Rev. David Holwick ZF First Baptist Church Ledgewood, New Jersey October 12, 1997 1 Peter 5:5-11 GOD IS STILL ON YOUR SIDE ========================= I. "It's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?" A. Read Flora's book on Vietnam. 1) Presidents saw a huge conspiracy forming against America. a) If one nation fell to Communism, others would follow. b) Also didn't want to be the first to lose a war. 2) "Middle road" approach dragged out war. B. I remember as a time of great turmoil in America, and personally. 1) My Dad serving as an advisor to a Vietnamese battalion, 1970. 2) Continual protests in Germany and United States. a) Great domestic unrest, especially between generations. b) Moratorium against war debated in schools. c) Very uptight time in our country. C. Today's passage deals with conflict and anxiety. II. Christians need to hang together. 5:5 A. Cooperation between generations. 1) Respect for aged. a) Young men, be submissive to elders. 1> "Young men" probably means everyone not an elder. 2> Generic so includes women. b) (SonBeamers and senior Thanksgiving Dinner performance) 2) Mutuality. a) Elders must serve faithfully. b) Application from "Promise Keepers." -2- B. Humility is for everybody. 1) God opposes proud, gives grace to the humble. 2) Greeks did not view humility as a virtue. a) Neither do many Americans. b) But it is a distinctly Christian virtue. 1> Comes from word for slave's apron. John 13:1-15 2> Not a feeling of worthlessness, but of service. Ac 20:19 3) Humble servants are the backbone of any church. C. Ultimately, we humble ourselves before God. 1) Under his mighty hand. a) God's controlling providence. 1> Deliverance of his people. Exodus 7:5 2> Judgment of his enemies. b) Humble - not passive resignation but active co-operation. 1> Difficulties enter our lives with sovereign approval of God. 2> If God has allowed you to enter a difficult place, be meek and learn. 2) He will lift you up - in due time. a) God doesn't want us to be crushed. b) Due time = God's time, as late as Second Coming. c) Be patient with your tough situation. III. God's grace can sustain us in our most difficult hour. A. Cast anxieties on God. 1) People are anxious about many things. a) Every food causes cancer. b) Bankruptcy could be just around the corner. c) Your family may stop loving you. -3- 2) Greek root for anxiety means "to divide." a) Anxiety divides our attention and distracts. b) Anxiety can lead to "attacks" that freeze you up. 3) Antidote is trust in God. Jamie Buckingham tells about a pilot in Ecuador who was involved in a plane crash because of a passenger's fear. The wheels of the heavily loaded Cessna 206 had barely left the wet jungle airstrip when the passenger, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, panicked. The pilot had the throttle pushed all the way forward to the firewall. He had done this many times before and was confident they would clear the huge trees towering at the end of the little airstrip. The passenger, an American who had been visiting the Indians, had never taken off from a jungle airstrip. Looking up, all he could see were the on-rushing trees filling the windshield. Why doesn't the pilot pull back on the controls? he thought in terror. Fearful they were going to crash, he tried to help. He grabbed the wheel and pulled back. That was the worst thing he could have done. A plane needs to build up airspeed before you point the nose skyward. Otherwise, the plane will stall. The plane did stall. It pitched up, lost critical airspeed and began to settle toward the jungle below. The pilot wrenched the controls back and tried desperately to get the nose down. But it was too late. As the airplane reached stalling speed, the heavy engine pulled the nose over sharply, and the craft spun to earth. By God's grace, no one was killed, but all were injured because of a passenger's lack of trust in his pilot. How like that frightened passenger some of us are. We are continually grabbing the controls from God. We damage our health with worry. We deny our dreams because we fear risk. We dampen enthusiasm and joy with our anxiety. How we need to turn our lives over to God and trust His promises! #2273 -4- B. Christians shouldn't worry because: 1) For believers, the worst that can happen is already past. a) Sin is judged. 2) For believers, however dark it may be, the present has a brighter side. 3) For believers, the best that will happen lies in the future. #942 a) To recognize God's hand in life's trials is to be freed from the anxiety they produce. C. God cares for us. 1) Do you ever feel that no one does? From 1986 to 1990, Frank Reed was held hostage in a Lebanon cell. For months at a time, Reed was blindfolded, living in complete darkness, or chained to a wall and kept in absolute silence. On one occasion, he was moved to another room, and, although blindfolded, he could sense others in the room. Yet it was three weeks before he dared peek out to discover he was chained next to Terry Anderson and Tom Sutherland. Although he was beaten, made ill, and tormented, Reed felt most the lack of anyone caring. He said in an interview with Time, "Nothing I did mattered to anyone. I began to realize how withering it is to exist with not a single expression of caring around (me)... I learned one overriding fact: caring is a powerful force. If no one cares, you are truly alone." #1860 2) Christians are never truly alone. 3) A caring God is unique among world's religions. IV. Christians are responsible for their actions. 5:8 A. Our dependence on God's care doesn't preclude our own action. 1) Humbling ourselves and turning our fears over to God requires action on our part. 2) His command to be self-controlled and alert is even stronger. a) Be on lookout for Satan's schemes. b) Resist them when they come. -5- B. Devoured by sin. 1) Sad to see people destroyed by sinfulness. Interesting, too. 2) Jesus can put destroyed people back together again. V. God is stronger than Satan. A. Devil is against us. 1) "Satan" means accuser, in a courtroom setting. 2) God is our defense attorney. a) He never loses. B. Make sure your faith is stronger than your fear. 1) Stand firm in the faith. 2) Other Christians are also suffering. (Keep in perspective) C. God is calling us to glory. 5:10 1) He will restore us. a) May follow a period of suffering. 2) Will make us strong, firm, steadfast. VI. How strong is your faith? =========================================================================== TEXT 1PE 5:5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1PE 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1PE 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1PE 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1PE 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1PE 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1PE 5:11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1PE 5:12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 1PE 5:13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 1PE 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. =========================================================================== COMMENTARIES I. Mounce. A. Young men. 1) Adolescent males? 2) Deacons? 3) May be detached fragment from 2:13-3:9. B. Submission to the elderly. 1) Gospel's revolution is not in interests of disorder or chaos. a) It was in interests of God's order. 2) Respect for age is still a valid social convention. C. Humility. 1) For all believers. 2) Comes from word for a slave's apron. Cf. John 13:1-15 a) Not a feeling of worthlessness, but of service. * Ac 20:19 3) Theological basis. Prov 3:34 a) Pride is the original sin. b) Humility is recognizing the intrinsic worth of others. 1> Doesn't compare self with others, but serves others. 4) Practical lesson - humble selves under God's hand. a) Difficulties enter our lives with sovereign approval of God. b) If God has allowed you to enter a difficult place, be meek and learn. D. Cast anxiety. 1) Tied with above, not separate sentence. a) To recognize God's hand in life's trials is to be freed from the anxiety they produce. 2) Greek root means "to divide." a) Anxiety divides our attention and distracts. 3) A caring God is unique among world's religions. a) He is the father of the prodigal. E. Be alert for Satan. 1) Putting away anxiety does not mean lapse into inactivity. a) "Sober" has an eschatalogical intent. 2) Satan wants to devour us - gulp down. Jonah 1:17 3) Resist him. 4) Persecution is the lot of all who remain faithful. F. Four-fold promise. 1) Restore you. a) Used of mending nets. God will repair our "damage." b) God does this himself. (no secondary means) 2) Make you strong. a) Establish and make solid. 3) Make you firm. a) Fill with strength. 4) Make you steadfast. a) Make a firm foundation. G. God of all grace. 1) His unmerited favor is sufficient for any and every situation. 2) We are on our way to glory. H. Doxology. 1) The attribute of power (kratos) is used only of God in NT. I. Main points. McKnight A. God is stronger than Satan. B. God's grace can sustain us in our most difficult hour. 1) If we are tempted, God is on our side. 1 Cor 10:13 C. Christians are responsible for their actions. 1) Humble themselves in trust before God. 2) Hand over to God their fearful hearts. 3) Be on lookout for Satan's schemes. 4) Resist them when they come. I. Barclay. A. There is a law of humility before God. B. The law of Christian serenity in God. C. The law of Christian effort and vigilance. D. The law of Christian resistance. E. The law of Christian suffering. 1) Through suffering God will restore us. 2) He will establish us. 3) He will strengthen us. 4) He will settle us. =========================================================================== ILLUSTRATIONS CATEGORY: Young People, Teenagers, Apathy, Drugs, Communication, Family ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TEXT: Matt 19:20, Luke 15:12, Acts 2:17, 1 Tim 4:12, 1 Tim 5:1-2, Tit 2:6F, 1 Pet 5:5, 1 Jn 2:13-14 Number: 2337 Hard copy: y SOURCE: Christianity Today TITLE: The Return Of Apathy AUTHOR: Jay Kesler (Interview) PAGE: 19 DATE: 10/18/85 Typist: ENTERED: 10/14/92 DATE_USED: ILLUSTRATION__________________________________________________________________ : Jay Kesler says today's teenagers are different from past generations and need to be treated differently. They are apathetic because they think they don't matter to the world. The church and families can reach them, primarily by communicating and setting a good example. #2337 * CATEGORY: Middle Age, Aging, Retirement, Midlife Crisis, Limitations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TEXT: 1 Sam 12:2-5, 2 Sam 19:31-39, Job 15:9-10, Ps 71:18, Prov 16:31, Prov 20:29, Eccl 12:1-8, Isa 46:4, 1 Jn 2:13-14, 1 Pet 5:5, Tit 2:2 Number: 4127 Hard copy: y SOURCE: Newsweek TITLE: The New Middle Age AUTHOR: Melinda Beck PAGE: 50 DATE: 12/7/92 Typist: ENTERED: 6/18/97 DATE_USED: ILLUSTRATION__________________________________________________________________ : Article on how the Baby Boomers are aging and coping with midlife. Some run to plastic surgeons, a few chuck it all and go to Tahiti, but most cope with young children (blended families) and aging parents. #4127 * CATEGORY: Demand Rights, Humility, Surrender, Submission ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TEXT: 2 Chr 30:8, Luke 10:17, Rom 8:7, Rom 10:3, Rom 13:1, 1 Cor 9:15Ff, Eph 5:21, Heb 5:7, Heb 12:9, Jam 3:17, Jam 4:7, 1 Pet 5:5 Number: 2843 Hard copy: SOURCE: Discipleship Journal, #84 TITLE: "Self-control" AUTHOR: Ken Durham PAGE: 49 DATE: 11/1/94 Typist: ENTERED: 11/15/94 DATE_USED: ILLUSTRATION__________________________________________________________________ : It is natural for people today to demand their rights. But followers of Jesus surrender their rights to Him, enjoying only the privileges He, in loving sovereignty, allows. What are some of the rights Jesus' disciples must surrender? 1. The right to take revenge. Rom 12:19-20 2. The right to have a comfortable, secure home. Luke 9:57f 3. The right to a good reputation. Matt 5:11 4. The right to spend money however we please. Matt 6:19f 5. The right to hate an enemy. Matt 5:43-47 6. The right to be honored and served. Mark 10:42-45 7. The right to understand God's plan before we obey. Heb 11:8 8. The right to live by our own rules. John 14:23-24 9. The right to hold a grudge. Col 3:13 10. The right to "fit in" in society. Rom 12:2; Gal 1:10 11. The right to do whatever feels good. Gal 5:16f 12. The right to complain. Phil 2:14 13. The right to put self first. Phil 2:3-4 14. The right to express one's sexuality freely. 1 Cor 6:18f 15. The right to rebel against authority. 1 Pet 2:13f 16. The right to sue another believer. 1 Cor 6:1-8 17. The right to end a disappointing marriage. Matt 5:31f #2843 *