Who Needs a Shepherd?

Introduction

Well, as I told you a couple weeks ago, and the last time that I was in this pulpit before you, that I am planning with your help and your support and hopefully your prayers, an evangelistic trip to the island nation of Sri Lanka, and that is quickly approaching. A week from till tom from tomorrow, I’ll board the plane and head out to that uh missionary trip to Sri Lanka. And I wanted to share with you in the time that we have remaining before that trip some of the things about uh that trip. And I will share with you when you get back. You’re gonna get tired of hearing about Sri Lanka, but I will share with you pictures of the men we support five gospel preachers uh on this uh island, uh, and I’ll share pictures of them, the work that they’re doing, as well as the work that we did uh at that time.

I mentioned last time the plural pronoun we, and a couple of you inquired who’s this we uh that is going with you. I’m actually going with uh brother Ed Brand. Some of you know uh Brother Brand. Ed uh preaches in North Alabama and spends about half of his year doing overseas trips such as this. And so I will be the Timothy to his Paul. I’m going along with him, uh, assuming uh Paul is 82 years old, or Ed is 82 years old and has a heart condition. And so he has two doctor’s appointments this week. And if the doctors will clear him uh to go, uh then I will be accompanying him on the trip. I’m going without him, with or without him, and so uh hopefully he will his health will allow him to go.

Uh if not, I’ll be going uh without him. Uh but I’ll have some traveling companions for half of the trip at least. Uh our brother Walcott and Jamari will be going uh, I believe the first. I’ll be there two weeks. They’ll be there the first week. And so I look forward to introducing them uh to this island and to the good brethren there. I want to kind of give you a preview of of what uh my trip will be like, and and Walcott and Jamari giving them a heads up as what’s happening. This is the common mode of transportation in Sri Lanka. They they refer to these, they have different names. They refer to them as tuktuks. They’re basically a motorcycle with a with a bench seat behind it.

And you see the tuk-tuks everywhere, and I will take the tuktuks everywhere. This is the view from inside uh tuktuk as you’re navigating the roads of Sri Lanka. Uh as you could probably guess, they’re very large and luxurious seating accommodations, and there I am in one. Uh the bad news is that I’m setting by Ed. You can’t see him, but Ed is on the bench beside me. But before we left, the person taking the picture got on the seat between us. And so, how would you like to be? That’s what Walcott has to look forward to. He and Jamari will be squeezed into the back seat of that tuk-tuk. And so uh that’s plenty of room inside those rides. We’ll conduct many Bible studies. There’s a Bible study.

We rode one of those tuk-tuks up a rough road uh straight uphill, it seemed like, into a plant tea plantation uh and had some Bible studies uh with some of the good people there. These are non-Christians that we had Bible studies with. They are not that familiar with Christianity. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Muslim is the primary, but they their knowledge of Christianity is somewhat limited and has been, I would say, skewed by previous missionaries who have gone there, largely among some of the denominations. And so after this particular Bible study that we had a few years ago, they uh it broke my heart. They brought a handicapped child in and wanted me to heal that child. And so maybe they had heard about the healings, read about the healings in the Bible, or maybe had been introduced to that by some uh who still claim that that power uh today.

Uh here is one of the tea plantations. That’s we had that Bible study in a tea plantation. Uh the best tea in the world is grown in Ceylon, which used to be Ceylon or Sri Lanka, when it was an English colony, they turned it into uh basically a big tea plantation. And so uh here’s my commercial. If you like drinking hot tea or tea, I’m taking orders. I can bring back as much tea as my luggage will allow. It is very cheap because of the poverty of that nation and because of the currency rate. Right now, a dollar is worth 320 uh Sri Lankan rupees. Uh, and so uh the tea is very good, but it’s also very cheap. So if you want some tea, let me know.

I’ll bring you some tea uh back. Uh yeah, you may want some fish. I can bring you some fish back. Here is a man uh selling fish on the side of the road, it being an island nation surrounded by the Indian Ocean, there’s a lot of fishing. Now, what you might not can see from that, what’s missing from that display of fish for sale is any form of refrigeration, including any kind of ice. And the climate of Sri Lanka is much like the climate of Florida. And so it’s hot and humid. So if you want me to bring you some fish back, I can put that in my luggage as well. Some of you might like yogurt. Deedra and I, she took one trip with me.

We ate some water buffalo yogurt. And much like the fish, this yogurt is in like little clay terracotta pots, and they’re just stacked up on the side of the road in this yogurt. And so you can stop and give them a few rupees and take this buffalo, water buffalo yogurt back with you. Deedra and I both had one bite of the yogurt and left the rest of it in Sri Lanka. Ed, my traveling companion, Ed will eat the whole thing. He likes it, but I’m not so much of a fan. But I wanted to show you something about the brethren there. Thousands of miles away, they speak a different language than you and I, look very different than you and I. But on the Lord’s Day, they assemble to worship just like you and I.

And here’s one of the setups in one of the congregations that we worshiped with. As you can see, the Lord’s Supper elements are there. On the far end, there is the box for their contribution. There’s our Bibles and song books sitting there. And so they worship God just like you and I worship God. In fact, here is the congregation in Badullah with that assembled on the Lord’s Day to worship God. I’ve had the privilege to speak at these. This is another Lord’s Day assembly in Yadian Tota. A couple things I point out to you here again, no air conditioning, no windows, no uh well, windows, but no window fans, no electricity at all. And the people, most of them at least, are just sitting on the floor.

They have a little mat or a little rug that they bring with them, and they just sit on a hard concrete floor. And so the next time you complain about the pews being uncomfortable or the AC or the lighting, uh think of these good brethren uh in Yadi Yantota who are worshiping God. Here’s me preaching a few years ago. Um this is in Yadi Yan Tota in that building I just showed you. Uh in the foreground is Joe. Joe is one of the men that we support uh in his work in the preaching of the gospel. The man in the background we also support his name is Uraj. Uh and they are both translating uh my sermon, but they’re translating it twice. The audience speaks two different languages, uh, and so I have to say a portion.

Uh Joe translates it into one language. U Raj would then translate Joe’s translation into another language. And so it really slows down the preaching. Uh, y’all think I talk slow now. Uh when I there it really slows down. But I’m looking forward to seeing you, Raj and Joe. Joe, the one in the foreground, as I mentioned last time, uh Joe is my traveling companion, my translator. Joe knows English very well, uh, knows the island. He’s a native, of course. And so everywhere I go, Joe goes. Uh and he will be my translator and and my basically my guide uh for the entire trip. Uh here is uh where we worshiped in Matura on the south end of the island. And uh one of the young ladies in the congregation during the Bible class helped me with the presentation, and I don’t know how well you can make that out, but that’s in their uh native language, Sinhala or Sinhalese language.

Uh, and so I asked her to write something on the board, uh the title of my lesson, uh, and she did that. Uh as I said, Christianity is is kind of a foreign religion to them. They are predominantly Buddhist. Uh, and this is on the rented meeting place. Again, no air conditioning, no very little limited electricity, no electricity where they assemble. Uh, but this is a rented meeting place, and this was written on the door. And so I inquired what does that say across the door? Uh, and the Christians there informed me. They said first they kind of apologized. They said, You have to remember these people aren’t Christians, these are Buddhists, and they believe in these evil spirits. And so, this writing on the door was a message to the evil spirits.

And the message says, We’re not here today, come back tomorrow. Uh, and so, although I don’t bel uh believe with that sentiment, agree with that sentiment, but that’s a pretty good way of getting ready of evil spirits. Come back tomorrow. We’re not here today. Um here are some of the luxurious accommodations if you’re feeling uh envious of of my international travel. Uh here is the restroom. Um what you can’t see just to the left, barely to the left outside of this screenshot is the sink. And what you’re seeing in front of you ahead there is the shower. Uh, and so you can multitask in Sri Lanka. You can brush your teeth, take a shower, and go to the bathroom all at the same time. Uh, and so it makes it pretty pretty handy.

Uh here’s some of the other luxurious accommodations. This is one of my uh guest, fellow guests staying at the hotel with me and Deedra and Matara. This was right outside our room. I don’t know if you can see that very good. We have little lizards in Florida. This is a big lizard. That’s his head and his one paw uh hanging out of that window. Thankfully he never came out to play uh while we were there. Um some of the brethren that are there, I meant to bring this into the pulpit and show you. This is uh another one of the men we support is a man by the name of Mohan. Uh Mohan preaches in Mescalia. Uh this is his daughter. His daughter is deaf, uh, but she made, and I don’t know that I’m using the right terminology, she made a like a cross-stitch thing for me.

Uh and she there she was presenting that to me, giving that to me. It’s in my office. I meant to bring it up uh and show it to you, but handmade by uh by Mohan’s daughter. I look forward to seeing them again. Uh, this was Uraj. I showed him in the background. He was one of the men uh translating for me. Uh Raj does the preaching in Yadian Tota, and this is his mother and his wife and children uh there. And again, look forward to seeing them. Uh uh Matara, where the buffalo yogurt was and where the writing on the door was. This is the preacher in Matara. Uh Eric is his name. Eric’s got a good family. I look forward to seeing Eric and his wife and and his children.

And no, that’s not Photoshop. That’s Eric, and he is of normal size, and I am of abnormal size. And so you can see why I garner a little bit of attention when I travel in uh Sri Lanka. But uh Eric’s a good brother in Christ, uh, and I look forward to renewing our acquaintance and being able to preach uh there in Matra. One more Sunday before I take off, I’ll share some more information about that. But I just wanted you to kind of connect with that island, with those people, but most importantly with your good brethren there. There’ll be so many opportunities to preach, to teach, so many benevolent opportunities. This is a poor island, and our brethren share in that poverty. And so I look forward to being able to assist them in whatever way that I can.

But now on to our lesson.

And so I wanted to talk just briefly with you about shepherding. Acts chapter 20, if you’ll turn there with me. Acts chapter 20. The apostle Paul is giving, as you recognize when you turn there to Acts chapter 20, his farewell speech to the shepherds there in the church at Ephesus. And I’ve just entitled this lesson, Who Needs a Shepherd? Because we like to think of ourselves as being kind of independent and self-sustaining, that I’ve got this. And even when we throughout life in different circumstances, even when we know we don’t have it, we like putting on a fake, false front that we do have this, that we can do it. But so much of Christianity involves humility, of recognizing that I cannot do it. I cannot do it alone.

I think of the wonderful example earlier in the book of Acts of the Ethiopian eunuch, a man of great position and authority, and he’s traveling back home. And remember, by the Holy Spirit’s direction, Philip overtakes that chariot, finds this powerful man reading a section of scripture from the book of Isaiah. And he asked, Philip asked this eunuch one important question. Do you understand what you’re reading? Now, if I’m honest with myself, this is confession time. If I’m honest with myself, if I’m that man of position and authority, and some strange man comes up to me and says, Do you understand what you’re reading? You know what I’m afraid my reply would be? Oh, yeah. I got this. I don’t need anybody’s help. I don’t need some other man.

I’m a man. I’m a man of great position and authority in my government. I don’t need you to tell me anything. But you know what? That attitude would have gotten that man. Nothing. He would have continued on his way, still lost. But to his credit, he had the humility, and he said, How can I unless somebody helps me? That’s the essence of really being a true growing Christian is that humility to say, I need some help. I need somebody to help and to guide me. I need somebody once I’ve become a Christian. And by somebody else telling me what I needed to do from the scriptures, once I become a Christian, I still need somebody’s help. And so, because of that, God did two things. Number one, he put us together with others, and he put in place those who would be our shepherds.

1. A Shepherd Guides the Flock

Acts chapter 20 and verse 28, Paul would say to those shepherds, therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his blood. Who needs a shepherd? I do. And you do. Because as Paul would tell us in this text, speaking to those shepherds, a shepherd fulfills certain roles. A shepherd is going to guide. That’s in essence what a shepherd does. He guides that flock. Notice what he goes on to say after saying, Take heed to yourselves and to that flock, and to shepherd them. Notice what he says in following. Verse 29, for I know this that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Also from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone day and night. And so now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. Paul uses himself as his role as an apostle, and is really, I believe, transferring some of that role to these men, men as shepherds, and he’s telling them, not only telling them what they need to do, but saying, You do what I did. You follow in my you guide as I guided them. Back up a little bit in this text to verse 26.

Or actually back all the way up to verse 25. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have preached the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I’m innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole council of God. Here’s what I did among you, and now shepherds in my absence, Paul is saying, here’s what you need to do. You need to guide them in the word of God. A shepherd guides. Peter would say in 1 Peter chapter 5 to his fellow elders, that they are to guide that flock, not being as Lord’s lording over them, but as an example, guiding and leading that flock.

2. A Shepherd Feeds

A shepherd feeds. Again, a primary role of a shepherd. Sheep are no good if they starve to death. And so Paul said to them, I instructed you in the word of God. I declare to you the whole council of God. But you’ll see my face no more. And so it’s now up to you, shepherds, to see that these sheep, this flock, is fed. The New Testament, we talked about the imagery and the metaphors used of Jesus Christ. There are equal number of metaphors referring to the Word of God. And one of the most common metaphors that’s used of the Word of God, that is food. It’s milk to the newborn babe, but it’s also solid meat, solid food to the mature. And our shepherds have the responsibility to not only to guide, but to feed the flock.

3. A Shepherd Is to Protect That Flock

And I need that. And then lastly, a shepherd is to protect that flock. The Apostle Paul said, I’ve been that good watchman to you. But now I entrust to you, shepherds, the responsibility of protecting this flock. Protecting the flock, not physically, of course, but spiritually. He says dangers are going to come. Savage wolves, sometimes even from within the flock. There might be wolves in sheep’s clothing that would arise. And it is the shepherd’s responsibility to take that shepherd’s staff and to protect that flock. To protect it from that false doctrine and from that teaching by feeding it in the true holy word of God. Awesome responsibility to be a shepherd.

Conclusion

Let’s close by reading it. Verse 1 the elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder, and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that may 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 who entrusted you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd, when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. We begin our worship today talking about our chief shepherd. That he’s a true shepherd, and that he’s a good shepherd. And we conclude this service by talking about our shepherds that guide, feed, and to protect this flock.

May God’s love and guidance, and may our support as a flock be with these men who shepherd us, who guide us, feed us, and protect us. Because the obvious answer to the question who needs a shepherd is all of us. Need guided, fed, and protected. But first you must give yourself to that good shepherd, to the shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. If you become a Christian this morning, and to become a part of the flock, not just this local flock, but more importantly, the universal church, the flock of God, over which Jesus Christ serves as a chief shepherd. Would you believe in him, repent, confess your sins, and to be baptized for remission of those sins, and listen to the voice of your chief shepherd.

Would you do that this morning? As together we stand and as we sing.

I would make some race of the reason I will come to the I am resolved to love the sender and true.

David, you want to come up here, please? I so much appreciate Ken’s remarks about the elders, shepherds, and I heartily amen that the flock needs shepherds. And by the way, shepherds need each other. We all need shepherding. We all need to be fed. We all need to be nourished. We all need to be protected. So again, I appreciate Ken’s remarks very much. Several weeks ago, we announced, of course, that Brother David Bunch is being considered to serve as a shepherd for this congregation. We reviewed the qualifications, and we read a number of scriptures related to those qualifications and put those before you to read yourself and consider. And then we asked for you to give us the shepherds feedback, express your your approval, uh, your support, or your concerns or questions that you might have regarding uh David’s qualifications as uh to be in and serve as an elder.

We also asked you to talk with him. Uh and uh many of you did just that. You talked to the shepherds and gave us uh a lot of feedback. We know some of you discussed and talked directly with David as well. That is all good, and that is all in order, and we’re happy to report that all of the feedback we heard, literally 100%, was very positive and very supportive. And so we’re moving forward today with appointing David as an elder of this congregation. Just a reminder: it’s a God-ordained role. God is the architect of the church, and in his wisdom, he set certain things in place, and among those are shepherds. So the role of an elder or a shepherd is a God-ordained role, it is an important work, therefore, and is vital to any local church or congregation.

I want to go back and I know Ken just read this, but I’d like you to look at uh 1 Peter chapter 5 with me once again. I want to share a particular thought there. 1 Peter chapter 5, beginning of verse 1. 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, excuse me, nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. I emphasize there not under compulsion, voluntarily, for this is not a role of popularity or power or prestige.

This is a role that is a work in service of God and a work in service to the flock, you the flock here in this local congregation. In reading and studying a little bit about elders in recent weeks, I came across this quote The office should seek the man, not the man, the office. And so it is with Brother Bunch. Brother Bunch didn’t come to us and say, I need to and want to serve as a shepherd. We sought Brother Bunch and we talked with him, and we talked to him about this flock, we talked to him about the work, we talked to him about his willingness to serve in this role. And we’re pleased that he accepted the responsibility, and he feels for all the right reasons that he would like to and desires to serve, having been asked to do so.

So at this time, we’ll ask John and Walcott and Brother David to come forward. John is going to lead us in a prayer, and then David will have a few comments. Oh, he’s going to, I’m sorry. Change that. David is going to say a few words first, and then John will lead us in a prayer.

And I use the term vote of confidence as many of you came to me saying that you have my vote, and I take this as you saying that you’re qualified according to God’s word, and I’m confident in you leading us in God’s truths. And for that, I am extremely appreciative.

If for no other reason than to let you know what you can expect, and in doing this, acknowledging that all authority belongs to Christ. None of us has authority beyond God’s words. We can only do the will of our Savior Jesus Christ, who brought us the will of God. And within this boundary, my part of overseeing will be constrained. Shepherding, pastoring, overseeing a congregation is such a privilege. But within this privilege lie great responsibilities. In speaking with the other three elders, all four of us understand the importance of this duty, which has been given to us through the Holy Spirit. One can’t help but be mindful of Acts 20, which Ken read for us earlier, where Paul calls the Ephesian elders together to meet with him.

And Paul exhorts these elders in verse 28, again, saying, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among, which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. You all follow the directions in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and Titus chapter 1. And seeing in the qualifications were met, then you made your conclusions known to either myself or the three elders. And in so doing, this is the Holy Spirit at work. To shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. To me, this is the essence of stewardship. Ralph Walcott, John have been watching over this body of Christ. This body which was purchased with Christ’s own blood. We all belong to this body, those who have put him on in baptism.

And in this, the intent, the elders’ intent is to guard this body of Christ from unrighteousness, such as found in this world and which tries to creep in from time to time as a wolf, possibly in sheep’s clothing. They now we guard against the presence of sin. No matter if it is intentional sin or through the sincerest of hearts, we stand watchful, just as a shepherd guarding his sheep from danger. In fact, we read of the commission given to Titus by Paul in appointing elders for this expressed purpose, stopping sin. In Titus chapter 1, verses 10 through 16, we find beginning in verse 10, that there are those who are insubordinate, idle talkers, deceivers, especially within God’s chosen people, the Jews. They have to be stopped, verse 11, because they’re leading whole households away from God through their teaching for dishonest gain.

Verse 13, rebuke them. Why? For what purpose? That they may be sound in the faith. In this, we see that there is only one source of truth. Instructions in how we are to be. There is only one authority, not fables, not commandments of men, but as part of the qualifications in verse 9, those found and holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able to exhort and convict those who contradict. This is done not by emotions or reasoning out, but by sound doctrine, the word of God. This is my commitment to this body of Christ. Shepherding and overseeing, watching and teaching, exhorting all that the word of God is the word unto salvation. My and our commitment to all of you is to lead you in this fact.

Within these thoughts, I find that an elder is not a person who can circumvent God’s laws based on changes within society or emotions or personal needs, or in the name of a better way. We can only look to God, his words for directions, and then follow. An elder is not a private investigator, an elder is not the police. If you have personal sins, it is up to you to know that you are separated from God. If, however, there are sins which are obvious and known, then it is our duty, it is our obligation, as given by the Holy Spirit, to exhort or to thoroughly encourage you to repent. I, we are encouragers. If someone chooses to turn their back on God, our duty is to help that person back through love, through teaching, through pointing the way, to encourage, to warn them, and if needed, to rebuke them for the sole purpose that they may be sound in the faith.

Again, found in Titus chapter 1 and verse 13. If the warnings go unheeded, then on behalf of the brothers or sisters, which has fallen away, we have no choice but to continue in following God’s word and making the sin known. All with the hopes that they return to righteousness, that they may be once more sound in the faith. This is God’s way, and we as elders have no choice but to follow. I personally believe that it is important for all of you to know simply because you need to know that my interest in this eldership is not selfish but giving.

That we, as your elders, have the wisdom to follow God’s word and everything done with a continued desire to watch over your souls so that this great hope can be realized in us all. At this time, we’re going to be led in a word of prayer by John. Let us all pray. Our Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for you and your blessings, and at this time, especially thankful for the blessings of your church, an organization that you set up here on this earth for us to be your kingdom here on earth. Father, we’re thankful for the design of the church with you as the head.

And we pray for both of their good health. We pray that you would continue to give David the courage and the strength to stand up for God’s word and all that he does. Help us all as elders and shepherds over this flock to have a sincere desire for love, have a sincere desire to do what’s right and to always stand for truth. Help this congregation, Father, to rally their support around this brother David, but also around the entire eldership as we seek to serve each and every one of them. Help us as elders to realize that we are men, that we also are fallible, and that with your help, Father, we can strengthen one another, and that we can live in a way that’s pleasing unto you.

Father, be with us all as we depart from this place. Continue with us as we go about doing the work of preaching your word, teaching your word to all that we come into contact with.

Amen.

So as we close out this service today, first of all, I just want to say thank you to those of you who are visiting with us. If you don’t mind, steer on just a little and give us an opportunity to speak to you, say hi to you. If there is any way that we can be of help in any way, please please let us know. I have uh a few announcements between to the needs of this congregation here. Some who may have an interest in our prayers as well. Um, just as a housekeeping information, the men’s duty roster for October is on the table in the lobby. So, men, please take a look at that, get one and um have your reminders ready. You would notice that uh the thick bins are not here with us, they are homesick.

Um I think Janelle was tested positive for COVID, so they decided to just stay in.

Please take a bulletin. Um there are names of some of our brethren who are constantly in need of our prayers. Um, let us not forget that.

Um having a pacemaker installed sometime in October. We know she has been dealing with some medical issues, but let us um continue to pray for her and hopefully that that will go well. We also received this morning a prayer request from our sister Mindy, some of her friends that she is.