‘And now, a word to you elders of the church. I, too, am an elder; with my own eyes I saw Christ dying on the cross; and I, too, will share his glory and his honour when he returns. Fellow elders, this is my plea to you: Feed the flock of God; care for it willingly, not grudgingly; not for what you will get out of it but because you are eager to serve the Lord. Don’t be tyrants, but lead them by your good example, and when the Head Shepherd comes, your reward will be a never-ending share in his glory and honour.’ (1 Peter 5:1-4, TLB),
We must not be in ministry for what we can get out of it, to profit from others. For the first 30 years of my ministry, I was without a charity and used to fund the evangelism myself. Ministry is service to others, Jesus Himself said that He did not come to be served, but to serve; this should be our example and pattern in ministry. Peter continues this theme: telling church leaders to serve the Lord willingly, to not be tyrants: this is servant leadership. And if we serve the Lord, following in the example of Jesus, then we will receive a reward at the coming of Jesus.
You younger men, follow the leadership of those who are older. And all of you serve each other with humble spirits, for God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud, (v5): Those who are young should heed the wisdom of those who are older, following their leadership; and be sensitive to their needs. So often in Western nations, older people are despised, the emphasis is on the young, but in some of the countries I minister in, the reverse is true, they respect their elders; they honour my 75 years of ministry. Young people can learn from the experience of those who have gone before them, they can even learn from their mistakes. I learnt from my father; he was a great man of God, and it was my kitchen table conversations with him that so impacted my life. – Night after night in those days, when I was a child, after my mother had gone up to bed, my father and I would wash up the supper dishes. I would ask him questions, he would give me the answers. We debated the finer points, like ‘once saved, always saved’? And ‘what happens to those who die without ever hearing the Gospel’? To which my father simply replied, “David, that’s YOUR job – to preach the Gospel.” I am forever grateful to my father for the firm foundation he gave me in Biblical Truth. Fads and movements come and go, but my father never departed from the Truth of the Word of God.
‘Be careful – watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are going through these sufferings too. After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever. To him be all power over all things, forever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Peter 5: 8-11, TLB)
We should expect suffering and persecution for following Christ. I believe in action. God has called us into the kingdom, and if you are a born-again, baptised, Spirit-filled believer, God has done that for a reason. God doesn’t save you and call you so that you can sit at ease – we are saved to serve! Not just to have a wonderful life. We don’t all have to be preachers, but the fact is that we are saved to live for God. He has called us, but we have to ‘make it happen’! I believe in prayer, and I believe in miracles, but miracles happen when God uses men and women to work the miracles!
As a young child, I desperately wanted to live like they did in the Acts of the Apostles – that’s what we’re supposed to do, isn’t it? I wanted the challenge and the adventure they had – and I understood even at that young age, there’s a price to pay. Growing up, my father gave me a copy of Fox’s Book of Martyrs. When I was in prison for Bible smuggling in Czechoslovakia, the British government initially wasn’t concerned about me being imprisoned for my faith, so they wouldn’t help me; but thank God, they eventually did come to my help! There is always a martyrdom in following Jesus, but it comes with a wonderful promise, ‘the God of all grace, after you have suffered a little while, will restore you and make you strong.’ Our God is full of kindness, He personally will pick you up (the return of Christ), but even here on earth, God will work a miracle for you. As you know, in answer to prayer, God released me from that communist prison and healed me of cancer twice. The more we fight, the stronger we become spiritually. I’ve had to fight for everything, and I still do, but the Lord makes me strong. To Him be the glory, He has Power over all things.