Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Receiving the unfading crown of glory

It’s Sunday Morning.  I know sometimes ministry is not easy.  So here’s a little motivation from the Word of God for preachers before you enter your pulpit and teachers before you go in to instruct your class.

Last week we saw from 1 Peter 5:1-3 that God requires the following from elders of the church:

1. Minister to God’s people that God has placed in their care right now and not just hoping to minister to people they might minister to in the future: “shepherd the flock of God among you,” (v.2a)
2. Minister willingly and not grudgingly: “exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily,” (v.2b)
3. Minister “according to the will of God” (v.2c) which of course involves knowing His will and His ways as taught in the Bible.
4. Minister not for ulterior motive: “and not for sordid gain” (v.2d)
5. Minister zealously: “but with eagerness” (v.2e)
6. Minister by example and not force: “nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock” (v.3)

As you can tell the requirement of God for elders and the standard of ministry is very high.  Yet what would be the godly motivation that would fuel us to minister in such a Christ-like fashion?

Note the next verse in 1 Peter 5:4 and what it says:

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory

Meditate on that truth.

Brothers, have you meditated upon the truth you will be rewarded with the unfading crown of glory?

Note it’s not just the object of reward but WHO it is that would be rewarding you for your faithfulness: the Chief Shepherd. There’s something as a shepherd of God’s church that should move us to read of the Chief Shepherd who is namely Jesus Christ Himself.  He’s died and rose from the Dead to save us, to be our Shepherd.

And yet…it doesn’t stop there.

He will grant the unfading crown of glory.