Feed the Flock of God

"Feed the Flock of God" – Hebrews 13:17 "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account." The expositor admits at the outset that this subject has not been frequent in her preaching. The study starts from the nature of the sheep —meek, not the strongest, unable to recognize the cliff— to explain why there is a shepherd at all, and from there works through the verse phrase by phrase. It is completed with 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 and 1 Peter 5:1-4, where the limit is set: a pastor's authority is subordinate to Christ and to the Scriptures, and the church belongs to God, not to the pastor.

I. A subject seldom treated

A. This subject has not been much present in her preaching: there are other verses that come easier.

B. A person decides whether to take the place of a sheep: do I go to a church just because, or because I want to seek God?

C. "There are things I tell the Lord and the Lord does not resolve." That is in the system of us mortals.

D. When I was converted, everything came into my life; and from then on what there is, is tears, worries, and a constant fight.

E. And I do not tire of fighting, because if I ever lowered my hands, it would be a great danger for the people.

F. The word is always effective: it is the only voice that is like thunder. Every verse shakes our being and changes how we think and judge.

G. Your body speaks of you in your actions: as you are taught by the Scriptures, so you are.

II. The believer is a sheep

A. Sheep are shorn and all their wool taken off, because it weighs on them and makes it hard for them to move well.

B. They are not the strongest nor the most resolute: they are meek.

C. And because of that they have the shepherd in front of them with his crook, the long rod with which he turns them.

D. For if they want to go off another way, where there is a cliff, they do not recognize it as danger and can kill themselves.

E. That is why the shepherd must be watching to keep them together, so he can guide them.

F. And mark this: it is not that the shepherd is keen to spend day and night watching. It is the sheep's need to be cared for.

G. "I know how to make decisions." Sometimes yes and sometimes no. There are times when the sheep does not know how it should behave; that is why the shepherd guides it.

H. And how is it guided? Through the Bible: every message is a teaching to guide the sheep.

I. Through the teaching the sheep learns how to act, how to live, and how to develop as a person.

J. And that is a service: pastors must serve the flock with humility, with faithfulness and by example, knowing they will one day give account to God.

III. "Obey them that have the rule over you" (Hebrews 13:17)

A. It means attending to and following the spiritual direction of those God has set to teach, to care for and to guide the church.

B. So long as their teaching agrees with what the word of God lays down.

C. "I cannot talk like a parrot. Everything I preach and teach is always cited from the Bible verses."

D. It is not what I believe nor what I think would be best: it is according to the Scriptures, and it is read for all the sheep alike.

E. There is no favouritism: great and small, all alike, because it is for the flock.

F. You arrive feeling your problem is the greatest in the world; and as you hear the word you first come to know the shepherd's voice.

G. And the sheep takes it in, because it grows fond of hearing the shepherd's voice.

IV. "And submit yourselves"

A. It speaks of an attitude of respect, of cooperation and of readiness to accept spiritual leadership.

B. Not of a blind or absolute obedience: the authority of pastors is subordinate to Christ and to the Scriptures.

C. "I have to live under the rules of the Scriptures. It is not what I think nor what I want."

D. This is not coming here to rant and say whatever one pleases: it is according to the Holy Scriptures.

E. And it is so we may know the truth, be obedient, be people who see clearly, and have contact: heaven, God and us.

V. "For they watch for your souls"

A. "I watch for your soul; I do not watch your hair or how you walk: your soul."

B. Pastors have the responsibility of caring spiritually for the flock: teaching, exhorting and protecting the church.

C. "As they that must give account": the leaders will answer before God for the manner in which they exercised that care.

D. That makes their responsibility more serious. "While I was preparing this study, it grew heavier on me."

E. It is the one thing on earth of which account must be given to God: "when I stand before God, I will have to give account of all of you."

F. And of others who are not here, in other countries, who follow the preaching to shape their lives as sheep.

VI. "That they may do it with joy"

A. When the congregation cooperates and receives the teaching with humility, the pastoral ministry is exercised with joy.

B. And on the other hand, constant resistance and rebellion sadden the ministry.

C. "For that is unprofitable for you": a conflicted relationship between the congregation and its pastors harms the church's spiritual growth.

VII. "Know them which labour among you" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

A. These verses teach how the relationship between the church and its spiritual leaders should be.

B. "Know them which labour among you": to value and appreciate those who serve the Lord's work faithfully.

C. For spiritual leadership involves effort, dedication and much sacrifice.

D. "And are over you in the Lord": those who exercise spiritual direction, not out of personal interest, but under the authority of Christ.

E. "And admonish you": part of the ministry is to teach, correct and exhort when needed, with the purpose of building up and leading to maturity.

F. "Esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake": not for anything else, for the work's

G. For the work is constant: there are difficulties, sorrow, illness, trouble in marriages, in parents and in children.

H. Respect and affection for pastors should not rest on their personality, but on the labour they carry out for the good of the church.

I. "Be at peace among yourselves": peace and unity are the result of healthy relationships, among believers and with the leaders.

J. If there is a complaint, the church is called together: because if there is something to correct, it is corrected there, and nothing is hidden.

K. There people are rebuked, corrected, and weep, and unite for the fight. No one is great and no one is small: all are brethren in the faith.

VIII. "Feed the flock of God" (1 Peter 5:1-3)

A. The church belongs to God, not to the pastor.

B. The leader's calling is to feed spiritually, to protect and to care for the Lord's people through faithful teaching of the word.

C. "Not by constraint, but willingly": the ministry must be exercised out of love for God and for people, not out of obligation or pressure.

D. "To bring you to an obligation or a pressure, no. God is not there; that is already a sect."

E. "Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind": the motive must not be financial gain nor personal prestige, but a sincere desire to serve.

F. The pastor is not behind the sheep getting money out of them: that is what the offerings are for, to sustain the church and the pastor.

G. If God wills much, it is much; and if He wills little, little. Who is going to argue with that?

H. "Neither as being lords": Christian leadership is not authoritarian or domineering. Jesus taught that the greatest must be the servant of all.

I. "But being ensamples to the flock": a pastor's greatest influence comes from his example of life; his faith, humility, integrity and love back up his teaching.

J. And a thing learned from Paul: each one with his own sheep. Why go where I do not belong? Why give an opinion where I should not?

K. "I belong to this place and to this altar." And she does not speak of her sheep with anyone either.

IX. What it costs

A. The pastorate is no game: the pastor is the one who must abstain most from things the sheep may do freely.

B. The pastor lives watching with his eye open. There is always a sense of pain and of anguish. If someone falls ill, "I fall ill."

C. The reward is in heaven, not on earth: "here I live with the sword in my hand."

D. When she sees the children, she is taking their measure: she knows their smile, when they hide, when they are shy, when they are downcast.

E. None of that is indifferent to her: it is her passion, her self-giving, her day and her night.

F. And sometimes the body collapses physically: her legs go numb, and the tests show nothing.

G. And then she stops: "I cannot go at everyone else's pace, because I am the one who guides the church."

H. "I have not built an altar for each person: I have built an altar for the LORD."

I. And what she asks is not pity: "it is not a matter of pity, it is a matter of understanding. I am not a victim: I am a pastor."

X. The crown (1 Peter 5:4)

A. "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

B. It is a promise addressed to pastors and elders who serve the Lord faithfully.

C. "When He shall appear" refers to the return of Jesus Christ: the hope of the believer and of the pastor rests on the second coming.

D. "The chief Shepherd": Jesus Christ is the supreme shepherd; all others are servants under His authority and must follow His example of love.

E. "That is what I have to follow: not what people expect of me."

F. "A crown of glory that fadeth not away": an eternal reward that does not wither or decay, unlike all earthly crowns.

G. If we suffer anything for Christ, we will not be left without reward.

H. And she tells of a revelation —not a dream—: asleep, she saw the figure of Jesus, with no roof above, and an angel in a white robe to whom Jesus said "write it down," and he wrote.

I. And she felt her soul leaving her body, and thought that if it came all the way out she would die; so she settled back in. "I will never forget it."

J. In contact with God, one comes out winning.

XI. Application

A. Do not marvel at the office of pastor: marvel that God would use a simple mortal to teach the most read book on earth.

B. Check what you are taught against Scripture: a pastor's authority is subordinate to Christ and to the word.

C. Know and esteem the one who labours among you, not for his personality, but for the work's

D. Be at peace: constant resistance saddens the ministry and profits no one.

E. And remember that no one has anything to boast of before another: today one falls, and tomorrow another.

F. For what counts is to hear: "thou hast been faithful over a few things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord."