Introduction 

At the beginning of the year, we introduced a theme for the entire year 

• One Vision, One Voice 
• I Corinthians 1:10 (ESV): 10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
• Psalm 133:1, 3 (ESV): 1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! . . .3 . . . .For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. 

Leading with God’s Priorities 

• It’s okay to have an individual plan, an individual priority, an individual preference. 

 

• And within the grand scheme of things, there’s room for God to respond to our personal interests. 

  

• But that is not the highest priority.  

 

• In fact, what Jesus tells us directly is that within the context of all the things competing for our time, our treasure and our talent, we must first give ourselves to the priorities of the Lord: 

 

• Matthew 6:31–33 (ESV): 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [Scarcity—-> Anxiety] 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [Abundance—->Peace] 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

 

• What is God communicating to us? 

 

• As we prioritize what God wants, the things we truly need will be added to us. 

 

• The question is, do you believe that? 

 

• For many of us, the concern is that if I give myself fully to that, will God really take care of me, or will I be left holding the bag? 

The Pastoring of the Lord 

 

• Psalm 23:1 (ESV): 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

 

• Here’s another way of saying that:

• The Lord is my pastor, I shall not want. 
• And, by the way, all those words mean the same thing, which is: overseer of the flock
• If Joshua Smith is your shepherd, you shall want.

• But if the Lord is your shepherd, you won’t. 

The Seduction of Crowds 

• This was the conclusion Jesus drew as he took note of crowds that followed him: 

• Matthew 9:36 (ESV) When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  

• Notice the word crowds. 

• What Jesus is observing is characteristic of crowds in general. 

• Crowds are particularly vulnerable to harassment and helplessness. 

• Let me be more specific: when you are in the crowd, you are harassed by the enemy with no means of resistance.   

• When I say, “in the crowd,” I’m not referring to a physical state, but a mental state. 

• What I’m really talking about is a crowd mentality  

• e.g. consider all the people thronging Jesus when the woman with the issue of blood was healed. 

• There was no physical difference between her and everyone else. 

• But there was a significant mental and physical difference  

• How does a crowd support the enemy’s objectives? 

• A crowd is a fake community  

• It offers value and makes no demands. 

• Promised Value 

• Proximity 

• I can be around people, but without entanglements 

• I don’t have to be bothered and no one’s in my business 

• Affiliation 

• I can use the name of the group to validate my spiritual status 

• I can make claims of being spiritually enriched without going deep 

• I can keep all my spiritual activity at a surface level 

• Access 

• I can legitimize requests for resources 

• I don’t have to be deeply connected to the church to ask for resources—I just need an affiliation, no matter how loose it is. 

• And the beauty of it all is that it costs nothing to be in the crowd: 

• No commitment 

• No accountability  

• No sacrifice 

And that’s how the enemy get you: 

• You think you’re gaining because you’re around it all—seemingly at no cost to you. 

• But it just camouflages the fact that your connection to God is shallow. 

• And I don’t care how much you pray, read the Bible or stream, if you have no meaningful connection to God’s people, your spiritual life is shallow. 

• And meaningful connection is not church attendance and streaming. 

• Because that’s no different than your relationship with the movies. 

• Whether you go to the theater or watch the movie at home, your relationship with the other viewers is just as shallow. 

• But you think you’re connected. 

• So, Satan uses this fake community and the false security that comes with it to keep you occupied while he siphons your spiritual strength. 

• And when he knows you’re depleted, he brings a crisis into your life. 

• You’ll be like Samson after Delilah hires a barber to cut his hair. 

When You’re Ready to God from the Crowd to the Congregation 

 

• “I’m ready to go to the new member’s orientation class and become a formal member of the church.” 

• That’s great. Go do that. But that’s not it. 

• “Okay, well I’m going to start attending on a regular basis” 

• Outstanding, glad to hear it. But that’s not it. 

• “Well, I’ve been a member hear for a long time.” 

• And I’m happy about that, but that’s not it. 

 

How the Lord Pastors 

 

1. The Lord pastors submitted people.  

 

• Philippians 2:5-6 (ESV): 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [Did not claim all his rights and privileges]  

• Philippians 2:7 (ESV): 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  

• Humility and servanthood is something you have to put on. It’s not natural to the flesh 

• 1 Peter 5:5 (ESV): 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 

• Philippians 2:8 (ESV): 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself [Humbling yourself as opposed to God doing it] by becoming obedient [Obedience is not a bad word] to the point of death, even death on a cross.[Obedient to your hurt] 

• Luke 9:23 (ESV): 23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 

• Self-denial is a significant part of being pastored by the Lord  

• Christian self-denial is a daily experience. 

• We normally don’t associate this with being pastored. 

• This is vital because if you are denying yourself, Jesus can’t pastor you. 

• And if Jesus can’t past you, I can’t pastor you 

• If Jesus isn’t already pastoring you, really no one else can pastor you. 

• So, it all comes back to being a submitted person: 

• How do you know if you’re a submitted person? 

• You do things you don’t prefer for Christ’s sake (often privately) 

• You confer with God before making major decisions. 

 

1. The Lord leads you in places you would not have gone if left to your own devises 

• Psalm 23:4 (ESV): 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

• At its core, pastoring is leadership 

• A shepherd is an ancient metaphor for leadership 

• People think pastoring is about catering your felt needs 

• It involves responding to what you truly need and being aware of your perceived need – but at the end of the day, the flock follows the shepherd, not the other way around. 

• The Lord has a right to change direction without consulting with you. 

• Sometimes when you hear of something new at church, that’s the Lord changing the course of your life through the ministry. 

• And he doesn’t have to ask your permission to do it. 

1. The Lord pastors through representatives  

• Jeremiah 3:14–15 (ESV): 14 Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,  and I will bring you to Zion. 15 “ ‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 

• When you submit to the Lord, He send you a pastor customized to true needs, not your felt needs 

• Or he’ll open up your eyes to the pastors who are already giving you what you need. 

• But that first part—submission to the Lord—has to happen first. 

• 1 Samuel 8:7 (ESV): 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 

• When you’re rejecting God’s representatives, you’re rejecting Him, not the representative.  

• Some of you give God a hard time, not realizing you’re actually dealing with Him, not the human leading the church. 

• Psalm 32:8–9 (ESV): 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 

1. The Lord pastors through representatives with different gifts, callings, and contexts 

• Romans 12:6–8 (NLT): 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 

• Every pastor has a different collection of gifts 

• John 6:30–33 (ESV): 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 

• Don’t compare pastors 

• Founders are different than successors 

1. The Lord pastors in groups through groups 

• Titus 1:5 (ESV): 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 

• Acts 14:23 (ESV): 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 

• James 5:14–15 (ESV): 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 

• People who aren’t the senior pastor can be effective at ministering to you 

• Receive them as such 

• 1 Corinthians 12:14–26 (ESV): 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.