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2019-04-14

Life in the Herd

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(Acts 2:47b, NKJV)

“The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

I.  Introduction

     Last week we talked about the fact that Jesus’ Church is “One Weird Herd.”  So in today’s sermon we will take a look at “Life in the Herd.”  We need to start by establishing the fact that God wants all of His people to live in the Herd.  Luke explained that when people are saved, the Lord adds them to His Church—His Herd!  He wrote, “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47b, NKJV).  Obviously, God wants His people to live in the Herd!  He wants every believer to do life as a member of His Church.

     In order for life in the herd to be as good as possible, every member of the herd must behave in ways that contribute to the health of the herd!  Paul wrote the letter of I Timothy so Timothy could teach the members of the Herd at Ephesus how they “ought to conduct themselves in…the church of the living God.” He wrote to Timothy, “Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God” (I Timothy 3:14-15a, NIV).

     I want to spend the next few minutes offering you four thoughts about healthy behavior for life in the herd.

II.  Four Thoughts

     Reality Check.  One of the most important things every member of the herd can do is a “reality check” on their view of the herd.  Many members of the church have an unrealistic view of the herd.  They somehow expect the other members of the herd to always do and say the right thing.  Then when that doesn’t happen they are tempted to abandon the herd.  The problem is these people have an unrealistic view of the herd!

     Jesus’ Herd—His Church—is made up of people, and people are sinners.  Some are sinners who have not yet received the gift of eternal life, and some are sinners who have received the gift of eternal life—but they are all sinners!  John wrote, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (I John 1:10, NKJV).  Paul wrote, “They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12, NKJV).

     When you get more than one sinner in one place at one time, you will have problems.  There will be misunderstandings.  There will be conflicts.  There will be offenses.  That’s why Jesus said to the Herd—His Church—in the very beginning, “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.  But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.  If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church” (Matthew 18:15-17a, NLT).

     In the Herd it isn’t a matter of “if someone offends you,” it is a matter of “when someone offends you.”  The thing to remember is that you can’t control what others in the Herd do, but you can control the way you respond to what they do!  We shouldn’t be surprised when there are problems in the Herd.  We should be surprised when there aren’t problems in the Herd!

     Follow the Leaders.  God has placed leaders in His Herd to watch over the souls of those in the Herd.  The author of the Book of Hebrews wrote, “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit” (Hebrews 13:17, NLT).  Every member should follow the leaders God has placed over the Herd!  When the Herd doesn’t follow its leaders, the leaders get stressed, and that is detrimental to the health of the Herd.  That’s what the author of Hebrews was saying when he wrote, “That would certainly not be for your benefit” (Hebrews 13:17b, NLT).

     Regarding the leaders of the Herd, Paul wrote, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (I Timothy 5:17, NIV).  Since “elders” are to “direct the affairs of the church,” it is obvious that members of the Herd are to follow the “direction” given by the “elders.”  When the Herd follows the “direction” of its leaders, life is good in the Herd!

     Jurisdiction.  God has designed each member of the Herd to work in a specified area to contribute to the well-being of the Herd.  The area to which each member is assigned is his area of jurisdiction—the area in which he has been authorized to work.  Paul described this concept of specified areas of service within the Herd when he wrote, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:4-8, NIV).

     When a member of the Herd tries to serve in an area where he is not gifted nor authorized to serve, he will not be effective and may actually damage the Herd.  Paul wrote, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ…If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body” (I Corinthians 12:12…17-20, NLT).  If members of the Herd try to serve in areas outside their jurisdiction, the areas of their jurisdiction will be neglected and the Herd will suffer.  That’s why Paul asked, “How would you hear?” and “How would you smell anything?” When the members serve in the areas of jurisdiction where they are gifted and authorized to serve, life is good in the Herd!

     Diversity of Gifts.  Members of the Herd see things from different perspectives and respond to things differently because God has gifted each of us differently.  In order to understand the other members of the Herd, we must understand that everyone is gifted differently.  In fact, we need to understand that there are three categories of gifts described in Scripture—grace gifts, ministry gifts, and people gifts.

     Grace gifts are special endowments given by God that determine how His people view any given situation.  They determine our perspective on what is happening around us and therefore how we will respond.  There are seven of them and each believer has only one.  Paul listed them when he wrote, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously: if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:6-8, NIV).

     Ministry gifts are special abilities given by God to equip His people to serve in specific ministries to benefit and “build up” His Herd—either numerically through evangelism or spiritually through discipleship.  Paul wrote, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good… Everything must be done so that the church may be built up” (I Corinthians 12:4-7…14:26b, NIV).

     People Gifts.  These gifts are actually four kinds of gifted people that God gives to His churches as gifts to them to equip His people to do the work of ministry and grow to spiritual maturity.  Paul wrote, “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature” (Ephesians 4:11-13a, NIV).

     Life is good in the Herd when we understand that we are all gifted differently and therefore serve differently!

III.  Conclusion

     Paul made it very clear that Jesus loves His Herd—His Church!  He wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5: 25, NKJV).  If Jesus loves His Herd, we should love it too and do everything we can to make life in the Herd good!

Next Steps

[  ] Believe in Jesus to receive the gift of eternal life.  Jesus said, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).

[  ] Ask God to remind you often that Jesus wants His people to do life in the Herd.  Luke explained, “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47b, NKJV).  

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