Shepherds that Preach - Part 2

About this sermon

Introduction: What is preaching to be? We live in a day of much preaching, but much preaching doesn’t mean faithful preaching. What is preaching to be? Our thesis is a simple one, but a profoundly important one. Preaching is a shepherd’s work. If preaching is to be what God has means for it to be, then preachers must be what God means them to be. And God means for preachers to be shepherds. Preaching is a work in the interest of pastoral care — Pastoral care is the application of the proclamation. We have argued that pastoral care and preaching must not be divided precisely because God has united them in His Word. In a book entitled “On Being a Pastor,” Derek Prime and Alistair Begg shared this: “Shepherding and teaching should not be separated. Preaching and pastoral work help each other. Visiting enhances our preaching in that it helps us to appreciate how our fellow believers think, their problems, and their temptations. When we preach to those we know well, and whose situations we understand, we apply God’s truth more relevantly, almost unconsciously — and probably the less consciously the better. Our visits and counseling have greater relevance too, because the members of the flock associate us with the Word they have heard taught and preached, and in one-to-one conversations we are able to apply that same Word more personally and in greater depth.” I would simply add that they don’t just help each other. God has wed them together. Last time, we offered as our first evidence of this, the NT charges that are addressed to those who lead and teach the church. We looked at three: We looked at Christ’s charge to Peter in John 21. We looked at Paul’s charge to the Ephesians elders in Acts 20. We looked at Peter’s charge to his fellow elders in 1 Peter 5. In each case, those charges imparted the responsibility of shepherding Christ’s sheep. And in each case, that shepherding work included the call to feed those sheep. In each case, the shepherds are teachers, proclaimers, heralds, of the Word of God. What we are talking about is a MINDSET. I’m convinced that expositional preaching is not just the result of a right understanding of Scripture. Expositional preaching is the result of the right mindset about shepherding. Shepherding means feeding the sheep with God’s Word. The best way to feed them with His Word is to approach His Word submissively. It’s not a tool by which you give to the sheep YOUR thoughts. It’s the holy message by which we receive GOD’S THOUGHTS. When you understand that, you want to give them God’s thoughts, and the best way to do that is to track those thoughts one verse at a time. This morning we begin with a second evidence. FOUR EVIDENCES THAT PREACHING IS A SHEPHERD’S WORK (Review) THE NEW TESTAMENT CHARGES GIVEN TO THE MEN WHO LEAD AND TEACH THE CHURCH (Review – John 21, Acts 20, 1 Peter 5) THE NEW TESTAMENT DESCRIPTIONS OF THOSE WHO LEAD AND TEACH THE CHURCH How does the Bible DESCRIBE the church’s leaders and teachers? What titles are used for the men who lead and teach the church? And I would just repeat how vital it is that we take hold of the biblical language. I want to remind us of why this emphasis on shepherd preachers matters. We are facing some very real crises, in our time of how we conceive of pastoral ministry. As I said last week. If you conceive of a work wrongly, you can’t execute it rightly. If you don’t get it right in your mind, you’re not going to get it right in your practice. We must be convinced of what pastors are not, if we are going to be convinced of what pastors are. Pastors are: NOT ENTERTAINERS NOT BUSINESS MEN NOT SELF-PROMOTERS NOT ACADEMICS NOT SOCIAL ACTIVISTS NOT SOCIAL WORKERS NOT SOCIAL COMMENTATORS NOT GROWTH STRATEGISTS The men who are called to tend the church are Shepherds. Undershepherds. Servants and slaves of the Chief Shepherd. Shepherds who are hardworking and patient — like farmers. Shepherds who are disciplined to stay within the bounds of what is lawful according to God — like athletes who compete according to the rules. Shepherds who are loving and sincere guardians and caregivers — like fathers and mothers. Shepherds who dispense what the Chief Shepherd has assigned for His sheep — like house managers. The many analogies used to describe ministry serve to give a full picture of what a shepherd is meant to do. The other analogies are informative as stand-alone descriptions of ministry, but they DON’T stand alone.