Shepherd the Flock

at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

Special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad

that you're here not because we're filling seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one

community, and as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good

that they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,

which means that God has something to say to us in his word. That's why we come back week after week

to study God's word to us, which is contained in the Bible. We've been studying the book of

1 Peter together. We're almost finished, and as I've been telling you, 1 Peter is a letter.

It's a letter written by a man named Peter, and he writes it to churches in the first century

A.D. who are struggling. These churches are in the Roman Empire in Asia Minor, what's now modern-day

western Turkey, and they're struggling because they're feeling out of place in the world as

Christians, and they're facing opposition from the world as Christians. Peter writes to instruct them

and to encourage them. He writes to encourage them that Jesus is worth it. He's worth living and loving

for, and he's worth suffering and dying for, and he also writes to instruct them. He instructs them

how they should live in the world as Christians and also how to respond when they face opposition

for being Christians. We've been in this long section on suffering, and we exited that a couple weeks ago

just for a little bit to talk about the community, how we interact together, and then last week we went

back to suffering, and this week we're back in the community, how we function together as a church.

And I mentioned a couple weeks ago that many people want thick and rich community.

Few people are willing to do the work to get it. Many people want thick and rich community. Few people are

willing to do what it takes. A couple weeks ago we looked at what it takes in a general level, how it

is that we love one another as a church, and this week we're going to look at something more specific.

How do we handle power as a church? How do we have a thick and rich community when it comes to

some people who have more influence and some people who have less? Some people that God has given to be

leaders in a specific situation and others that God has given to be followers. How can we be a church

that survives suffering? Well, a church that survives suffering is one that's going to know how to handle

power. There's a famous illustration that's used to talk about marriage. People will say that the sexual

relationship in marriage is kind of like fire. You can either keep it in the hearth, in the fireplace,

and it could be something that warms the entire home, or it can be something that burns everything

down when it's not kept within God's constraints. We could say the same thing about power in the church.

Leaders in the church can use their power to build it up and to make it a place of incredible warmth,

power is something that can be used in either way. And of course, the same can be said. We'll see this

in this passage as followers as well. They can be people who fan that fire into flame,

or they can snuff it out. And so God's going to speak to both of those things in his word this

morning as we look at 1 Peter. We're in chapter 5, and we're starting at verse 1. You can turn in your

worship guide. You'll find it near the end. You can also turn in your Bible or turn on your phone,

but regardless of your method, I invite you to read with me. As we come to this passage, remember that

this is God's word. And God tells us that while the grass withers and the flower fades, his word

will stand forever. That's why we read it now, starting at verse 1.

Verse 3.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Lord, our Father in heaven, we praise you and we thank you for your word that brings life.

You use your word to bring the world into existence at the very beginning.

You use your word to bring life to those who are dead in their sin.

And you use your word to bring life to those who belong to you, who need to know your love

and also the way to go.

And so we ask that you would send your spirit now and you would use your word in that way,

that you would give us life as individuals and as a community because you've spoken to us

by your word, through your word and by your spirit.

We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

I mentioned last week the repetition that occurs in this letter over and over, and we're going to see it once again at the very beginning.

Peter tells us what he's been telling us over and over.

There's suffering and then there's glory.

And that's what we see in verse 1.

We saw it last week as well.

He tells that he's exhorting the elders.

And when he says elders here, he's not exhorting everyone over a certain age,

but he's exhorting those who are leaders in the church.

We learn about this from other passages like 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

And he exhorts them as a fellow elder.

So he's saying, I know the struggles that you have.

I'm with you in this.

That means I'm a witness of the sufferings of Christ.

So we have the same theme of suffering that we've seen before, as well as a partaker in the glory that's going to be revealed.

He is telling them the same thing he's been telling them over and over.

They're suffering, but it's going to end in glory.

Jesus suffered.

You suffer.

Jesus' story ended in glory.

Your story will end in glory.

And there's a special way in which that's true for leaders of the church.

And so this theme continues in every area.

You are suffering now because you have taken a position in the church that brings you a special level of heat.

And as we see in verse 1, and we'll see also later in verse 4, you're also going to receive God's glory.

And so this particular category of suffering is like every other category of suffering that happens when it's for the name of Jesus Christ,

that it is suffering for Jesus and glory with Jesus.

And then he gives us his commands.

There's going to be three commands, main commands in this passage.

First, shepherd the flock.

Second, be subject.

Be subject to the elders.

So there's a command for leaders.

Shepherd the flock, a commander for followers.

Clothe yourselves.

Excuse me.

Be subject to the elders.

And then there's a third command for everyone.

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility.

And so we're simply just going to go through and we're going to take a look at all of those commands.

First, shepherd the flock.

Peter summarizes his command for all leaders in that way that they should be like shepherds.

They should be like shepherds who protect their sheep.

Shepherds don't just protect, but they're also leading.

They're feeding.

They're doing all sorts of things to make sure that the flock is cared for.

This is something that's going to take an enormous amount of work on their behalf.

And it's also going to take sacrifice.

There's going to be times maybe they're going to have to fight off predators.

But this is the metaphor that Jesus used in his teaching.

It's also the metaphor that Peter is going to continue to use in his as well,

going over this main category of what it is that leaders do.

And then he breaks it into a variety of things that shepherding the flock involves.

First, those who are leaders in the church, and specifically he's talking to elders, right?

There's all kinds of people who exercise leadership in the church.

Some are elders.

Some are not.

But this is to the elders who are ultimately responsible to answer to God.

And he gives them several categories.

First is the exercise oversight.

It should not be under compulsion, but willingly.

Quite simply, if you're going to be a leader in the church,

you should want to be a leader in the church.

This is a battlefield.

We need people who actually want to be in the fight.

Shortly following the dust-up that the United States recently had with Iran, with Soleimani,

there was a Google search that skyrocketed.

And it was the search of, how does the draft work?

And is there going to be a draft in this situation?

Of course, many of us registered for selective service,

knowing that we could be drafted at one point.

And there was all this fear, right?

Maybe we're going to go to war, and we're going to have people who don't want to be at war who are fighting.

Peter is telling them this.

There is no draft in God's church.

There is no draft for elders.

No one should be forced against their will to take on the role of leadership.

If you become an elder at a leader in the church, it should be because you want to.

It shouldn't be because someone else tells you they need you.

It shouldn't be because someone else tells you you would be good at it,

although that's important, that's necessary.

I'm going to say it.

It shouldn't be because your wife wants you to be an elder.

You should be an elder, not under compulsion, but willingly.

It's a battlefield in the church, church leadership.

Peter wants only those who are ready and willing to head into the battle.

Next, verse 4.

Not for shameful gain, but eagerly.

There is a type of leadership that serves self rather than others.

And there's a type of leadership that's interested in what you can gain from your position of leadership

rather than what you can give.

And that kind of leader shows up in the church just like everywhere else.

In every human organization, there are people who are interested in leadership,

and whether they realize it or not,

they're interested in what they can get from being a leader rather than what they can give.

Now, Peter perhaps is talking primarily here of financial gain when he talks about shameful gain.

Certainly there's people who would be interested in that,

but there's all kinds of ways that someone can gain in leadership in a way that actually hurts the community.

In his autobiography, About Face, the famous Army Colonel David Hackworth,

he became famous, by the way, because he came out publicly against the Vietnam War

while he was still serving as a colonel,

tells the story of his time in the Army

and also tells about his growing frustrations with the Vietnam War.

And one of his frustrations occurred when he showed up at Fort Lewis,

which is in Tacoma, Washington,

and he saw these soldiers being trained to go to the battlefields of Vietnam.

Near the end of their training,

there would come a time where they'd go to this constructed patrol camp.

This patrol base would be simulated,

so they'd have these field training exercises

to simulate what it would be like to be in Vietnam.

And they'd have this patrol base that was set up,

except it was in the snow

because it's in Tacoma, Washington.

And so you have soldiers who are training

for the tropical and temperate temperatures,

the topic and temperate climate of Vietnam,

training in the snow of Tacoma, Washington.

So what would happen is they'd show up for this training,

and those who were running, it would realize,

hey, it's actually too cold for us to do this right now.

And so Hackworth would see that they would set up these bonfires,

and they'd just smoke cigarettes around the fire

instead of preparing for the battle that was ahead of them.

Of course, the military had bases in other places

that were more like the climate in Vietnam.

They had bases in the Philippines, in Hawaii,

but those weren't the ones that were used.

And so he began to dig in.

He was enraged, by the way,

that this is what the military was doing.

This is part of his growing frustration with the war in Vietnam.

He had to ask the question,

why is it that we're training people

in a way that's going to get them killed?

We are sending people who are unprepared to the battlefield.

What he found out was this.

It was big business to run an army base in Tacoma, Washington.

And the politicians there were unwilling to take the hit

that would happen to the economy

if the base shut down while it was snowing.

And so, in exchange for money that needed to go to the military,

these politicians would lay out as one of their stipulations

that this base had to remain open.

And they put American lives at danger in the process

because these politicians were concerned,

not with serving eagerly, but verse four,

they were concerned with shameful gain.

They were exchanging the preparedness of American soldiers

and their lives for what they could get with power and money.

God's leaders also put his people in incredible danger

when they serve themselves rather than others.

When they are interested in shameful gain

rather than building up God's people.

This happens in a variety of ways.

It can happen for pastors.

Pastors perhaps are afraid that they might lose congregants,

and congregants means losing money,

and maybe that will affect their salary.

And so, it's easy to not teach on certain portions of the Bible.

It's easy to avoid the kind of things

that might upset certain people in the church.

Of course, they look great, right?

We're preaching the gospel.

We're preaching through this book.

It happens to be this hard passage.

We're going to bury it in a larger section

so we don't have to discuss it.

Perhaps it was tempting for these elders as well.

It can happen in other ways.

Not just fear around what we teach,

but fear around certain people.

Maybe we're going to avoid having a hard conversation

because doing that's going to affect us personally.

And we'd rather live with comfort than do what's right.

It can happen in other ways.

Now, perhaps, you know,

there are some people who receive compensation from the church, right?

And there's a temptation for them to do things for shameful gain.

There's also people who don't receive compensation from the church.

And there's also a temptation for shameful gain.

There are people who desire church leadership

so that they can finally have their way.

There are people who long for church leadership

so that they can finally get rid of that song that they don't like.

They can stop that ministry that they don't think is effective.

They can finally enact their vision for the church in the world.

They can finally do what is best for their group within the church.

Right?

We need so-and-so to be an elder.

Finally, that will get changed.

And our voice, right?

Our voice, our tribe within the church will finally be heard.

Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

We're questioned people, not answered people.

Jesus looked not to his interests, but to the interests of others.

Those are the leaders that we need in the church.

Not leaders who are trying to make a church that's perfect for them,

a church that conforms to all of their preferences,

but leaders who are seeking what's good for everyone else,

seeking what's good for the body.

It is always tempting for leaders to look for ways to make things better for themselves

and worse for others.

It's tempting for leaders to look at ways that will make things meet their preferences

rather than what will serve the body.

And so it's a temptation.

It's a temptation in leadership in the world,

and it's a temptation in leadership in the church.

Peter is telling them,

this is not how it should be among you.

I've told some of you before,

if you were here,

when we went through Philippians,

I told you about an amazing church.

At this church,

everything is done right.

The church has a name, by the way.

It's called Matthew Presbyterian Church.

It conforms to all my preferences.

We only sing songs that I like.

We only do the kind of things that I want to do.

We set the service time based on kind of my morning schedule and routine.

It's also a very terrible and frightening church.

It's a terrible and frightening church because no one ever challenges me.

No one else gets to have any input.

No one gets to raise important questions.

No one gets to have any input questions.

When leaders come to the church,

they are not there to make their perfect dream church.

This is not,

Cheyenne Mountain is not the dream perfect church for any of us.

All of us have a list of things that we would change

about this church, right?

I have things I would change.

You have things you would change.

But we're not here for personal preference church.

We are not here for shameful gain.

And more than anyone else,

leaders need to be aware of that

because more than anyone else,

leaders have the ability and the power

to use their influence in that way.

Peter warns against that.

That's not the kind of leadership

that's going to get us through suffering.

That's not going to be the community

that's going to survive when the storm comes.

By the way, you might be wondering,

okay, there are six, seven elders at Cheyenne Mountain,

depending on how you do the math.

What does this have to do with me?

First, this is what you should expect

and look for in leaders.

This is the kind of person you should nominate

when we have officer nominations.

When you move, when you PCS,

what kind of church are you going to look for?

Look for a church in which you believe

they have these types of elders.

This is what you should look for

in leaders in general, right?

If you're the leader of a family,

if you're a father,

you could take this first

and you could apply it to your little flock.

If you're a single woman

and you're looking for a man,

if you want a little flock at some point,

this is the kind of man you should be looking for.

You want a first Peter five kind of shepherd.

Peter goes on.

It's not just a shameful gain.

By the way,

I jumped ahead of myself here.

Hackworth saw this situation at Fort Lewis

and decided he was going to do everything

in his power to fix it.

He couldn't fix the fort it was held at.

There were a lot of things he couldn't fix,

but everything that he could, he did.

He started to hold leaders

who were under his command accountable.

He began showing up to classes incognito,

so he would dress as if he was a private,

so no one would know he was there auditing.

At one point, he blew his cover

and took over the class

so that he could teach what needed to be taught.

He sacrificed himself

for the sake of these people,

knowing that what mattered

was their safety and their lives,

much, much more than his comfort

and his convenience.

Verse three,

not just from,

are we avoiding shameful gain,

but we're avoiding domineering

those in your charge,

being examples to the flock.

Elders lead by example.

They don't lead by explosions of anger

or threats

or power moves.

That's not how God's shepherds operate.

Instead, they're operating

as examples to the flock

that people can look at them

and see this is what a godly

and humble leader looks like.

First Timothy three,

when it lays out the qualifications

for elders,

says this should be someone

who's gentle.

Also says it should be someone

who's not contentious.

If you are looking for someone

to be a leader in the church,

you are not looking for the person

who demonstrates to everyone

that they're able to win every debate.

You're looking for someone

who is willing to serve.

They don't impose their will on others,

right, through personality or power.

Church leaders can sometimes

become isolated

and become heavy-handed

without even realizing it.

It's important instead

for God's leaders

not to be domineering,

but being examples to the flock.

And what do you get?

It's tempting for leaders, right,

to seek shameful gain

because they want to get something

for their leadership.

If that's your view

of church leadership,

I have some bad news for you.

Church leadership is a lot less

getting your way,

expressing your opinion all the time,

being able to do

whatever you want to do,

and it's a lot more of

taking out the church's trash,

telling people things

they don't want to hear,

confronting people in their sin,

dealing with conflict in the church,

having things said about you

that are not true

and not being able

to defend yourself,

being a punching bag for Jesus.

What do you get?

You get suffering.

If you're a leader in the church,

what you gain

is tremendous suffering.

Verse one,

I exhort the elders among you

as a fellow elder

and a witness

of the sufferings of Christ.

What else do you get?

You get Jesus.

Verse four,

elders,

your service in the church

is not so you can gain things

now and here,

but it's that you can gain

the honor and glory

that Jesus Christ

will bring to you

when he returns.

And so you suffer

knowing that he is coming back,

doing what you need to do

in the church,

not for your own gain,

but to build it up

so that we would grow together

as one body,

giving tremendous honor

and glory to Jesus Christ

as we serve one another.

And we're serving,

verse four,

the chief shepherd.

In other words,

Jesus is the one

who is the shepherd

of this church.

We said that multiple times

during the transition

when we didn't have

a lead pastor,

we would say,

Jesus is the one

who leads his church.

That is still true now.

And everyone who leads

in his church

will answer to him.

And so there's both

an encouragement

and a warning, right?

The encouragement

is you serve

not to get things now here,

but to get Jesus.

Jesus,

there's also a warning.

The chief shepherd

is coming back.

If you remember

in our worship guide,

we read at the very beginning

our preparation for worship,

Hebrews chapter 13,

Hebrews 13:17

verse 17,

obey your leaders

and submit to them,

for they are keeping watch

over your souls.

By the way,

this word keeping watch

is talking about someone

who's keeping watch

at night.

Another way to translate it

would be those

who are losing sleep

over your souls.

They're not gaining,

they're losing

as those who will have

to give an account.

In other words,

I don't know exactly

what it's going to look like,

but it's going to look

something like this.

When Jesus returns,

he is going to sit

with the elders

of Cheyenne Mountain

Presbyterian Church

and he's going to take out

our church directory.

And he's going to go

name by name

through the directory

and he's going to say,

what about so-and-so?

As those who will have

to give an account.

And so we serve

as leaders

knowing

that we answer

to Jesus.

We answer to Jesus

in our failure

and our success.

But most of all,

we look to him

in our suffering

knowing that

that is our goal

as leaders.

Not shameful gain,

but the unfading

crown of glory.

If you are going

to lead,

do it because you want

to shepherd the flock.

That is Peter's

fundamental command here

and do it

because you want

to serve

the chief shepherd.

Jesus is

the great shepherd

shepherd of the sheep.

By the way,

that's the example

that Jesus has left us.

In the gospel,

I should say first

in the world,

we use our power

to lift ourselves up.

Jesus took his power

and he used it

to lift other people up

and push himself down.

And he did that

fundamentally

by dying for us

and our sins

on the cross.

And so as Christian leaders,

we also use our power

to push ourselves down

and lift other people up.

Jesus,

the chief shepherd,

is the example

for his under-shepherds.

The gospel

is the narrative

that informs

how leaders

in the church operate.

They operate

for the sake of others

just like Jesus did.

In the gospel of Luke

in chapter 22,

there's a dispute

between Jesus'

and his disciples

and it tells us this.

A dispute arose among them

as to which of them

was to be regarded

as the greatest.

And he said to them,

the kings of the Gentiles

exercised lordship over them

and those in authority

over them

are called benefactors.

But not so with you.

Rather,

let the greatest among you

become as the youngest

and the leaders

as one who serves.

For who is the greater,

one who reclines at table

or one who serves?

Is it not the one

who reclines at table?

But I,

Jesus,

am among you

as one who serves.

And so also

the shepherds

of the church.

Our next command

comes in verse 5.

So we've had

shepherd the flock.

Verse 5,

likewise you are younger,

be subject to the elders.

Now we could take this

as a command

only to young people,

old people,

older folks

don't really need to worry

about what the elders

have to say.

However,

in this context,

elders,

follow the logic

with me here,

elders is referring

to leaders of the church,

not all older people.

And so the younger here

in context

are the opposite of that,

the non-leaders

of the church.

So this is not

primarily a distinction

of age,

although that may happen

in certain situations,

it's likely that elders

are going to end up

in general being older

and some are sometimes

going to be younger.

But the distinction here

primarily in this passage

is between the elders,

those who lead,

and the younger,

i.e. those who are not elders.

You who are younger,

you who are not elders,

be subject to the elders.

I mentioned at the beginning

that power,

those who have power,

elders,

can be like a fire.

They can warm

and nurture the house

or they can burn it down.

Followers can fan

that fire into flame

or they can snuff it out.

There's a type of following

that causes incredible headaches

for the leadership

of the church.

And those are followers

who refuse

to be subject.

This could look

in a variety of ways.

It could be someone

who's causing trouble

in the church.

And it gets to a point

where the elders

have to talk to this individual

about the trouble

that they're stirring up

and this person says,

well,

I really don't care

what you have to do.

I answer to Jesus.

Jesus is this chief shepherd.

He has under shepherds.

It could be someone.

They're not an elder,

but they still have

an agenda for the church.

They have a perfect church

in mind

and they're going to push

for it no matter what.

And they don't realize,

Philippians chapter 1,

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

that we have to discern

what's best

and approve what's excellent.

And we can't do everything

as a church.

There are a million good things

we could do in this city.

We could probably actually

only do one or two of them.

And sometimes,

we have to make hard decisions

about what those things are.

And so being subject

to the elder

sometimes is realizing

and recognizing

this is a good thing

and we as a church

aren't able to do it right now.

And I'm going to move forward

with this church

building up the body

rather than subverting it.

Rather than going around

the church

and stirring up division.

Rather than gossiping.

There is a type

of followership

in the church

that wastes

incredible amounts

of time and energy.

There is division

that's stirred up

in the church

that wastes

countless institutional hours

between the elders combined.

Another way to put it

would be this.

Imagine

if the elders

of the church

did not have to spend

any time

addressing conflict.

Imagine what we could

accomplish as a body.

Imagine what we could

get done

if people were willing

to come together

following the leaders

that God has given them

even as they do so

imperfectly.

By the way,

our preparation for worship

spoke to this as well.

Talks about leaders.

They'll have to give an account.

But it ends with this.

Let them do this with joy

and not with groaning

for that would be

of no advantage

to you.

You hurt yourself

when you rebel

against leaders

in the church.

You hurt yourself

because they're actually

trying to point you

towards righteousness

and holiness,

something that is

for your good.

You hurt yourself

because you're stirring up

division in the church

and then you wonder

why the church

isn't doing better

than it is.

because the leaders

are spending time

with you

rather than the ministry

that God has called them to.

And so it is

of no advantage

to you

to stir up

division in the church

to rebel.

Instead,

we have leaders

who are sacrificing

and followers

who are following.

By the way,

in verse 2,

this phrase,

among you,

shepherd the flock

of God that is among you,

the word here

is the idea

of an apportion

or an allotment.

In other words,

God has given us

to each other.

The elders

that you have,

God gave them to you.

The congregants,

you all,

God has given you

to us.

With all our quirks,

with all our flaws,

both in leaders

and in followers,

we are the people

that God has

for each other.

And so imperfectly,

we are walking together,

following Jesus together

as one community.

And if we want that

to be a thick

and rich community,

we need leaders

who sacrifice.

And followers

who follow,

who are subject

to the elders.

Finally,

we have our last command,

clothe yourselves,

all of you,

with humility

towards one another.

For God opposes the proud

but gives grace

to the humble.

How do we do it?

How can you be

a sacrificial leader

and a humble follower?

A follower

who doesn't stir up division

but is willing

to receive correction

and hear a no

instead of always hearing yes.

The answer

that Peter gives us

is humility.

Remember I mentioned

two weeks ago

that there's a rich

humility

that comes with the gospel.

You are so flawed

and sinful

that Jesus had

to die for you.

Maybe I,

not maybe,

but I am so sinful

and flawed

that Jesus had

to die for me.

Maybe that means

I don't get everything

right all the time.

Maybe it means

you don't get everything

right all the time.

But we're the people

who've been allotted

to each other.

And so we walk

in humility

recognizing our own

foibles and flaws

and working together

the best that we can.

We've had some

positive motivations here.

The chief shepherd's

going to appear.

There's a positive

and negative one here.

God opposes the proud

but gives grace

to the humble.

people.

If you are a leader

and you are looking

to use your power

and your influence

to impose your will

on the church,

God is opposed to you.

If you are a follower,

even if you know

your theology

really well,

but you are stirring

up division

in the church,

God is opposed

to you.

We cannot

mince words

where the scripture

does not mince them.

And so this is not

just a feel-good

kumbaya

passage for God's people,

but it is a serious

command

and a serious

warning.

God opposes the proud

but gives grace

to the humble.

On the other hand,

if you are a leader

making mistakes

with flaws

as all leaders are,

but you have humility,

you're willing

to recognize

your mistakes

and correct,

you're willing

to work alongside

and with other people,

God's grace

is for you.

And if you're

a follower,

imperfect

and flawed

and sinful,

making many mistakes,

but you're humble

and you're seeking

to build up

your leaders

in the body,

God's grace

is with you.

And our hope

is not in

our behavior

ultimately,

but our hope

and our praise

is that God

has not always

followed the pattern

of opposing the proud

and giving grace

to the humble.

Because when Jesus

died,

he did the exact

opposite.

when Jesus

died on the cross,

God opposed

the humble.

He took Jesus

who was humble

and he allowed

him to die.

And then he gave

grace to the proud.

He gave grace

to you and me

who are flawed

and sinful.

He gave grace

to leaders

who make mistakes

and followers

who don't always

get it right.

He opposed

the humble

to give grace

to the proud.

And so that's our hope,

right?

That's what we're

uniting around

as one community.

We're uniting around

the fact

that Jesus is there

doing that for us,

that we are sinned

and flawed

so much so

that we deserve

God's wrath

and his judgment,

but Jesus died

on our behalf

taking the penalty

for our sin

for everyone

who's willing

to repent

and have faith

and hope

in Jesus Christ.

Jesus models this

for us

in John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

He's near the end

of his ministry.

They're preparing

for the Passover

and he washes

everyone's feet.

And who doesn't

want to be subject

to the elders?

It's Peter.

Peter tells Jesus,

no,

you can't wash

my feet.

He said,

you shall never

wash my feet

and Jesus answered him,

if I do not wash you,

you have no share

with me.

Simon Peter said to him,

Lord,

not my feet only,

but also my hands

and my head.

And then he says,

do you not understand

what I have done to you?

You call me teacher

and Lord

and you are right

for so I am.

If I then,

your Lord and teacher,

have washed your feet,

you also ought

to wash one another's feet.

For I have given you

an example

that you also should do

just as I have done

to you.

Truly,

truly,

I say to you,

a servant

is not greater

than his master

nor is a messenger

greater than the one

who sent him.

How do we handle

power in the church?

And how do we have

thick and rich community?

We do it by having leaders

who want to sacrifice

rather than gain.

We do it by having followers

who are willing

to follow Jesus together

as they follow his shepherds.

We're only able to do it

as we clothe ourselves

with humility.

And we do it

because we know

that Jesus' grace

is for us.

He set us his example

by washing feet

and being among us

as one who serves.

And he's enabled

and empowered it

by being the one

who allowed God

to oppose the humble

so that he could give grace

to us who are proud.

And so that's our hope

and our confidence.

Please pray with me.

Our Father in heaven,

we thank you

for your word

and we ask

that you would drive it

deep into our hearts,

that we would be filled

more and more

with the humility

that comes with the gospel

and it would cause us

to serve you

and one another.

We ask these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.