02-07-10 Closed-Circuit For Everyone

Our study of 1^st Peter has brought us to the final chapter of this wonderful letter.

We are at 1^st Peter 5:1

and we have just 14 verses left.

I don’t know how a study like this affects you,

but I can tell you how it affects me.

After teaching my way through this book during the past year

these 5 chapters of the New Testament

have become my friend -

my very good friend.

Although I have to admit

that this is a friendship I’ve had for a very long time.

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned this

and some of you have joined our fellowship since I did

so I want to offer it to you once again

before we continue with our study of Peter’s letter.

I’d like to offer you a relatively painless

and remarkably powerful tool for building friendships with books in the Bible.

I don’t take credit for this.

It was given to me by a Bible teacher I respected

when I was a very young Christian.

I took him up on his suggestion

and it has impacted my relationship with Scripture

more powerfully than all books on the Bible I’ve ever read,

and all the classes I’ve ever taken,

and all the seminars, and lectures, and sermons I’ve ever heard.

The problem we so often run into in our relationship with Scripture

is that so often we have been trained to take a devotional approach to what we read

rather than a concept and idea approach to it.

By that I mean that we tend to take the “chapter-a-day-keeps-the-devil-away”

approach to the Bible,

perhaps reading through a book one chapter a day until we reach the end

and then switching to another book,

or perhaps just continuing on with whatever book comes next.

In the process

we will come across certain statements or verses

that really impact our lives,

certain one-liners that touch us deeply.

And we’ll underline them,

or circle them,

or perhaps even write them out on a card and memorize them.

And I certainly understand that.

During the past 40+ years of my interaction with Scripture

I have found and held onto

a number of statements in Scripture

that are quite simply anchors for my soul,

statements that capture some truth in a clear, concise, powerful way.

That is certainly part of the way God’s Spirit

uses the Word of God in our lives.

But if our relationship to Scripture is limited to just that

we will never make friends with the Word

and even more important,

we will never know so much of the transforming power of Scripture,

the power that comes from being transformed by the renewing of your mind

as Paul puts it in Romans 12:2.

Simply stated,

we will never break the power of our deeply corrupted reasoning processes,

those processes that were built into us prior to the entrance of God’s Spirit into our lives,

having them replaced by the mind of Christ.

You see, what we so often fail to realize

is that each book in the Bible

was written, not as a collection of verses,

but rather as a book,

as a single, unified statement of truth,

a statement that begins at a certain place,

moves through an organized series of truths,

bringing the reader in the end to a whole new outlook and way of thinking.

If we take just the New Testament for example,

of the 27 books that make up the New Testament

at least 24 of them were written initially as letters.

Some of them were written as open letters to specific groups of Christians,

and many of the others were personal letters written from one Christian to another individual Christian.

Do you remember back in the days

when people actually use to get letters?

Think back to the last time you received a real letter,

a letter in an envelope,

a letter addressed to you from a good friend of yours.

When you got that letter

did you open it up,

glance through the pages,

and then drop down two-thirds of the way

and read a single sentence from page three,

and then put it back in the envelope and set it aside?

Of course not.

You began reading at the beginning,

read every sentence consecutively,

and then kept reading until you got to the end.

And you did that because you assumed that such an approach

was the only way in which you could get an accurate understanding

of what your friend wanted to share with you.

And yet...

rarely do we relate to the letters in the New Testament in the same way.

We have been trained to relate to them not as letters,

letters that have content,

and a beginning,

and progression of ideas,

and a single purpose and central message,

but rather as a devotional book

from which we grab a verse here and a verse there as needed.

So how can we change that?

We can change it by simply restructuring the way we interact with the Bible,

and especially with the New Testament Epistles.

And before I share with you what’s worked for me,

let me first explain why I specifically single out the Epistles.

As you already know, the word “Epistle” simply means “letter”.

The New Testament Epistles are the New Testament Letters.

They are the collection of letters written by the Apostles to individuals and local churches

during the first few years following the departure of Christ.

But they are much more than just that.

There are 21 Epistles in all,

beginning with the Book of Romans

and going through the book of Jude.

Some of them are only one chapter long

and many of the others are 5 chapters or less.

Our Lord brought these 21 letters into existence

in order to reveal to His people

what it means to live with God on the basis of faith in Christ

and what it means to be His Church here on this earth.

But the Epistles do far more for us than just that.

They are the lense

through which the entire rest of the Bible comes into perfect focus.

Through them we can understand what was happening in the Old Testament and in the Gospels and why.

If we understand the Epistles

we have the foundation we need

for understanding everything else.

So, with all of that as background,

let me share with you

the approach to the Epistles

that I adopted in the early years of my Christian life,

the approach that literally transformed my relationship to the Bible forever

and has provided me with the foundation

for all of the Bible teaching I’ve done for the past 40 years.

Start with one of the shorter Epistles - Philippians, or Colossians, or 1^st or 2^nd Thessalonians,

or one of Paul’s letters to Timothy or Titus,

or one of Peter’s or John’s letters.

Then just read it through from beginning to end.

Don’t try to study it,

just read it.

Read it as you would read any other letter.

If it helps, read it out loud.

There will be lots of stuff you don’t understand as you read,

and you’ll very likely not have a clue as to what’s really going on,

but don’t worry about that.

Just read it and then close the Bible and leave it alone.

Then the next day

read the same Epistle again from beginning to end again.

And the next day read it again.

And continue reading the same Epistle once a day,

everyday for 30 days.

And as you do that

several things will begin to happen.

First of all, you’ll begin to make friends with the letter.

Use the same Bible everyday.

Don’t read it on a computer,

read it in an actual bound Bible.

I personally recommend and use the New American Standard translation

because I believe it offers the most accurate translation from the Hebrew and Greek texts

available in the English language.

But if you prefer something else that’s fine.

But as you read the same pages each day

you’ll find that your mind will begin to remember where certain statements are on the page.

You’ll recall some statement

and remember that it was on the right side...two thirds of the way down the page...

But even more important,

you’ll begin to notice words, and concepts

that are repeated throughout the letter.

As the month progresses,

when you notice those repeated words or concepts,

circle them and connect them with a line

so that you can begin to see what ideas or words are repeated.

And then, at the end of the month,

go through the Epistle paragraph by paragraph

and write a single sentence for each paragraph

stating the central idea of that paragraph.

Once you have those sentences written,

read through them

and write a sentence that gives the central message of the letter.

And the result will be a friendship with that book

that will be yours for the rest of your life.

And in the process

you will also find that your mind,

your muddled thinking patterns

will begin to shift, bringing them more and more into conformity with the truth.

For the longer Epistles,

the ones that cannot reasonably be read all the way through each day,

break them down into 5 chapter blocks,

and stay with one block for an entire month

before moving on to the next.

Now, I know I’ve just taken more than half our time together this morning

to share that relatively simple concept with you.

And I know, too, that most of you will think it sounds interesting

but simply never ever get around to it

and will probably feel a little guilty about it

because you’ve mentally put it on your endless list of “things really good Christians should do”.

And if that happens,

I apologize and assure you that that was certainly not my intention.

But I also know that there may be one or two of you

who decide to try it.

And the results in your own life

will be as significant as it was for me.

But let me get us back to Peter.

We ended our study of chapter 4

with a statement in which Peter,

after talking with us about the fiery ordeal

that is so much a part of our walk with the King,

then calls us to a very real,

daily,

practical trust in our God and His love for us.

He said, 1PE 4:19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

And that phrase entrust their souls

is the heart of what he wants us to hear.

He wants us to know

that when we hurt

our Lord has given us an open invitation to bring that hurt to Him,

knowing that He can and He will carry us through the pain.

Do you remember that amazing statement made in Psalm 56:8,

that statement that, if we honestly hear what’s being said,

will change our concept of our God forever.

Listen to this!

You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?

That’s your God talking with you

about how He relates to your pain.

He creates for us this vivid mental picture

of our God keeping our tears in His bottle

and then writing in His book a record of what caused each one of them.

He wanted a powerful way of telling us

that He knows what caused each of those tears

and that He never ever forgets.

When we hurt He hurts.

And when Peter says, Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right...,

he wants us to know that this God to whom we are entrusting our souls

cares at a level we will never truly understand

until we see Him face to face.

Now, that’s where we ended the last time we were in this study,

but that isn’t where Peter ends.

He comes back to this,

or more accurately he continues with this theme 6 verses farther on

and ultimately ends his letter with one of the most powerful statements of hope and encouragement

found anywhere in Scripture.

But before he offers that statement

he does something that I find to be fascinating.

The next word we have in his writing,

the word immediately following this call of his for us to entrust our souls into our Lord’s care

during those times when we are in pain,

is the word “Therefore...”.

And obviously he is directly linking what he’s just said

to what he says next.

He’s saying, “In view of what I’ve just called you to do,

and in view of this fiery ordeal that you will be called to face,

I want to offer some very important instructions

to two groups of people especially.”

And then he says this:

1PE 5:1-4 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

OK, there are several crucial things taking place in these 4 verses,

verses that are clearly, specifically spoken to those who have positions of leadership in the local church.

The most obvious message Peter is giving

concerns the attitudes and motives of those in leadership.

And it begins with that first exhortation, shepherd the flock of God among you...

Peter chose his words carefully in that statement,

the most important of which is that word shepherd.

He doesn’t say rule the flock of God.

He doesn’t say govern the flock of God.

He doesn’t even say lead the flock of God.

He says shepherd God’s people.

And that word shepherd carries with it

the concept of one whose highest priority

is to protect and provide for the needs of those under his care.

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

That’s our model,

that’s the pattern Peter offers those who accept leadership in the family of God.

Protect and provide for,

restore, heal, guide, and love.

From there Peter then addresses specifically

those flesh-based motives that can so easily corrupt true church leadership -

not under compulsion,

not for sordid gain,

not lording it over those under your charge.

What Peter’s telling us

is that leadership in the family of God is not a job,

it’s not a business,

it’s a trust, a stewardship given to us by our Lord.

And this same principle applies to every believer

whenever God has chosen to give us a measure of oversight in another person’s life.

This is what He’s doing, you know -

He begins by rebuilding our lives,

bringing us into a measure of health and stability and freedom.

Bringing us to the place where we can love.

Then, as that healing process progresses in our lives,

He begins to entrust others into our care,

giving us access to their hearts and their minds and their spirits.

And always it is a trust, a stewardship given to us by our God.

And clearly it is a high honor indeed

for us to be entrusted with oversight and shepherding of another person,

an honor that, according to Peter,

will bring us the highest praise from our Lord Himself when we meet Him face-to-face.

But there is something else going on in these verses as well,

something that is directly linked to that word Therefore.

You see, Peter carefully ties these instructions about how we are to shepherd God’s people

to what he has just told us about this fiery ordeal among you.

And I believe he does that

because there is something vital he wants to make certain,

something that he wants to be sure those in leadership never ever lose sight of.

He wants those in charge to never ever loose sight of the fact

that at any given time there are many of those under their care who will be in pain.

It is an inescapable fact of life within the family of God.

And He wants our awareness of that pain

to deeply impact every word we speak,

every action we take.

You see, he wants everything we do

to be clothed in compassion, and kindness, and grace.

He wants us to assume pain in the lives of our fellow Christians,

no matter what external facade they may be hiding behind,

because when we do

it will have a powerful impact on the approach we take,

and the words we speak.

Well, Peter then goes on to offer one more piece of closed-circuit instruction.

In verse 5:5 he says,

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

And he targets the young men, I think,

because it is the nature of young men

to look at the established leaders

and know with certainty that they could do better.

And perhaps they could,

and perhaps they will.

But their great act of faith

is to trust that God knows when they are ready,

and that He will move them into greater leadership

when He knows the time is right.

And then, from there,

after calling us all to an attitude of humility,

Peter goes on to offer an utterly remarkable final statement of hope and assurance.

And that’s where we’ll pick up our study next time.