Shepherding with Joy: The Call to Humility

I regarded as a great privilege because leadership in shaping Shepherds of God's blood-bought flock will either experience that leadership will either experience the joy of the crown of righteousness or a cry of anguish for failure Paul said to the Shepherd's of Ephesus pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the Church of God which he obtained with his own blood [00:57:09]

so if shepherding is that serious and the shaping of shepherds is even more serious than you should ask and I should ask why would you be eager to be here to consign a man to such danger listen to Jeremiah woe to you Burt's who destroy and scatter the Sheep of my pasture declares the Lord you have scattered my flock and have driven them away woe to the shepherds so whoa - Brian Arnold if he shapes Shepherds that mislead the flock that would be a tragic and terrible thing [01:13:64]

because not only are there dangers and they are real but because there are such enormous delights listen to this word from Hebrews 13 your leaders your Shepherds are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account let them do this with joy not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you a gloomy pastor is not an advantage to his flaw an unhappy minister does not make a healthy Church joy in the Shepherd is essential for health in the flock and the Sheep therefore the shaping of shepherds is a happy affair [02:04:15]

my answer is think again the only joy in the ministry worth having is serious joy a kind of joy that is so rooted in God that if you don't have it you're in idolatry so all of that dr. Arnold to say thank you for having I love doing this I love what you're about to do what you're about to give your life to a love seminary's I love shepherds I love the church what are calling what an opportunity what a joy what a danger [05:15:16]

the experience is found in Acts chapter 4 and it goes like this you remember the Sanhedrin was trying to silence the Apostles don't teach any more in this name and here's what happened they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name I call that serious joy what would you call it rejoicing over being beaten and shamed [06:27:99]

Shepherds who speak for God need great clarity about what he's arrogant and what is humble that's the question for me it's being a question for me a long time a hundred years ago GK Chesterton pointed out how what we think is recent the culture has co-opted the word arrogant to refer to conviction and has co-opted the word humility to refer to uncertainty and if you speak with conviction you're arrogant and if you speak with uncertainty you're humble [09:21:41]

humility begins with a sense and I'm using the word sense here as something more than knowledge a teep sense a sense of subordination to God in Christ a disciple is not above his teacher nor a slave above his master Matthew 10 humble yourselves under under the mighty hand of God so we feel this I'm under I'm a man under not over I'm under and I don't just know it I feel it I wake up in the morning I go to bed at night [12:56:95]

humility does not feel a right to better treatment than Jesus God and the word feel matters a lot here what you feel and not just what you know is what defines how you respond right in the moment when you have a chance to think we just respond it's who you are deep down that shapes you if they have called the master of the house Beelzebul how much more will they malign the members of his household so humility is not based on a life of perceived rights or entitlement [14:20:62]

humility asserts truth not to bolster the ego with control or with triumphs in debate but as an honor to Christ and a love to others huge difference whether you're a truth guy for ego control and for triumphs in debate gonna get the last word on Twitter or whether people can smell he cares about the truth because he loves Christ and loves people first Corinthians 13 love rejoices in the truth [17:51:10]

humility knows and feels that it is dependent for everything on grace dependent for all knowing believing acting breathing on Grace Matthew 16:17 blessed are you simon barjona flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven he said that when peter answered who you are you're the christ and jesus said that didn't come from you ephesians 2:8 by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God [19:58:49]

finally humility knows and feels that it is fallible and so considers criticism and learns from it but also knows that God has made provision for unshakeable human conviction and that he calls us to persuade others for screens 13 now we see in a mirror dimly then face to face now I know in part but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known proverbs 12 a wise man is he who listens to counsel you get above counsel you are out of line you've lost humility [23:32:09]

humility knows that its grasp of reality is fallible but it also knows there is such a thing as objective reality and that by God's grace there's the key we are enabled to see it truly if not perfectly truly and to submit to it and proclaim it conclusion at the bottom of these five traits of humility is this humility senses that humility is a gift beyond our reach miss it again I didn't mess up their humility senses feels that humility is a gift beyond our reach [28:31:24]