1 Peter 5:4

A MESSAGE FOR WORKERS

‘And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.’

1 Peter 5:4

‘When the Chief Shepherd shall appear.’ As I hear that message it tells me three things.

I. There is a Chief Shepherd.—As we think of our great cities and of the millions of souls living in them, some of them so sad, so lonely, so tempted, it should be everything to us to know that there is a Chief Shepherd Who knows and cares for every one of them; that even those whom we cannot reach ourselves, He knows and tries to protect and care for. When, again, we think of the 800,000,000 of heathen and 180,000,000 of Mohammedans, it is everything to know that this world is not left to itself. There is a Chief Shepherd, and the claim which He makes is ringing unto the ends of the earth. ‘All souls are Mine,’ saith the Lord of Hosts, ‘all souls are Mine.’

II. The Chief Shepherd is near.—When you read your New Testament in the Revised Version you will find that all those passages which speak of His appearing are translated when He is ‘manifested,’ and the old idea, founded, I suppose, on the parable of the man who went into a far country, that Jesus is a long way off somewhere is shown by those passages to be entirely erroneous. He is in the midst of us. There is one standing in our midst Whom we see not but Who is close by, and the word ‘manifested’ means that at the Second Advent the veil will be taken from our eyes at a flash and we shall see Him Who is in the midst of us all the time. It is as if we came into this Church blindfolded, and suddenly, in a flash, the bandage is taken from our eyes and we see the Chief Shepherd Who was there all the time. The Chief Shepherd is not only alive, but near.

III. We shall see the Chief Shepherd.—The one certain thing about our lives, be they long or short, be they sad or merry, is that we shall see the Chief Shepherd. Our eyes shall see Him. The one certain truth is that the Chief Shepherd will see us and that we shall see Him, and the only question that will matter in life will be not ‘What do I think of Jesus Christ,’ but ‘What does He think of me?’

IV. A message for workers.—I need hardly point out what a message that is for all who are working for God. If we forget that our sole task in life is to gather in the thousands of souls, not only here but throughout the whole world, we shall incur the displeasure of the Chief Shepherd, because we only live to gather in souls for whom He died and whom He loves. ‘All souls are Mine,’ saith the Lord of Hosts. Then every day, every night, with every power we have, before He comes again and before we see Him, let us seek to gather that great flock in all parts of the world. What does He say about you? He says two things.

(a) Can the Chief Shepherd rely upon you? He says, ‘Upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ He is building on you. The one hope of having a really missionary, loyal-hearted, honourable, God-fearing Church is on the laity who believe, and I want to ask you whether you are failing the Chief Shepherd in that place where He has placed you? In that warehouse or office, are you a man He can depend upon, a man of God, the one who witnesses, who is perfectly certain to be firm and will not have bad language used in the presence of boys or in his own presence, who stands up for truth and honesty in all dealings. Remember that Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd, Whom you have to see one day, and Who sees you now, looks to you as a rock man.

(b) Are you gathering? Then again, ‘He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.” If that does not mean that a man is not a Christian who takes no part in missionary work, I do not know what it means. Whom have you gathered? I ask myself the same question. Whom have I gathered? What a useless clergyman I am if I have gathered no one, what a useless layman you are if you have not gathered any one?

—Bishop A. F. Winnington-Ingram.

Illustration

‘What are the facts? There are 800,000,000 of heathen still who do not believe in Jesus Christ, and 180,000,000 of Mohammedans, and the Church exists to convert the world. There are secondary objects in the Church, but the first object is to convert the world, and in the light of that first fact I ask you what are you going to do about it. The Holy Spirit is only promised to a missionary Church. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The secret of the deadness of the Church at home in some parishes is due to the dying of the missionary spirit. The promise of the presence of Jesus Christ is to a missionary parish and missionary circle. A wonderful blessing is vouchsafed to the missions of the Church when they are carried on in the right spirit. The only thing that can stop that is the want of faithful Christians. Jesus could do no mighty work in a certain place because of their unbelief, and it is an awful thought that we may be stopping Christ’s missionary work throughout the world by our want of zeal. Jesus Christ said of the world, “All souls are Mine.” He says of you, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.” When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, we shall find what He expected us to do. You dare not meet Him empty-handed. If in the spirit of pastoral work and pastoral service you live your life, when the Chief Shepherd shall appear you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.’