1 Peter 5:1-11 "Willingness." (Part One) with Special Guest Pastor Jimmy Rosas

Peter comes to the elders as a fellow elder, not as somebody throwing his weight around. Peter had seen Christ suffer, had watched men fail under pressure, and had tasted the glory that is still coming. Peter’s own life shows what God can do with a man who once slept when he should have prayed, talked big, ran off, and denied the Lord. Christ restored Peter, told him to feed and tend His sheep, and now Peter is doing exactly that.

The call to shepherd reaches beyond an office in church. The charge applies in marriages, families, workplaces, ministries, and every place where God has entrusted people, responsibilities, health, possessions, and time. Everything belongs to God first. A spouse, children, a ministry, a job, and even every breath are only held in a secondary sense. Stewardship begins when God’s people quit acting like owners and remember whose things they are handling.

Peter calls elders to shepherd the flock willingly, according to the will of God. Compulsion turns a calling into a burden, and a burdened heart becomes susceptible to the enemy’s voice. The call to serve must not be built on wanting a title, a chair, a parking spot, a name in lights, or shameful gain. Desire, gifts, and an open door give helpful signs of God’s calling. Desire cannot help but serve. Gifts show that God equips the person He calls. An open door shows that God provides an opportunity, while a willing heart remains ready when He knocks.

Peter forbids domineering leadership and calls for examples instead. Authority becomes dangerous when it uses people, mistreats people, or acts as though those under its care exist for somebody else’s ego. The flock needs care, protection, feeding, prayer, and healthy balance. The example of Christ-like leadership carries weight because people are always following something.

The image of sheep is not just cute. Sheep can be helpless, not too smart, and prone to follow blindly toward destruction. The lost are drowning and grabbing at anything that sounds good, but Christ has brought His people back to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls. Christ is the Chief Shepherd, the primary owner of the flock. Elders and leaders work for the Chief Shepherd, not for the sheep, and God gives them wisdom for the good of the whole body.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Everything belongs to God first. God places people and responsibilities into human hands as a trust, not as personal property. Marriage, children, ministry, work, health, and possessions all require stewardship before they require control. The heart goes off the deep end when it forgets that God is the true owner. [12:21]
• 2. Calling must be willing, not forced. God’s call produces more than a desire for visibility or a title. Desire, spiritual gifts, and open doors help reveal whether service is truly from Him. Compulsion may keep somebody busy, but willingness keeps the heart submitted to God’s purpose. [19:11]
• 3. Leadership serves without lording over. Peter rejects leadership that manipulates, uses, or mistreats those under its care. Christ-like authority protects the flock and becomes an example worth following. The people entrusted to a leader remain God’s gift and God’s possession. [22:35]
• 4. Christ remains the Chief Shepherd. Human leaders are shepherds only in a secondary sense. Christ owns the church, knows the needs of the whole body, and gives wisdom for its good. The elder serves Christ first, even when individual sheep demand otherwise.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:48] - Willingness in 1 Peter 5
• [03:51] - Christ Under Pressure, Men Failing
• [05:44] - Peter Restored to Feed the Sheep
• [07:00] - Elders as Stewards
• [11:18] - Shepherd the Flock Willingly
• [14:34] - When Service Becomes a Burden
• [19:11] - Desire, Gifts, and Open Doors
• [21:24] - Serving Without Shameful Gain
• [22:09] - Lead by Example, Not Domination
• [24:43] - Stamped as Christ’s People
• [26:03] - Sheep Need the True Shepherd
• [28:21] - Christ the Chief Shepherd

Bible Reading

1 Peter 5:1-4
“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
[01:36] [01:48] [07:07] [11:37] [22:21] [28:12]

John 21:16
“He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’”
[12:47]

1 Peter 2:25
“For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
[28:49]

Mark 14:32-42
“And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.’ And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.’”
[03:54]

Observation questions

1. How does Peter describe himself in 1 Peter 5:1, and what does that show about the way he approaches the other elders? [08:40]
2. What contrasts does Peter give in 1 Peter 5:2-3: compulsion versus willingness, shameful gain versus eagerness, and domineering versus being an example?
3. What are some of the responsibilities included in tending or shepherding people entrusted to someone’s care? Consider care, prayer, protection, feeding, and healthy balance. [13:19]
4. In Mark 14, what is Jesus doing under the pressure of the coming cross, and what are Peter and the other disciples doing? [04:03]

Interpretation questions

1. Peter had failed Jesus under pressure, yet Jesus restored him and told him to tend His sheep. What does Peter’s restored life show about the kind of person God can use in caring for others? [05:44]
2. If a spouse, child, ministry, job, health, and possessions belong to God first, how should that change the way a believer handles those things? [12:21]
3. What might it look like when someone serves “under compulsion” rather than willingly? Why can a burdened and resentful heart become spiritually dangerous? [14:34]
4. Why is it important that elders and other leaders work for the Chief Shepherd rather than trying to please every individual sheep? How can this protect both leaders and the church? [29:20]

Application questions

1. What person, responsibility, possession, or area of life are you most tempted to treat as “mine”? What would it look like this week to handle it as something God has entrusted to you? [29:01]
2. Is there an area of service in your marriage, family, work, church, or ministry that has started to feel like a burden or a rut? What honest conversation, prayer, rest, or help may be needed? [15:00]
3. Desire, gifts, and open doors can help reveal God’s calling. Where do you see a desire to serve, a gift God has given, or an opportunity God may be opening for you? [19:20]
4. Are there any motives for serving that need to be brought before God—recognition, control, a title, being noticed, or personal gain? What would eager service for God’s glory look like instead? [21:24]
5. People around us are always following some example. In your home, workplace, friendships, or church, what kind of example does your attitude and conduct set? Does it point people toward Christ or away from Him? [06:34]
6. Where are you most likely to follow blindly—popular opinions, fear, social media, unhealthy relationships, or something else? How can you stay close to Jesus, the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul? [26:40]
7. Peter slept when Jesus called him to watch and pray, but later became a faithful shepherd of God’s people. Where do you need to stop trusting your own strength and become more watchful in prayer? [05:21]