Servant Soldiers - 1 Peter 5:1-14

So let us hear the word of God, starting at verse 1.

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings,

who will also share in the glory to be revealed.

Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care watching over them,

not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be,

not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve,

not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders.

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another,

because God opposes the proud, but shows favour to the humble.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand,

that he may lift you up in due time.

Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind.

Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Resist him.

Standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world

is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

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.

To him be the power forever and ever.

Amen.

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.

She who is in Babylon,

chosen together with you,

sends you her greetings.

And so does my son Mark.

Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you

who are in Christ.

Dan.

Dan.

Dan.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Before we start,

let's just go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we give you great glory and thanks

for yet another day to gather in your name.

the privilege of being able to bring our concerns

and our anxieties to you,

regardless of where we've come from this week,

whether we find ourselves doing well

or doing not so well.

We give you thanks for what you've done in our life.

So help us to lay our concerns at the altar of your throne,

to open our hearts and minds

to the truths and the realities

of what your word would have us learn this morning.

As we continue in our worship through the word,

may we enter into worship with you.

We ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Really is difficult to believe this is the last Sunday.

I'll be with you in this series.

And a lot of people have been asking me

how I'm feeling about this being the last Sunday.

And I've been responding with,

it's kind of bittersweet.

It'll be good to get back to my hometown,

home congregation,

but it's hard to leave

because it's been just a great time of blessing

being here and ministering to you

and with you

and praying for you

and praying with you.

And really, it's felt like our home church

for the last couple of months.

So it's really been our church family

while we've been here.

It's also been a great reminder to me

that there are things going on

outside of the little bubble

that we can create in our own local environment,

in our hometowns.

It's a great reminder to me

that we're not alone in this fight.

And that's just what this Christian walk is.

It's a fight.

It's a war.

We're all soldiers in this war,

in Christ's army.

And we wage war every day,

not with guns,

not with bombs or swords or shields

or all that kind of thing,

but with prayer,

with fellowship,

with kindness and love.

And that's what I've been reflecting on

as I'm bringing you this last message this morning,

the idea that we're servants

and soldiers.

In fact,

the title of today's sermon is

We Are Servant Soldiers.

We serve and we fight.

So we're going to look at two things

in terms of being servant soldiers,

what Peter has to say.

We are to be humble towards one another

and we are to fight against sin.

Be humble towards one another

and fight against sin.

So let's dive in at verse one.

To the elders among you,

I appeal as a fellow elder

and as a witness of Christ's sufferings

who will also share in the glory

to be revealed.

Remember that Peter is writing

not to a specific church somewhere,

like the church in Carrig

or the church in Middleton or wherever,

but he's writing to all the churches

in what we now call Turkey.

So it's not one particular church,

one particular problem,

one particular group of elders.

This is a message for all churches

in all contexts at all times.

And he grounds his appeal in three things.

Take a look at verse one.

He says, I'm a fellow elder,

so I understand what your calling is

and I share that responsibility.

He says, I'm a witness of Christ's sufferings.

I actually saw him nailed to the cross.

I was there when he died

and I was there when he rose.

And he says, I'll also share

in the glory to be revealed.

I'll share in the glory to be revealed.

I'm your fellow brother in Christ.

Not just an elder,

not just a witness of Christ's sufferings,

but I will participate with you

one day in the glory

that will be revealed

when Jesus calls us to himself.

And on the basis of that,

Peter is saying, I get it.

I get the responsibilities that you have,

elders.

I know why Christ died.

And I share in this fellowship with you

in Christ.

And on that basis,

verse two,

Peter says,

be shepherds of God's flock

that is under your care,

watching over them.

Shepherd,

pastor,

overseer,

elder,

they're all words for the same thing.

They all describe

the same duties

and responsibilities

of those who lead

in the local church.

And now this isn't just for elders.

I'll come to you in a second.

But let's let the text speak

for itself first.

Still in verse two,

Peter says,

watch over the flock,

not because you must,

but because you are willing,

as God wants you to be.

Have you ever thought

the only reason that you're serving

in a particular way

is because nobody else will do it?

Because there's nobody else there

to fill the gap.

You might also want to do it.

Maybe you do,

maybe you don't.

But it's still easy

when we think like that

to get self-important.

Well, I'm filling in this gap.

I'm so important.

I'm such a martyr for the cause.

And it's easy to develop this complex

or to be entitled about things.

And Peter says,

don't do that.

Don't.

Just put that thing to death

and serve humbly,

not haughtily.

And here's the thing.

Because we're all people,

this is news to you, right?

Because we're all people,

we all do this

from time to time.

It's going to happen.

So for example,

when someone else is preaching,

it's really easy for me to sit there

and be thinking,

oh, I wouldn't have stressed that point.

I wouldn't have used that application

or drawn out that illustration.

And just like it's easy for others to do that

when I'm standing up here.

Or it's easy for us to get an attitude that,

well, I'm really the only one

who's capable of doing this,

so I guess I'll just get on with it

and do it.

No real joy,

just a sense of entitlement,

wanting constant pats on the back,

that sort of thing.

And you know,

the one thing I have to pray for,

the hardest,

when I get up to preach,

is against all those things.

Is that it wouldn't go to my head.

That when I do have someone

who gives me good feedback

or plaudits or whatever,

that I wouldn't start getting too big

for my boots.

And let's be honest,

Peter talks about selfish gain.

I'm not exactly going to become a millionaire

by being a preacher in Ireland in 2019.

Not in this church,

and not in Middleton anyway.

Maybe there are churches out there

where it might happen, but...

I might be able to make a reputation

for myself, though.

I might be able to get people to see,

oh, you know,

there's this guy down in Middleton

and you really want him to come to preach.

That can go to my head.

I might get in a position

to influence other people

by taking the word

and not necessarily teaching what it says,

but using it to manipulate people

and to influence them

in a way I would like them to be.

Or I might be able to get

a certain amount of public limelight

on myself.

Be in the spotlight.

That's still gain, isn't it?

That's still something I get

out of doing this.

And I ought not minister

for those reasons.

Just as Johnny was talking about,

we're saved by Jesus

and therefore

we ought to be humble.

Because of the sacrifice

that Jesus made.

You know,

I'm not standing here going,

oh, well,

Jesus paid for my sins,

so I'll just lord it over everybody.

I'll just show everybody

I know the best.

Peter says,

don't do that.

Verse 3,

don't lord it over people

who might be looking to you

to lead or to shepherd

or to disciple,

but by being,

and underline this word,

an example

to the flock.

An example

to the flock.

You know those times

like I have them

when you're thinking about

raising your kids,

do as I say,

not as I do.

Don't copy what I'm doing,

just do what I tell you to do.

And Peter says,

get that out of your head.

Not do as I say,

not as I do.

Be an example,

he says.

Paul,

the apostle Paul,

exhorted the Corinthians

to follow his example

just as he followed

Christ's example.

Faithful.

Temperate.

Even-tempered.

Self-controlled.

Sober.

Honest.

Hospitable.

And here's the point.

This isn't just for elders

or pastors.

No one's sitting here

wondering,

oh, well,

that's okay then.

I'm not a pastor,

I'm not an elder,

I don't need to be humble

or faithful

or all that kind of things.

But because Peter says,

elders,

be an example

to the flock,

this is a picture

of how all believers

ought to imitate

the character

and the deeds

of Christ.

And if that's how elders

ought to behave,

how pastors ought to behave

as an example,

then maybe think about

things like this.

do we want people

to be saying,

he's so great

with the kids' ministry

or she's such a wonderful

addition to the

whatever ministry?

It might be.

But is that what we

want people to say?

Do we want the plaudits?

Do we want the pat on the back

and the recognition?

Or are we happy

just serving,

just using our gifts

as God gave them to us

without wanting

this public recognition?

Or how about this,

kind of linking in

with what I just said

about preaching.

Do we view our ministries

as stepping stones

to bigger things?

So bigger churches,

flashy worship music,

whatever.

Are we content

that God,

as Paul says

in 1 Corinthians 12,

has placed the members

of the body

just where he wants them

for his glory

and to serve

and to give him glory?

Do we think

we know better than others?

Even if we do,

sometimes.

Are we kind

and gentle

and humble

in our service?

In other words,

friends,

do we make this

all about us?

All of this,

the seating,

the music,

the preaching,

the kids ministry,

do we make this

all about us

and our gifts

and our abilities

and our ministry

and our church?

Even verse 5,

have a look at this.

Even if we're not elders

or officers in the church,

do we puff ourselves up

and act like it?

Do we think we know better

than the church leaders

and therefore

we don't submit to them?

Now that's not to say

that doesn't happen

sometimes,

regularly,

a lot of the time,

whatever you want to say,

but that's not the point.

The point is

whether or not

we're willing

to submit

and to defer

to the church leaders

just as the church leaders

submit

and defer

to Christ

and offer themselves up

as an example

for the rest of us

to follow.

Are we humble

towards one another?

It's not about

our talents.

It's not about

whether we know better

or we have the right ideas

or plans

or whatever the case.

This isn't about us.

This is about

Jesus.

This is all

for Jesus.

And so much of our walk

depends on humility.

I was reflecting on this

during the week

and I don't think

I'm going out on the limb

to say this

that I think the greatest

part of our flesh

that we have to be

actively crucifying

every day

is all this

me, me, me stuff.

It's all about me.

It's all about what I can do.

Because if we can do that,

if we can

work on those things,

if we sow that seed

and we water it

with the word of God

and with the fellowship

of the local church,

then we'll see it grow

and we'll see it produce

its fruit

in its season.

Verse 4,

if these attitudes

are in us,

if these are the fruit

of our faith,

then we receive

the crown

of glory.

The crown

of glory.

So what crown is this?

Well,

remember what Jesus said?

Whoever exalts himself

will be humbled.

Whoever humbles himself

will be exalted.

And that's exactly

what Peter says

in verse 6.

Humble yourselves.

Bring yourselves low,

therefore,

under God's mighty hand

that he might lift you up

in due time.

Bring yourself low.

Humble yourself.

Empty yourself

so that at the right time

Christ will exalt you,

will lift you up,

raise you up,

and seat you

with himself

at the right hand

of God.

Because at the end of it,

friends,

isn't that what Jesus did?

Emptied himself,

made himself nothing,

and humbled himself

to the point of death,

even on a cross,

so that he might be exalted

and that we might be exalted

with him.

this isn't just about

being nice to people

for the sake of it.

This is about echoing

the very life

of Jesus himself

because that echo,

while imperfect

and while incomplete,

that echo,

that modeling out

of this character of Christ

is the fruit

of the life

of somebody

whose heart says

it's all

for Jesus.

It's all about him.

In this war,

in this Christian life,

we are servant soldiers

and we serve

by being humble

towards one another.

Secondly,

finally,

have a look at verse 8.

Since we are servant soldiers,

we fight against sin.

Verse 8 says,

Be alert,

be of sober mind.

Your enemy,

the devil,

prowls around

like a roaring lion

looking for someone

to devour.

I read a lot

about strange things

in the lead up to sermons.

This week isn't too bad.

It was lions.

So, you know,

pretty easy.

If you don't know

anything about lions,

then you at least know

that they're pretty

fearsome hunters.

And some of you

have cats,

like I do.

And now,

my cat,

you know,

she wouldn't exactly

win the cat version

of Mastermind

or whatever.

You know,

you could take her,

stick her in front

of an open door

with a bit of cheese.

She'd miss the cheese

and still bang her head

against the door.

But despite all those things,

she's still one heck

of a hunter

because she's a cat.

Quiet,

stealthy,

quick,

lethal.

And she's only

a house cat.

She's only the size of,

I don't know,

half his laptop.

If you take a lion,

just like smaller cats,

the thing about them

is that they stalk

their prey.

They slowly

and they patiently

walk around

in the long grass,

hidden,

not letting themselves

get given away

until they absolutely

have to.

And I was reading

that lions

generally won't charge

at their prey

until they're basically

right up on top

of them.

Satan does

the same thing.

It's not like

the movies

or whatever

where Satan

has bright red skin

and horns on his head

and a pitchfork

and a tail

and hooves

and he's not going

to come up to you

wearing a sign

that says,

hi,

I'm Satan,

I'm here to tempt you today.

You're not going

to have a personal

encounter

with the devil himself.

Not because he's not real,

he's very real,

but because the whole

world lies

in the power

of the evil one,

Paul tells us.

John tells us,

excuse me.

World.

Kosmos

is the Greek word.

The orderly arrangement

of the whole world system

is fundamentally influenced

by Satan

and by sin himself.

So be alert,

Peter says.

Just be awake.

Just be realistic.

Know that this is

the devil's playground.

It's where he's at work.

And not just that,

but be sober,

he says.

It's actually the third time

Peter has used that word

in this letter.

Be sober.

Clear-headed.

Free from anything

intoxicating.

Go out of your way

to avoid intoxication

because the things

that cause them,

maybe they're not bad

in and of themselves,

but the things

that cause them

are ways

Satan uses

to tempt you

into sin.

Things like this.

Since he said sober,

let's start with alcohol.

There's nothing wrong with it

in and of itself.

You can have a drink

if you like.

Jesus himself

was pretty familiar

with the wine production process.

But if you can't have

just one drink,

or if when you drink

you get gossipy,

angry,

lustful,

whatever,

simply put,

don't drink.

Be sober.

How about career?

As a civil servant,

I think about this often.

Again,

not bad by itself.

Good to have goals.

Good to have aspirations.

But when we covet

a career,

and we esteem it

higher

than how we treat

other people,

then we're going to

start to think

a little bit less

about what that

ladder climbing means

when we hurt people,

or we

cheat people,

or we step

on people.

Here's a topical one.

Being involved

in politics.

We live in a democracy.

It's good to be

civically aware,

informed,

active,

all that kind of thing.

But be careful

how you do this.

This is a double-edged sword.

Don't just read things

by people you already

agree with,

and reinforce

your own ideas

about things.

Because the next step

is don't demonize

people

that you disagree with.

Don't act like

the person who

disagrees with you

on any particular subject,

even if they agree

with you

on everything else,

is somehow

a fascist

or a communist

or whatever the case

might be,

whatever names

you might call them.

Don't become

one of the hysterical

voices,

and there are many

of them out there,

the hysterical voices

that get outraged

by everything

and anything.

I've said it before,

the most common word

in Ireland

is disgraceful.

The health service

is disgraceful,

or bus fare

went up by five cents.

It's disgraceful.

Don't be one

of those people.

Be mindful

about how people

can hear

and interpret

your words

and your actions,

whether in person,

social media,

whatever the case

might be.

In other words,

Peter says,

be alert.

Wake up.

Just actively

be on the lookout

for all of these

things that can

sneak up on you

like a predator

and devour you.

Usually not all

at once.

I don't know about you,

but I know from

my own experience

that those times

in my life

where I've sinned

in a very visible

kind of way,

it's never been

in isolation.

If I'm honest,

and I think

if you're honest

when we look

at those things,

we look back

and we'll see

this trail

of seemingly

little insignificant

things that lead

up to them.

the little white lie

or,

well,

it's only five euro,

I'll put that

in the expense account

or just little things

like that add up

because James says

each person

is tempted

when they are

dragged away

by their own

evil desire

and enticed

and then after

desire has conceived,

it gives birth

to sin

and sin,

when it grows up,

gives birth

to death.

This isn't a game.

This is serious stuff.

Jesus said,

if your right eye

causes you to sin,

gouge it out.

If your right arm

causes you to sin,

cut it off.

If there is something

in your life

that is fundamentally

getting in the way

of you glorifying God

by the way

you live your life,

get rid of that thing.

I don't know

what it is.

You know

what it is.

And the Lord

knows what it is.

The Puritan

John Owen

said it this way,

be killing sin

or sin

will be killing you.

Be killing sin

or sin

will be killing you.

So verse 9,

we need to resist

the works of Satan

in our lives.

We need to recognize

what we are tempted by.

We need to limit

our exposure

to those things.

And then we need to

do what we often

do last

after everything else.

Pray

against those things.

Pray against

whatever it is

that you are

struggling with.

Pray by yourself.

Involve your spouse,

your best friend,

an elder in this church,

whoever.

Pray against

those things.

Resist the devil,

James says,

and he will flee

from you.

Prayer is more

powerful

than psychology

or philosophy

or anything like that.

It's a weapon

in the believer's armor.

And remember,

we're not alone.

Jesus brought us

from death to life

not to be by ourselves,

as I've said so often

through this series,

but to be born again

into a family

of believers.

A family that

transcends

nationality

and language

birthplace,

whatever.

And just like

the world,

the church

and the world over

suffers,

no matter where they are,

we all sin.

No matter where we are.

We're all tempted.

We all stumble.

And even though

we seek to glorify God

in our lives,

as Paul says,

who will rid me

from this body

of sin?

We're still here.

We're still in the reality

of living here.

In a fallen world

in Ireland

in the 21st century.

And so we need to pray

against these things.

And to remember this,

this world can be hard.

Cruel.

Bleak.

So when our relationships

fail

and break up,

or when our kids

get sick,

or our loved ones

die,

or our workplaces

are full of gossip

and strife

and bitterness

and unpleasantness,

when the depression

overcomes you,

when the eviction notice

comes through the door,

back in verse 7,

cast all your anxiety

on him

because he cares

for you.

Friends,

in this world,

Jesus said,

we will have suffering.

It will happen.

But fear not,

Jesus said,

I have overcome

the world.

Jesus has destroyed

death

and sin

itself

so that regardless

of what happens

in this life,

regardless of what

Satan throws at us,

if we hold fast

to Christ,

then we get

this crown of glory.

We go to be

with him forever.

Verse 10,

fight against sin,

resist the devil,

and the God

of grace

who has called us

to eternal glory

with Christ.

will,

after the suffering,

restore us

to strength

and firmness

and steadfastness,

even when it's hard,

even when we have

setbacks,

even when we think

we're not being

the best Christian

in the world,

and we never will be,

by the way.

In all of these things,

we still look forward

to that day

when Jesus calls us

to himself

and there's no more death

and every tear

will be wiped away

and there'll be

no more suffering

and no more pain

and you get

a nice new body.

Some of us

are looking forward

to that.

Fear not,

Jesus said,

I have overcome

the world.

I'm just about done.

I've taken you

through this letter

which is just loaded

with these deep,

great truths

about God,

his love

and his plan

for redeeming us,

what that ought

to look like

in our lives.

And I sincerely hope

it's impacted you.

I sincerely hope

that you get a sense

of just what great mercy

God bestowed on us

when he sent his son

to die

so that he would

save us out

of the world.

As Peter says,

verse 12,

and this is what

I've tried to do

over the last couple

of months,

I have written

to you briefly,

verse 12,

encouraging you

and testifying

that this

is the true

grace

of God.

Stand fast

in it.

This is the grace

of God.

It is the unmerited

favor,

the undeserved

favor that he

bestows on those

who come in faith

to Jesus.

Nothing you have

to do.

You don't sign

anything.

There's no secret

handshake.

None of that

kind of stuff.

Just come in faith.

So be a servant

soldier.

Be humble

in your dealings

with your fellow

man and woman

inside the church

and outside

the church.

Fight against

sin.

Be killing

sin

day by day.

Watch out

for the lion

that's prowling

around

looking for ways

to devour you.

Remember that

God chose you.

That he called

you out of darkness

into the glorious

light.

That Christ

suffered once

for sins,

the righteous

for the unrighteous,

to bring you

to God,

having himself

being made alive

in the spirit,

the same spirit

that now lives

in you

if you profess

Christ.

If you didn't

know it before,

you certainly

know it now,

two months later.

I'm not one for

mincing words.

If it's true,

it's true.

If you don't

follow Jesus,

here's my final

plea.

Follow him.

God became

man

and suffered

death

that you

might have

life.

Jesus

is not

one way

to God

out of many

ways.

In the words

of Jesus

himself,

he said,

I am

the way,

the truth,

and the life,

and no one

comes to the

Father except

through me.

There is no

other name

here on earth

or anywhere

in the universe

on which you

can call

and have any

hope of

anything

after this

brief life

here on earth.

It's Jesus

or it's

nothing.

So as we

close,

if there's only

one thing you

take away from

my time with

you,

that'd be

this.

This is not

about us.

This is about

Jesus.

It's all

about Jesus.

it's all

his.

As verse 11

says,

to him

be the

power

or the

glory

or the

dominion.

To him

be the

power

forever

and ever.

And all

God's people

said,

Amen.

Let's pray.

Father,

we thank you

that your

word is like

a double-edged

sword and

it pierces

to the

division of

bone and

marrow and

soul and

spirit.

We thank you

for the

reminders that

you have

given us

through your

word that

we are

chosen,

that we are

kept,

that we are

shielded.

We also

thank you that

you're honest

enough to

tell us the

truth,

that we

must fight

against sin,

that we

must be

humble.

humble us

Lord,

in the

ways where

we glorify

ourselves and

exalt

ourselves.

We ask

you for

your mercy.

We ask

for your

grace once

more to

pour over

us and

to make

us realize

that this

is not

about us.

This is

about you.

Wherever we

serve,

whatever we

say,

whatever we

do,

help us to

do it for

your glory,

not for

our own.

Be with us

Lord,

as we

live out

our lives

here in

this fallen

world as

new creations,

help us to

be salt and

light to the

world around

us, a

beacon of

hope in

a world of

darkness.

Help us to

say the right

words with

the right

attitude and

give us ears

to listen when

we simply need

to listen.

For those who

don't know

you, for

those who

don't call on

your name,

maybe even

sitting here or

listening right

now, be

drawing them

to you,

Father.

Give them

the realization

that they

have been

drawn to

where they

can hear

your word,

where they

can hear the

good news

that you

sent your

son who

died so

that we

might have

life.

Be working

in them,

Holy Spirit,

convicting

them and

breaking down

their barriers

and drawing

them to

you so

that they

would declare

that Jesus

his Lord.

Be with

us as we

go to

the Lord's

table and

remind ourselves

of these

great truths

that you

sent your

son as

the suffering

servant,

as the

humble

sacrifice

who didn't

open his

mouth but

who went

willingly like

a lamb to

the slaughter.

Help us to

remember that

we are part of

one body with

many members

others and

that together

we seek to

glorify you.

We ask these

things in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to

sing together in

response the

song Jesus

all for

Jesus.

Do we have

that the

that the

only place

that we

should run

to, the

only one

who we

should commit

our life

to is

him.

So let's

stand together.

Amen.