Our Watchful Shepherd

 

“Our Watchful Shepherd”

1 Peter 2:21-25

SUBJECT: THE PROFIT IN SUBMISSIVE LIVING

THEME: There are immediate and eternal benefits to living submissively unto God.

RELEVANCY: But why is this important to us?

Christ’s example and the message of the gospel impact our lifestyles and behaviors of submission giving credibility to our faith claims and confidence in our experiences. 

MESSAGE:

Jesus Is Our Watchful Shepherd in Heaven (1Pet. 2:25).

In the Old Testament economy, the sheep died for the shepherd; but at Calvary, the Shepherd died for the sheep (John 10).

“For ye were as sheep going astray” (1 Pet. 2:25; Isa. 53:6). Referring to our past, every lost sinner is like a sheep gone astray: ignorant, lost, wandering, in danger, without special care, away from the place of safety, and unable to help himself. The diligent “Shepherd” went out seeking and searching for us lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7). Heaven and the “Shepherd” rejoices when a sheep acknowledges their need, repents of their sin, and trusts the rescuing “Shepherd”. Jesus literally died for us sheep; so, we certainly have tremendous value to Him! This is the type of “Shepherd and Bishop” we have return to.

1. A Reminder of Christ’s Love, Protection, and Leadership.

‘Shepherd’ is a metaphor that convey the truth of Christ’s love, protection, leadership, guidance, sufficiency, and supply. No matter what comes our way this will always be true. In Christ there is love and spiritual protection against those who would harm us. We must be concerned with following His love, protection, leadership, and guidance as closely as possible.

As our “Shephard,” he is also our sufficiency and supply; his grace will always be enough (2 Cor. 12:9) whatever the challenges and he can supply our need when we have sacrificed to further his cause (Phil. 4:19).

B.    A Reminder of Christ’s Watch-Care, Administration, and Observation.

Now that we have returned to the fold and are safely in His care, He watches over us lest we stray and get into sin. The word “bishop” simply means "one who watches over, who oversees.” Jesus Christ is the superintendent of our souls.  No matter what goes bad, it must first be permitted by Him and He never allows too heavy a load to cross our little bridge. As the Watcher of our soul’s condition, it is imperative that we live to please Him. Also, he is fully aware of the circumstances and the challenges we face as we deal with the realities of submission to God but are under the control of mere people. People who occupy a position over us, but they are far from knowing our “Shepherd and Bishop.” I am so thankful the Lord Jesus knows and understands the situation completely.

C.    A Reminder of Christ’s Development, Growth, and Perfection. (In Us Believers)

Just as the elder-bishop oversees the flock of God, the local church (1 Peter 5:2), so the Savior in glory watches over His sheep to guard in every good work and develop us according to his good pleasure (Heb.13:20-21). Submission is part of our necessary growth in Christ! So our cooperation, communication, commitment, and surrender should mark our experiences in the Lord. He watches over us to grow us up in God.

This is the wonderful truth Peter wanted us to embrace as we live godly lives and submit to God especially in times of suffering, we are following Christ’s example and becoming more like Him. Yes, we are growing spiritually and becoming more like Christ. The unsaved world is watching us, but the Shepherd in heaven is also watching over us; so, we have nothing to be afraid of, be angry over, or resist submitting to. We can submit to Him and know that He will work everything together for our good and His glory. You and I must trust God for this.

CONCLUSION:

As the people of God, we must emphasize the importance of submission in the life of believers. This is certainly not a popular topic when lawlessness abounds in the quest for "personal fulfilment," but it is an important one. Peter amplified the concept of submission in the life of Christ as the servant of Jehovah. We must follow Christ’s example of submission as a matter of our calling to sustain a godly testimony before a watching and critical/skeptical world.

Changed and contented lives in a sinful and hurting world verify the claims of Christ and facilitates winning others to him. Simply stated, living right makes Christianity attractive and believable to unbelievers.  Additionally, by submitting to God, we accept the mandate to share the gospel with others by our words and deeds.

The driving principle in the Christian’s life is to live as unto the Lord God. This is true no matter what kind of human relationships we may have. No matter what the circumstance or the conditions, I am to live to please Him. This is the fundamental truth in all areas of Christian submission.

We must submit to Civil law and order. We must submit to our superiors in our work relationships, and we must follow closely the example of Jesus Christ. If we look to His example, we will be a powerful witness as a citizen, a godly witness as an employee and a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Phil 1:29, For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; No doubt this will require great TRUST on our behalf.  We must do as our Savior did and “commit” ourselves to Him that judges fairly (1Pet. 2:23).