November
14, 2017
I
have always felt I resembled Peter. I
love listening to the Lord. I love
following the Lord. I love when I am so
focused I can walk on water. But I
sometimes fail, and sink when I lose my focus.
I’ve also been known to deny the One who gives me life.
Today,
we come to the conclusion of Peter’s first epistle. And I’d like to focus on our Great Shepard
and being the Church.
Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead
Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Psalm 80:1
Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who
has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His
pasture. Psalm 100:3
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all
the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the
church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” I know that after my
departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; Acts
20:28-29
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not
a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired
hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know
my own and my own know me, 15 just as
the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:11-15
For you
were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer
of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25
Peter was one of the 12 disciples, and one of
three who witnessed Christ’s glory at the transfiguration and he witnessed the
death and resurrection of Christ. It’s
no wonder he became a pillar of the church.
In this final chapter, Peter is writing to the elders of the church, but
he’s identifying as a fellow elder, not a superior, when he asks them to “Be shepherds
of God’s flock.” This was exactly what
Jesus had told him to do in John 21:15-17.
As the Church, we are the greatest hope for the
world. We have the ability, resources
and gifting from God to bring hope to the world. But what’s happening to the Church around
us? Are you noticing the impact we are
losing? How many churches are closing
and becoming museums or concert halls?
We are so focused on outside influences and so distracted that we are
amusing ourselves to death. It seems we
tend to focus on the electronics, gadgets and social media, that we are losing
our commitment to Jesus. Just look at
the self-ism and consumerism in and around our churches.
Go back and read Acts 20:28, Be
on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
These last couple of
weeks, I have focused on becoming, or being Christ. No, we can never take His place. But as we study and pray and meditate on His
word, we become more like Him.
We are a Building – when Solomon’s workers were building the church,
these stones were quarried and polished away from the site of the temple and no
hammer could be heard when they were placed together - they fit perfectly (1
Kings 6:7). God is bringing all of us
together as living stones (1 Peter 2:5).
We are the Body – Paul explained that we are the hands, feet,
eyes and ears of the Church body. We are
all working together. We are unified in
Christ. I have always heard that
believers attract one another which is why we are a transnational community.
We are a Family – The Church is a household of God. It is a caring place for people to bring
their brokenness and needs. We should be
looking for opportunities to help others.
Shepherds are committed to one another.
We are the Temple – we are being built together for the
habitation of God.
We are the Members – we are not the head of the Church. We were sought out. We are a worshipping community giving God all
the glory and praise. And we need to remember
that we were chosen, just as the women at the well who had 5 husbands, and was
not married at the time Jesus met her.
Jesus told her that the Father was seeking her. (John 4:16-26).
We are a Lamp – we are a witnessing community, open and
available to God to introduce others to Christ.
Be the Church – we represent the invisible God to a
skeptical world.
As shepherds, we
have a lot to look after. We are always
at work. We have to “Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone
to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the
faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is
undergoing the same kinds of sufferings.” (v. 8-9).
