58:09,998
ordained the first bishop

1284
00:58:09,998 --> 00:58:12,067
of the church of the Cretans

1285
00:58:12,067 --> 00:58:14,419
from Necopolis of Macedonia."

1286
00:58:14,419 --> 00:58:16,254
Again, that is not right.

1287
00:58:16,254 --> 00:58:17,891
All you have to do is read Titus

1288
00:58:17,891 --> 00:58:20,704
to recognize Titus was not being sent

1289
00:58:20,704 --> 00:58:24,621
to be the bishop of a single church at Crete

1290
00:58:24,621 --> 00:58:26,213
or among the Cretans.

1291
00:58:26,213 --> 00:58:29,967
He was sent specifically to ordain elders,

1292
00:58:29,967 --> 00:58:32,912
appoint elders in all of the churches.

1293
00:58:32,912 --> 00:58:34,656
And keep moving on.

1294
00:58:34,656 --> 00:58:36,779
Again, an apostolic delegate.

1295
00:58:36,779 --> 00:58:40,066
Those subscripts are not inspired.

1296
00:58:40,066 --> 00:58:43,307
Listen, I'll tell you what they are.

1297
00:58:43,307 --> 00:58:45,351
They are a little picture

1298
00:58:45,351 --> 00:58:47,439
into the insight of

1299
00:58:47,439 --> 00:58:49,966
an erroneous mindset about church leadership

1300
00:58:49,966 --> 00:58:52,250
among the Episcopalian church

1301
00:58:52,250 --> 00:58:53,111
400 years ago

1302
00:58:53,111 --> 00:58:56,685
when the King James Bible was written.

1303
00:58:56,685 --> 00:58:59,060
It is not biblical.

1304
00:58:59,060 --> 00:59:01,701
There is not a single bishop in the churches.

1305
00:59:01,701 --> 00:59:02,661
Now, I'll tell you,

1306
00:59:02,661 --> 00:59:05,387
historically there did become that model

1307
00:59:05,387 --> 00:59:08,506
and it's reflected in statements like this,

1308
00:59:08,506 --> 00:59:12,174
but it is an abberation from the purity

1309
00:59:12,174 --> 00:59:16,751
of the first and early church's leadership model

1310
00:59:16,751 --> 00:59:20,105
found in Scripture.

1311
00:59:20,105 --> 00:59:21,527
Let's be clear on that.

1312
00:59:21,527 --> 00:59:23,396
OK, very quickly,

1313
00:59:23,396 --> 00:59:26,254
equality and diversity.

1314
00:59:26,254 --> 00:59:29,359
I want to talk about equality very quick.

1315
00:59:29,359 --> 00:59:31,879
What does Scripture say about this?

1316
00:59:31,879 --> 00:59:34,120
First observation:

1317
00:59:34,120 --> 00:59:36,184
it's equally true of all church leaders

1318
00:59:36,184 --> 00:59:37,322
in the New Testament

1319
00:59:37,322 --> 00:59:39,520
that none is ever addressed or identified

1320
00:59:39,520 --> 00:59:42,128
as being the pastor.

1321
00:59:42,128 --> 00:59:44,278
Now, I've already made the point:

1322
00:59:44,278 --> 00:59:47,282
no specific individual is even ever called pastor,

1323
00:59:47,282 --> 00:59:51,024
except Christ.

1324
00:59:51,024 --> 00:59:53,736
But make sure you recognize this:

1325
00:59:53,736 --> 00:59:58,231
since nobody's called pastor,

1326
00:59:58,231 --> 01:00:00,618
it goes without saying probably

1327
01:00:00,618 --> 01:00:02,810
that nobody is ever called "the" pastor.

1328
01:00:02,810 --> 01:00:05,573
And yet, that is such common terminology today.

1329
01:00:05,573 --> 01:00:08,431
And I know, brethren, that there are some

1330
01:00:08,431 --> 01:00:10,895
in this church who regard me that way.

1331
01:00:10,895 --> 01:00:14,911
But see the problem with that kind of terminology

1332
01:00:14,911 --> 01:00:19,010
is "the" - that article is foreign to Scripture.

1333
01:00:19,010 --> 01:00:21,518
And what it does is it makes it sound like

1334
01:00:21,518 --> 01:00:25,935
I have a responsibility to tend your soul

1335
01:00:25,935 --> 01:00:27,408
and the other elders don't.

1336
01:00:27,408 --> 01:00:28,633
Somehow you're putting me

1337
01:00:28,633 --> 01:00:30,557
into a category that you're not

1338
01:00:30,557 --> 01:00:32,148
putting the other elders into.

1339
01:00:32,148 --> 01:00:34,129
And that simply is not biblical.

1340
01:00:34,129 --> 01:00:35,385
It's not right.

1341
01:00:35,385 --> 01:00:39,446
There is an equality in authority

1342
01:00:39,446 --> 01:00:40,914
among the elders.

1343
01:00:40,914 --> 01:00:46,307
There is an equality in responsibility to pastor

1344
01:00:46,307 --> 01:00:47,496
among the elders.

1345
01:00:47,496 --> 01:00:49,860
There is an equality that the term overseer

1346
01:00:49,860 --> 01:00:51,331
works with all of us.

1347
01:00:51,331 --> 01:00:53,486
There is an equality that the term elder

1348
01:00:53,486 --> 01:00:54,722
works for all of us.

1349
01:00:54,722 --> 01:00:57,010
And there is an equality that the term pastor

1350
01:00:57,010 --> 01:00:59,835
works for all of us.

1351
01:00:59,835 --> 01:01:03,335
And that's what these verses help us to see.

1352
01:01:03,335 --> 01:01:05,999
Brethren, if you just simply go -

1353
01:01:05,999 --> 01:01:10,238
here's this historian Luke,

1354
01:01:10,238 --> 01:01:12,500
and he gives us his two volumes.

1355
01:01:12,500 --> 01:01:15,520
The second volume is all about the early church.

1356
01:01:15,520 --> 01:01:17,172
Do you know what's amazing to me?

1357
01:01:17,172 --> 01:01:22,747
It's almost like Luke goes out of his way

1358
01:01:22,747 --> 01:01:25,536
to not specifically give men titles.

1359
01:01:25,536 --> 01:01:26,817
Oh, there are places where

1360
01:01:26,817 --> 01:01:28,162
he talks about the apostles

1361
01:01:28,162 --> 01:01:29,604
or he talks about the elders,

1362
01:01:29,604 --> 01:01:31,180
but you know when he talks about

1363
01:01:31,180 --> 01:01:32,826
specific individuals,

1364
01:01:32,826 --> 01:01:35,308
he doesn't give them titles.

1365
01:01:35,308 --> 01:01:36,714
He just totally stays away

1366
01:01:36,714 --> 01:01:38,115
from calling anybody pastor,

1367
01:01:38,115 --> 01:01:39,279
anybody bishop...

1368
01:01:39,279 --> 01:01:41,239
He doesn't even call anybody

1369
01:01:41,239 --> 01:01:44,406
like "elder James."

1370
01:01:44,406 --> 01:01:47,261
None of that.

1371
01:01:47,261 --> 01:01:49,383
That ought to speak to us,

1372
01:01:49,383 --> 01:01:52,467
that the very spirit of Scripture

1373
01:01:52,467 --> 01:01:57,530
is one to not to seek to exalt

1374
01:01:57,530 --> 01:02:00,330
by title,

1375
01:02:00,330 --> 01:02:02,041
which I think Christ said something

1376
01:02:02,041 --> 01:02:04,698
very specifically about,

1377
01:02:04,698 --> 01:02:07,059
but we'll get to that in just a second.

1378
01:02:07,059 --> 01:02:08,920
So, there's an equality here

1379
01:02:08,920 --> 01:02:17,562
in that sense.

1380
01:02:17,562 --> 01:02:19,134
On the other hand,

1381
01:02:19,134 --> 01:02:20,894
is there diversity?

1382
01:02:20,894 --> 01:02:23,055
Yes, there's diversity.

1383
01:02:23,055 --> 01:02:25,656
What do I mean by that?

1384
01:02:25,656 --> 01:02:29,786
Well, what does Scripture say?

1385
01:02:29,786 --> 01:02:33,415
"Grace was given to each one of us

1386
01:02:33,415 --> 01:02:37,327
according to the measure of Christ's gift."

1387
01:02:37,327 --> 01:02:38,519
Did you catch that?

1388
01:02:38,519 --> 01:02:40,215
The measure.

1389
01:02:40,215 --> 01:02:45,857
It means Jesus measures out

1390
01:02:45,857 --> 01:02:48,918
an amount of grace,

1391
01:02:48,918 --> 01:02:50,257
enabling grace,

1392
01:02:50,257 --> 01:02:51,594
that's what it says, right?

1393
01:02:51,594 --> 01:02:53,582
"Grace was given to each one of us

1394
01:02:53,582 --> 01:02:55,780
according to the measure of Christ's gift."

1395
01:02:55,780 --> 01:02:58,417
Enabling grace.

1396
01:02:58,417 --> 01:03:00,182
As He gives His gifts.

1397
01:03:00,182 --> 01:03:02,113
Now this works among all of us.

1398
01:03:02,113 --> 01:03:03,784
Some in the church have

1399
01:03:03,784 --> 01:03:05,400
extraordinary gift of faith.

1400
01:03:05,400 --> 01:03:06,519
Somebody else may have

1401
01:03:06,519 --> 01:03:07,942
extraordinary gift of faith,

1402
01:03:07,942 --> 01:03:12,290
but it may not be as much.

1403
01:03:12,290 --> 01:03:14,020
(Incomplete thought)

1404
01:03:14,020 --> 01:03:15,428
Have you ever noticed

1405
01:03:15,428 --> 01:03:17,964
the Triune God loves diversity?

1406
01:03:17,964 --> 01:03:18,872
There's one Spirit,

1407
01:03:18,872 --> 01:03:21,648
but there's a diversity of gifts.

1408
01:03:21,648 --> 01:03:23,159
There's one Lord,

1409
01:03:23,159 --> 01:03:25,765
but different manners of service.

1410
01:03:25,765 --> 01:03:28,772
There's one God Who empowers all of them,

1411
01:03:28,772 --> 01:03:31,789
but there's different levels of ability;

1412
01:03:31,789 --> 01:03:33,908
different levels of energy

1413
01:03:33,908 --> 01:03:37,434
that are given.

1414
01:03:37,434 --> 01:03:39,031
That's just a reality.

1415
01:03:39,031 --> 01:03:40,232
Do you know what?

1416
01:03:40,232 --> 01:03:41,425
Among elders,

1417
01:03:41,425 --> 01:03:42,864
you may have some that are

1418
01:03:42,864 --> 01:03:44,640
more compassionate than others.

1419
01:03:44,640 --> 01:03:45,947
You may have some that are

1420
01:03:45,947 --> 01:03:47,811
more approachable than others.

1421
01:03:47,811 --> 01:03:50,393
You may have some that are more giving than others.

1422
01:03:50,393 --> 01:03:52,236
You may have some that know the Bible

1423
01:03:52,236 --> 01:03:53,738
better than others.

1424
01:03:53,738 --> 01:03:55,888
You may have some that have a preaching gift

1425
01:03:55,888 --> 01:03:57,423
that stands above the others.

1426
01:03:57,423 --> 01:03:59,276
You may have some that have leadership

1427
01:03:59,276 --> 01:04:00,149
above the others.

1428
01:04:00,149 --> 01:04:02,024
Look, the reality is,

1429
01:04:02,024 --> 01:04:04,108
that even when you go to those disciples,

1430
01:04:04,108 --> 01:04:05,686
those first twelve,

1431
01:04:05,686 --> 01:04:08,354
anybody stand out as probably having been

1432
01:04:08,354 --> 01:04:11,929
a leader of sorts?

1433
01:04:11,929 --> 01:04:15,220
You can see that Peter was.

1434
01:04:15,220 --> 01:04:16,254
But, you know what?

1435
01:04:16,254 --> 01:04:18,574
Peter is never given a title above the others.

1436
01:04:18,574 --> 01:04:20,987
Have you ever noticed that?

1437
01:04:20,987 --> 01:04:23,534
Now, he could say Peter,

1438
01:04:23,534 --> 01:04:26,784
when you're restored, strengthen your brethren.

1439
01:04:26,784 --> 01:04:29,195
There's a place where Jesus recognized

1440
01:04:29,195 --> 01:04:30,514
that he would have a lead.

1441
01:04:30,514 --> 01:04:32,525
He talks about the keys of the kingdom,

1442
01:04:32,525 --> 01:04:33,717
but I'll tell you this,

1443
01:04:33,717 --> 01:04:36,560
Scripture never calls him a bishop, it never calls him Pope,

1444
01:04:36,560 --> 01:04:38,170
it never calls him anything else.

1445
01:04:38,170 --> 01:04:40,492
It doesn't give him any title other than apostle,

1446
01:04:40,492 --> 01:04:43,213
which is the same as the others.

1447
01:04:43,213 --> 01:04:45,105
Never is he designated in a way

1448
01:04:45,105 --> 01:04:46,798
that is above and beyond.

1449
01:04:46,798 --> 01:04:49,285
If you look at James,

1450
01:04:49,285 --> 01:04:51,809
the brother of our Lord,

1451
01:04:51,809 --> 01:04:54,212
He became extremely prominent

1452
01:04:54,212 --> 01:04:55,800
in the church in Jerusalem.

1453
01:04:55,800 --> 01:04:57,942
All you have to do is read the book of Acts.

1454
01:04:57,942 --> 01:04:58,738
You can see,

1455
01:04:58,738 --> 01:04:59,962
he rose above the others.

1456
01:04:59,962 --> 01:05:01,126
But I'll tell you this,

1457
01:05:01,126 --> 01:05:02,577
he's never given a title above

1458
01:05:02,577 --> 01:05:03,882
and beyond the other elders

1459
01:05:03,882 --> 01:05:04,869
there at Jerusalem.

1460
01:05:04,869 --> 01:05:06,469
Never.

1461
01:05:06,469 --> 01:05:08,286
Yes, there's a place where one time

1462
01:05:08,286 --> 01:05:11,256
it says James and the elders,

1463
01:05:11,256 --> 01:05:13,690
kind of pulling him out.

1464
01:05:13,690 --> 01:05:15,901
There's a place in Scripture in Galatians

1465
01:05:15,901 --> 01:05:19,954
where it talks about certain men who are pillars.

1466
01:05:19,954 --> 01:05:21,110
It's true.

1467
01:05:21,110 --> 01:05:24,979
There are going to be diversity

1468
01:05:24,979 --> 01:05:28,722
and some may rise

1469
01:05:28,722 --> 01:05:31,984
with their leadership skills

1470
01:05:31,984 --> 01:05:33,945
or their preaching skills -

1471
01:05:33,945 --> 01:05:37,634
they may become more in the eye of the public,

1472
01:05:37,634 --> 01:05:38,990
more prominent.

1473
01:05:38,990 --> 01:05:40,252
Like in the Gospels,

1474
01:05:40,252 --> 01:05:42,287
Peter was more prominent there

1475
01:05:42,287 --> 01:05:43,213
than the others.

1476
01:05:43,213 --> 01:05:45,470
But you know, it doesn't take away from some of those guys

1477
01:05:45,470 --> 01:05:48,221
who you don't even remember their names,

1478
01:05:48,221 --> 01:05:51,061
are also apostles.

1479
01:05:51,061 --> 01:05:55,092
And there was an equality there.

1480
01:05:55,092 --> 01:05:57,137
But there's diversity as well.

1481
01:05:57,137 --> 01:05:59,830
That's just reality.

1482
01:05:59,830 --> 01:06:01,671
Now, the last thing I want to say is

1483
01:06:01,671 --> 01:06:03,742
with regards to humility.

1484
01:06:03,742 --> 01:06:05,341
The Scribes and the Pharisees,

1485
01:06:05,341 --> 01:06:06,867
they sit in Moses' seat.

1486
01:06:06,867 --> 01:06:07,753
And you know what?

1487
01:06:07,753 --> 01:06:09,730
They loved all the attention.

1488
01:06:09,730 --> 01:06:11,486
And they loved people to make a lot

1489
01:06:11,486 --> 01:06:12,577
out of them.

1490
01:06:12,577 --> 01:06:14,694
And they loved the place of honor at feasts

1491
01:06:14,694 --> 01:06:16,457
and the best seats in the synagogues

1492
01:06:16,457 --> 01:06:18,348
and the greetings in the marketplaces,

1493
01:06:18,348 --> 01:06:19,181
and look at this,

1494
01:06:19,181 --> 01:06:22,562
they loved being called 'rabbi' by others.

1495
01:06:22,562 --> 01:06:25,334
But you're not to be called 'rabbi.'

1496
01:06:25,334 --> 01:06:26,928
For you have one Teacher

1497
01:06:26,928 --> 01:06:29,687
and you are all brothers.

1498
01:06:29,687 --> 01:06:31,560
And call no man your father on earth.

1499
01:06:31,560 --> 01:06:32,718
For you have one Father

1500
01:06:32,718 --> 01:06:33,632
Who is in heaven.

1501
01:06:33,632 --> 01:06:35,293
Neither be called instructors,

1502
01:06:35,293 --> 01:06:39,434
for you have one Instructor, the Christ.

1503
01:06:39,434 --> 01:06:43,442
Or master...

1504
01:06:43,442 --> 01:06:45,584
The greatest among you shall be your servant.

1505
01:06:45,584 --> 01:06:47,732
Now listen, this doesn't mean that titles

1506
01:06:47,732 --> 01:06:50,105
are never appropriate.

1507
01:06:50,105 --> 01:06:52,298
It doesn't mean that if your parents come in,

1508
01:06:52,298 --> 01:06:54,025
it's like, well, that's my mother

1509
01:06:54,025 --> 01:06:56,518
and that's... the man who begot me.

1510
01:06:56,518 --> 01:06:58,837
Because I can't say father.

1511
01:06:58,837 --> 01:07:02,583
Look, even in a spiritual sense,

1512
01:07:02,583 --> 01:07:05,359
Paul himself could say

1513
01:07:05,359 --> 01:07:07,302
to the Corinthian church,

1514
01:07:07,302 --> 01:07:10,160
I have become your father in Christ Jesus

1515
01:07:10,160 --> 01:07:11,141
through the Gospel.

1516
01:07:11,141 --> 01:07:12,044
(gasp)

1517
01:07:12,044 --> 01:07:13,341
Paul, what are you doing?

1518
01:07:13,341 --> 01:07:14,837
You can't say that.

1519
01:07:14,837 --> 01:07:19,603
That's to miss the point.

1520
01:07:19,603 --> 01:07:21,542
What he's saying there is truth.

1521
01:07:21,542 --> 01:07:23,833
I begot you in a spiritual sense.

1522
01:07:23,833 --> 01:07:24,983
I fathered you.

1523
01:07:24,983 --> 01:07:30,263
It's when we want titles given to us

1524
01:07:30,263 --> 01:07:32,722
because we want to be regarded

1525
01:07:32,722 --> 01:07:34,916
as superior to the others.

1526
01:07:34,916 --> 01:07:36,445
That's the issue, brethren.

1527
01:07:36,445 --> 01:07:38,024
It's not calling somebody father,

1528
01:07:38,024 --> 01:07:39,288
even in a spiritual sense

1529
01:07:39,288 --> 01:07:40,459
who really is a father.

1530
01:07:40,459 --> 01:07:41,709
You remember Paul,

1531
01:07:41,709 --> 01:07:43,818
he addressed Felix, "Most excellent Felix."

1532
01:07:43,818 --> 01:07:45,955
It's like, whoa, you don't want to say that!

1533
01:07:45,955 --> 01:07:46,778
Why?

1534
01:07:46,778 --> 01:07:48,340
It exalts him.

1535
01:07:48,340 --> 01:07:50,890
Look, there are times when it's appropriate

1536
01:07:50,890 --> 01:07:52,928
to call people by certain things,

1537
01:07:52,928 --> 01:07:54,558
but the idea here is

1538
01:07:54,558 --> 01:07:56,553
that these Scribes and these Pharisees,

1539
01:07:56,553 --> 01:07:57,742
they wanted it.

1540
01:07:57,742 --> 01:07:59,429
They sought after it.

1541
01:07:59,429 --> 01:08:01,753
Why? Because they loved the applause

1542
01:08:01,753 --> 01:08:03,378
and they loved the approval

1543
01:08:03,378 --> 01:08:06,673
and they loved being made much of.

1544
01:08:06,673 --> 01:08:08,942
Look, what our Lord is forbidding

1545
01:08:08,942 --> 01:08:11,460
is that seeking after and lusting after

1546
01:08:11,460 --> 01:08:14,324
titles of superior distinction

1547
01:08:14,324 --> 01:08:16,096
that show you have some kind of

1548
01:08:16,096 --> 01:08:17,609
superior authority.

1549
01:08:17,609 --> 01:08:19,413
You know what our Lord approves of?

1550
01:08:19,413 --> 01:08:22,745
Obviously: lowliness.

1551
01:08:22,745 --> 01:08:27,606
Lowliness.

1552
01:08:27,606 --> 01:08:31,928
The disciples - they were on a level with each other.

1553
01:08:31,928 --> 01:08:33,552
That's a reality.

1554
01:08:33,552 --> 01:08:35,276
They were equal in authority.

1555
01:08:35,276 --> 01:08:37,662
They were brethren.

1556
01:08:37,662 --> 01:08:39,092
Isn't that what Jesus says?

1557
01:08:39,092 --> 01:08:42,576
You're all brothers.

1558
01:08:42,576 --> 01:08:44,503
You're all brothers.

1559
01:08:44,503 --> 01:08:45,871
You don't want to use titles

1560
01:08:45,871 --> 01:08:48,609
that seek to make you out

1561
01:08:48,609 --> 01:08:51,397
like you're the greatest guy.

1562
01:08:51,397 --> 01:08:54,157
I'll tell you this.

1563
01:08:54,157 --> 01:08:56,146
If people in the church call me

1564
01:08:56,146 --> 01:08:57,475
"the pastor,"

1565
01:08:57,475 --> 01:08:59,668
and you don't regard the other elders

1566
01:08:59,668 --> 01:09:00,588
in the church,

1567
01:09:00,588 --> 01:09:02,652
you're basically doing that.

1568
01:09:02,652 --> 01:09:06,270
You're basically creating a heirarchy

1569
01:09:06,270 --> 01:09:10,060
that the Scripture never creates.

1570
01:09:10,060 --> 01:09:12,944
You say, is it appropriate to call you guys elders?

1571
01:09:12,944 --> 01:09:14,080
Yeah, it's appropriate.

1572
01:09:14,080 --> 01:09:15,871
Overseers? Yeah, that's appropriate.

1573
01:09:15,871 --> 01:09:17,506
Pastors? Yeah, that's appropriate.

1574
01:09:17,506 --> 01:09:21,437
But you know what Jesus would say?

1575
01:09:21,437 --> 01:09:25,827
It is totally OK to call them brothers.

1576
01:09:25,827 --> 01:09:32,278
You're all brothers.

1577
01:09:32,278 --> 01:09:37,000
That's the spirit - not to covet titles.

1578
01:09:37,000 --> 01:09:39,886
Not to seek them.

1579
01:09:39,886 --> 01:09:42,383
Anything that tends to make a distinction

1580
01:09:42,383 --> 01:09:48,387
or destroy the equality, the parity.

1581
01:09:48,387 --> 01:09:52,217
It's true.

1582
01:09:52,217 --> 01:09:55,434
Peter, in a way, was a leader

1583
01:09:55,434 --> 01:09:56,718
in that early church

1584
01:09:56,718 --> 01:09:59,568
in an exceptional way.

1585
01:09:59,568 --> 01:10:02,375
But what the Catholic church has done

1586
01:10:02,375 --> 01:10:05,445
is an atrocity.

1587
01:10:05,445 --> 01:10:10,018
They have done exactly

1588
01:10:10,018 --> 01:10:13,789
what Jesus said they should never do.

1589
01:10:13,789 --> 01:10:16,135
And they bestow titles:

1590
01:10:16,135 --> 01:10:18,550
cardinals and bishops

1591
01:10:18,550 --> 01:10:21,532
and father and Pope.

1592
01:10:21,532 --> 01:10:24,042
(Incomplete thought)

1593
01:10:24,042 --> 01:10:27,298
And they wear their big long clothes.

1594
01:10:27,298 --> 01:10:30,923
Have you ever seen a more stupid looking hat

1595
01:10:30,923 --> 01:10:32,339
than those guys wear?

1596
01:10:32,339 --> 01:10:34,014
And yet, why do they do it?

1597
01:10:34,014 --> 01:10:36,222
Because it's come to mean

1598
01:10:36,222 --> 01:10:38,728
power and authority,

1599
01:10:38,728 --> 01:10:40,527
and people bow down

1600
01:10:40,527 --> 01:10:42,010
and they kiss their rings

1601
01:10:42,010 --> 01:10:44,617
and they kiss their feet.

1602
01:10:44,617 --> 01:10:46,163
Don't you get the feeling

1603
01:10:46,163 --> 01:10:48,235
that is exactly the thing

1604
01:10:48,235 --> 01:10:50,288
that our Lord Jesus Christ was forbidding.

1605
01:10:50,288 --> 01:10:51,592
Exactly that!

1606
01:10:51,592 --> 01:10:52,649
But, I'll tell you,

1607
01:10:52,649 --> 01:10:53,734
there's a tendency

1608
01:10:53,734 --> 01:10:55,324
in the pride of man

1609
01:10:55,324 --> 01:10:57,381
even in churches like our own,

1610
01:10:57,381 --> 01:10:58,619
to want those titles,

1611
01:10:58,619 --> 01:10:59,972
to want that significance,

1612
01:10:59,972 --> 01:11:01,593
to want those labels,

1613
01:11:01,593 --> 01:11:03,435
to want to be called out,

1614
01:11:03,435 --> 01:11:04,824
to want to be recognized

1615
01:11:04,824 --> 01:11:08,090
as somehow standing a step above

1616
01:11:08,090 --> 01:11:09,579
or two steps above,

1617
01:11:09,579 --> 01:11:11,529
to somehow be superior.

1618
01:11:11,529 --> 01:11:17,459
And that is what we need to abandon, brethren.

1619
01:11:17,459 --> 01:11:19,033
Respect the leaders.

1620
01:11:19,033 --> 01:11:20,135
Absolutely.

1621
01:11:20,135 --> 01:11:21,344
The Scripture says that.

1622
01:11:21,344 --> 01:11:22,978
Respect those who labor among you.

1623
01:11:22,978 --> 01:11:24,855
Esteem them very highly in love

1624
01:11:24,855 --> 01:11:27,975
because of their work.

1625
01:11:27,975 --> 01:11:31,153
But brethren, you are not dishonoring

1626
01:11:31,153 --> 01:11:32,761
any one of us,

1627
01:11:32,761 --> 01:11:38,142
if you simply say, "hey, brother."

1628
01:11:38,142 --> 01:11:42,166
Brethren, to be a brother of people

1629
01:11:42,166 --> 01:11:44,369
who belong to the living God

1630
01:11:44,369 --> 01:11:47,556
and have been bought by the blood of Christ,

1631
01:11:47,556 --> 01:11:51,068
do you think title somehow

1632
01:11:51,068 --> 01:11:53,389
it diminishes us?

1633
01:11:53,389 --> 01:11:54,990
Somehow demotes us?

1634
01:11:54,990 --> 01:11:56,259
Somehow dishonors us?

1635
01:11:56,259 --> 01:11:57,754
It doesn't.

1636
01:11:57,754 --> 01:12:00,013
To be a brother or a sister

1637
01:12:00,013 --> 01:12:05,281
among the elect of God,

1638
01:12:05,281 --> 01:12:10,240
that's it.

1639
01:12:10,240 --> 01:12:17,609
Well, brethren,

1640
01:12:17,609 --> 01:12:19,392
it's important that you recognize

1641
01:12:19,392 --> 01:12:21,779
the elders in our midst.

1642
01:12:21,779 --> 01:12:24,411
That you recognize that we have

1643
01:12:24,411 --> 01:12:27,122
an equality

1644
01:12:27,122 --> 01:12:28,874
as far as authority.

1645
01:12:28,874 --> 01:12:30,481
Maybe you don't know this,

1646
01:12:30,481 --> 01:12:32,433
but when we have our elder's meetings,

1647
01:12:32,433 --> 01:12:35,032
basically my mindset -

1648
01:12:35,032 --> 01:12:39,558
and I think this is our mindset as elders -

1649
01:12:39,558 --> 01:12:43,149
that it's not a democracy.

1650
01:12:43,149 --> 01:12:47,915
Basically we are looking for one hundred percent unity.

1651
01:12:47,915 --> 01:12:53,920
And there is that sense that

1652
01:12:53,920 --> 01:12:56,736
any one of us can veto something

1653
01:12:56,736 --> 01:12:58,250
or table something,

1654
01:12:58,250 --> 01:13:00,310
because we have that respect

1655
01:13:00,310 --> 01:13:02,674
among each other.

1656
01:13:02,674 --> 01:13:04,517
But at the same time,

1657
01:13:04,517 --> 01:13:06,881
I think you all need to recognize too

1658
01:13:06,881 --> 01:13:10,347
that when we're looking for more elders,

1659
01:13:10,347 --> 01:13:13,691
it's not always that -

1660
01:13:13,691 --> 01:13:15,761
OK well, if we have eight elders

1661
01:13:15,761 --> 01:13:18,091
we're basically going to try to split up

1662
01:13:18,091 --> 01:13:20,351
all the duties by one eighth

1663
01:13:20,351 --> 01:13:22,159
where every elder's going to preach

1664
01:13:22,159 --> 01:13:23,441
one eighth of the time,

1665
01:13:23,441 --> 01:13:26,238
and counsel one eighth of the people,

1666
01:13:26,238 --> 01:13:29,128
because there's differences.

1667
01:13:29,128 --> 01:13:31,496
There's differences of availability.

1668
01:13:31,496 --> 01:13:34,612
There's differences in health.

1669
01:13:34,612 --> 01:13:36,237
There's differences in age.

1670
01:13:36,237 --> 01:13:37,935
There's differences in gift.

1671
01:13:37,935 --> 01:13:40,599
There's differences in desire.

1672
01:13:40,599 --> 01:13:42,265
There's differences in vision.

1673
01:13:42,265 --> 01:13:44,130
There's differences, brethren,

1674
01:13:44,130 --> 01:13:46,125
in all these things.

1675
01:13:46,125 --> 01:13:48,624
And so, what we want to do

1676
01:13:48,624 --> 01:13:49,959
is we want to constantly

1677
01:13:49,959 --> 01:13:51,561
have this sense that

1678
01:13:51,561 --> 01:13:58,514
we have a plurality of pastors

1679
01:13:58,514 --> 01:14:01,308
with the responsibility to oversee your soul.

1680
01:14:01,308 --> 01:14:03,540
But how each one of them functions

1681
01:14:03,540 --> 01:14:06,603
is going to be determined by the elders together,

1682
01:14:06,603 --> 01:14:08,524
as far as where the responsibilities

1683
01:14:08,524 --> 01:14:10,130
and who's going to do what,

1684
01:14:10,130 --> 01:14:12,389
and who should be doing what,

1685
01:14:12,389 --> 01:14:18,182
for the greatest benefit of tending the flock.

1686
01:14:18,182 --> 01:14:21,512
Alright, brethren.

1687
01:14:21,512 --> 01:14:23,779
Father,

1688
01:14:23,779 --> 01:14:27,132
my desire is

1689
01:14:27,132 --> 01:14:31,284
that You would give us a biblical leadership

1690
01:14:31,284 --> 01:14:33,115
in the church,

1691
01:14:33,115 --> 01:14:35,341
and more Lord, more elders.

1692
01:14:35,341 --> 01:14:37,194
We need in a church this size, Lord,

1693
01:14:37,194 --> 01:14:38,839
please, You know.

1694
01:14:38,839 --> 01:14:40,407
You know most of all

1695
01:14:40,407 --> 01:14:43,004
what it takes to accomplish all these things

1696
01:14:43,004 --> 01:14:44,519
that You call the men

1697
01:14:44,519 --> 01:14:48,358
who You called to oversee and shepherd Your flock.

1698
01:14:48,358 --> 01:14:50,274
Lord, to be faithful,

1699
01:14:50,274 --> 01:14:53,521
You know how many men that would take.

1700
01:14:53,521 --> 01:14:54,972
All the flock?

1701
01:14:54,972 --> 01:14:56,657
All the flock?

1702
01:14:56,657 --> 01:15:04,973
Lord, it seems we need more laborers.

1703
01:15:04,973 --> 01:15:07,463
And we pray that You'd give us -

1704
01:15:07,463 --> 01:15:10,295
Oh, Lord, we want leadership

1705
01:15:10,295 --> 01:15:12,046
that is a gift of Christ

1706
01:15:12,046 --> 01:15:14,890
and made by the Holy Spirit

1707
01:15:14,890 --> 01:15:18,943
to be overseers and pastors.

1708
01:15:18,943 --> 01:15:22,246
We want the God-given gift,

1709
01:15:22,246 --> 01:15:23,692
not just the self-made,

1710
01:15:23,692 --> 01:15:24,782
or the church-made,

1711
01:15:24,782 --> 01:15:26,206
or the seminary-made.

1712
01:15:26,206 --> 01:15:29,983
We want the true God-wrought leaders.

1713
01:15:29,983 --> 01:15:32,942
Men who have been raised up by You

1714
01:15:32,942 --> 01:15:34,346
and equipped by You

1715
01:15:34,346 --> 01:15:37,867
and given the character by You,

1716
01:15:37,867 --> 01:15:39,979
given a compulsion by You

1717
01:15:39,979 --> 01:15:41,035
to lead the church.

1718
01:15:41,035 --> 01:15:42,194
Give us that, Lord,

1719
01:15:42,194 --> 01:15:43,872
more of that, please.

1720
01:15:43,872 --> 01:15:47,567
That the flock here might be well tended.

1721
01:15:47,567 --> 01:15:49,208
Lord, we have to give an account.

1722
01:15:49,208 --> 01:15:51,105
We want to be able to give a good account.

1723
01:15:51,105 --> 01:15:53,072
We want to be faithful. Help us.

1724
01:15:53,072 --> 01:15:54,121
Give us grace, Lord.

1725
01:15:54,121 --> 01:15:59,342
Give us elders grace to be faithful to the flock

1726
01:15:59,342 --> 01:16:01,890
that dwells among us

1727
01:16:01,890 --> 01:16:06,197
and to properly exercise good, godly oversight of them.

1728
01:16:06,197 --> 01:16:07,517
I ask in Christ's name,

1729
01:16:07,517 --> 01:16:08,270
Amen.