Pastor, are you listening?

Tuesday 7-26-2016   Home in Modesto

Scripture Reading:  Isaiah 46 – 49    1 Peter 5

S=Scripture  O=Observation  A=Application  P=Prayer  SOAP for the soul.

S.  1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. NKJV

O.  Jesus clearly used two metaphors related to his disciples.  Peter was first called to be an evangelist, a fisher of men.  Then, after the resurrection of Christ, Jesus clearly calls him to be a pastor, a shepherd, feeding the little lambs and the mature sheep as well.  Years have passed and now many pastors were serving, each with his little struggling flock.  Peter is “passing on” his calling to the younger shepherds.  Can a pastor also be an evangelist?  One of Peter’s earliest assignments was to carry the gospel to Cornelius and his extended family.  If a pastor fails in his role as evangelist, he has missed an important part of his calling.  Now after years of service, Peter has become a shepherd to shepherds.

A.  In my role as a pastor I must never forget that I am first an evangelist, a fisher of men... then a tender and loving shepherd to my flock, to those that Christ has placed in my care.  People of our flocks today can so easily be offended by someone in the church or even by the pastor.  I see my role as pastor is to go after that lost sheep with humility, tenderness and love and be successful in bringing that sheep back into the fold with rejoicing.

P.  Lord Jesus, I thank You that You have not taken me out of active service to You... yet.  Every day is a miracle as You supply me with the energy to continue.  Some of my dearest friends find that their aging bodies have forced their ministry to develop different channels.  I may be forced to join them soon.  Help us all to our dying day to be “fishers of men” evangelists... and seeking for Your new ways that we may “seek and save” the lost.  At the same time may we still be “shepherds” tenderly blessing those within our limited scope of influence.  Amen.

Ralph

The Ninety and Nine

By Elizabeth D. Clephane 1868

1.    There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare;
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

2.    “Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”
But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me.
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep.”

3.    But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry;
’Twas sick and helpless and ready to die.

4.    “Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountain’s track?”
“They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.”
“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?”
“They’re pierced tonight by many a thorn.”

And all through the mountains, thunder-riv’n,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heav’n,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!”