1 Peter 5:6-11 “Living in Light of God”

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

Love that old hymn. Thank you all for leading us in it.

It is a great reminder of what Peter reminds us here at the end of his letter.

I'll tell you up front, though, as Bill said and as we've confessed together,

it sounds real simple, but it's a lot harder than that in my heart.

Maybe you find that to be true in your life this week.

Peter's writing to people who are suffering,

who are struggling in a world that's not their home,

and wondering, how are we to live?

What is it specifically that God wants us to do?

Peter this morning is very clear, very direct, very specific about some practical ways that we ought to live.

Some of you love that, when God is just very direct, right?

We're going to be picking up our reading of God's Word at verse 6 of 1 Peter 5.

As we read, I want to encourage you to notice these clear commands

and the spiritual realities that motivate and enable our obedience to those commands.

Preachers call this what's true, the theological foundations,

and what to do, the application to our lives.

You may realize that because God's Word so often communicates this way that I often do as well,

I just usually don't say what's true and what to do.

But this morning, this passage is so simply and clearly laid out that way.

We will follow God telling us what to do because of what's true.

Follow with me as we hear God's holy, inerrant, infallible Word.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,

so that at the proper time He may exalt you,

casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.

Be sober-minded.

Be watchful.

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

Resist Him, firm in your faith,

knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

And after you have suffered a little while,

the God of all grace,

who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ,

will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

To Him be the dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

Let's pray.

God, thank you for clear direction.

We so need it.

We need also your grace to help us to follow it.

We're forgetful.

We are weak.

We're often weary.

We're dependent on you.

Would you help us, even now, as we look at your word, work in our hearts by your spirit.

We ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

What's true and what to do may seem simple,

but it's really challenging when increasingly in our culture,

people don't believe in spiritual realities.

Studies show that about half of Americans now believe that the God, as He's described in the Bible, exists.

A fast trend downward in recent years.

In fact, only three-fourths of those who call themselves Christians believe in a God who is all-loving,

all-knowing, and all-powerful.

That last one being the primary issue for most of them.

Likewise, only half of Americans believe Satan is real,

with increasingly naturalistic explanations accounting for both the good and the evil in our world, right?

What you see is what you get, and is all there is, more and more people say these days.

I mean, certainly having no powerful, personal God in the picture

can't be helping the overwhelming flood of anxiety, suicide, loneliness,

that is trending upward at equal and alarming rates.

These beliefs are not certainly the only cause of those things increasing.

Certainly, that's true, but they do seem connected, don't they?

But you know, it's not just that more people say they don't believe in spiritual beings.

Probably, in a room that's gathered like this,

more than half of us might say we believe in spiritual beings or realities.

But it's quite common among us to believe in God,

but to try to live without God in the equation.

We've confessed as much this morning.

I went through a season not long ago when I was busy,

feeling overwhelmed,

needing to get more done,

not sure how I was going to handle everything that was coming.

And my first response,

as the wonderful spiritual person that I am,

was to double down on my own efforts,

to work harder,

to get things done and make sure they were all under control.

That was my instinct in that moment.

Maybe for you, you need wisdom for retirement,

or parenting, or whatever it is.

And the first place you go for wisdom is online,

social media.

Maybe life gets hard.

Maybe you've recently been hurt deeply.

And your first instinct is to say,

I've got to make everything make sense so that I can control it.

Or if I can't control it, at least I can explain it.

See, in those ways and myriad other ways,

we tend to live as though all that's real is what we see,

and God is nowhere to be seen.

We so often try, as hard as we can,

to live without God in the equation,

and expect life to make sense or work out.

And it doesn't.

It doesn't make sense.

It doesn't work out.

Peter's pointing that out here.

Living as we ought in this world

requires awareness of spiritual realities.

Let's look at His clear commands,

the what to do,

and see how they make sense only.

We can follow them only

in light of spiritual realities,

the what's true part.

So, first clear command for us,

how to live, what to do,

humble yourself by casting your burdens on God.

Look at verse 6.

Humble yourselves, therefore,

under the mighty hand of God,

so that at the proper time,

He may exalt you.

How do I do that?

Casting all your anxieties on Him

because He cares for you.

Live not independently, self-sufficient,

but dependent upon God.

This is at the essence,

the Bible says, of human flourishing.

Think all the way back to that classic passage

in Micah chapter 6.

Micah 6 · chapter mention

He has told you, O man, what is good.

What does the Lord require of you

but to do justice,

to love kindness,

and to walk how?

Humbly with your God.

That's still hard.

What does that actually mean?

Be clearer, Peter.

What do I actually do to be humbling myself?

And he says,

cast all your anxiety on God.

Throw the things weighing on you onto God.

Toss them.

Sling them over there onto Him

rather than carrying them alone.

It's the picture from Psalm 55.

Cast your burden on the Lord

and He will sustain you.

How will God sustain you?

By taking your burdens upon Himself.

Stop pretending that you can handle all of them.

He's telling you,

He's telling you,

throw them to me.

Bow your knee.

Plead for my help.

I got to be part of a beautiful picture

of this last Sunday

as Drew and Taylor Bozeman,

still in the shock and pain

of a cancer diagnosis,

gathered with elders,

family members,

brothers and sisters from their grace group,

and we prayed.

We cried.

We threw one burden after another

onto God

because they trust Him.

And as we prayed in that room,

I had this deep sense

that the posture we were in there

in those moments,

kneeling before God,

desperate for His help,

was the one that we all need

to live in every day.

The verse says,

all your anxieties.

Not just the big ones.

Not just the heavy burdens.

Every one.

The whole bag.

Cast it up to Him.

Because you can't.

You're not made to.

Handle it yourself.

It's one of our core commitments

here at Southwood

to acknowledge our deep dependence

and our need for prayer

in every moment.

Peter says simply,

humbly live that way.

Why is that so hard?

Well,

because if I'm not worrying

about my problems,

who is?

If I'm not putting myself first,

who is?

If I'm not taking care of me,

who will?

And in a world without God,

the answer is often,

no one.

And that is scary,

isn't it?

No one will be looking out for me,

taking care of me.

How will we make ends meet

without this job?

What if my friends

stop liking me?

Why am I so depressed

so often?

If I'm on my own,

there is no way

I can be humble.

No way I can cast off

anxieties like those

just to be lost

in a sea of forgetfulness.

I can't just forget

anxieties like those.

And so,

Peter reminds us

what's true.

You are to humble yourself

under the mighty hand

of God

who will exalt you.

The mighty hand

is about God's strength,

His power to deliver,

in fact,

especially to rescue

His people

who are suffering

in this world.

And exactly when is best,

quite often on the day

we enter eternity,

He lifts us up.

God is strong.

God is loving.

He cares for you.

That might be

the most powerful phrase

in this whole verse

that we often overlook.

It's why we've been

hitting it over and over

and over this morning.

Can you believe this?

Could you,

kids,

just stop and listen

for a moment and think.

Adults,

stop and think.

God,

He cares for you.

He cares for you.

He cares for you.

And it seems too simple

to us sometimes

to mean something,

but it has to.

The spiritual reality here

is summarized in Psalm 62.

Once God has spoken,

twice have I heard this,

that power belongs to God

and that to you,

O Lord,

belongs steadfast love.

You, O Lord,

are strong

and you, O Lord,

are loving.

And we need them both.

You can trust Him.

You're not alone.

You're not on your own.

The strong one cares for you.

Do you hear that?

Do you know that?

The strong one cares for you.

I remember some time ago

going on a hike with my family

and my youngest daughter

felt the way I often do.

She was feeling very independent

and strong

and she wanted to take

her own backpack

and water bottle

on this hike.

So we started out great.

I think it was

at the first water break

that she decided

her water bottle

should go back

in my backpack.

So it did.

I mean,

after all,

it was hot.

We were going uphill

pretty soon

with her excitement

about the hike

left back,

I think,

around the trailhead

where we started.

she was throwing

her backpack

over to me

and I was wearing

that one too.

Before we made it

to the top,

at the end of the hike,

she was riding

on Dad's shoulders

with both backpacks

underneath.

I want to suggest to you

that she was not

a failure that day.

that wasn't disappointing.

Throwing the heavy backpack

on Dad's back

made more sense.

Riding Dad's longer legs

by putting all her weight

on his shoulders

made more sense.

Her joy increased

largely as a result.

Our joy

increased.

And even an imperfect

father

was pleased

to carry

everyone

and everything.

Listen,

friends,

especially those of you

who are

like me,

prone to being

independent,

but you're

willing to admit

you're kind of tired

of that.

It gets exhausting.

Maybe you're feeling

that weariness today.

Your father

is immeasurably

strong

and he is

unfailingly

loving.

He will not

let you down.

Remember

that that is

true of him.

So you can

cast your burdens

on him.

You can rest

in his arms.

You can give him

the glory.

That's the first thing.

Second,

clear command.

How do I live

in this world

that's not my home?

What to do?

Be alert

to resisting Satan.

Verse 8.

Be sober-minded.

Be watchful.

Your adversary,

the devil,

prowls around

like a roaring lion

seeking someone

to devour.

Resist him.

It's clear.

You have an enemy.

He loves

to deceive.

It's in his name.

He is the

father of lies.

So don't live

like you're not

in a battle.

Be alert.

Sober-minded.

Watchful.

Be alert to the

reality around you.

Satan would love

for you to believe

that it's all up to you.

That you really are

at the end of the day

on your own

to figure life out.

But some of you

insist on believing

in God.

And if you insist

on believing in God,

Satan would love

for you to believe

that that God

will love you

only if

you get your life

figured out

and under control

first.

And that puts you,

in case you're not

connecting the dots,

in the exact same place

as if you said

you didn't believe

in him at all.

In fact,

if you refuse

to embrace

that lie,

Satan would love

to use the suffering

going on

in your life

to get you

to start

to believe

that God

can't be

fully trusted

just sometimes,

but you can't

really trust him

to do what's best

for you.

Clearly,

this illness,

this relationship,

this tragedy

is not

what a good God

would want

for you,

he says.

No, no,

Peter says,

resist

those lies.

Don't assume

that those things

are just your

brilliant,

rational thinking.

Anybody would

know this.

No, you have

an enemy

who is a deceiver

who makes it

sound good.

You be all

the more alert

to the truth

of God's word.

How do you resist

someone who is

a deceiver?

The belt of truth,

which is

closely related

to the sword

of the Spirit,

the word

of God itself,

which Jesus

quoted,

by the way,

didn't he?

When Satan

was tempting

him,

what did he use

to thwart

those temptations?

The word of God

time and time

and time again.

The shield

of faith,

firm in your

faith,

it says.

Not in yourself,

right?

Not that you're

strong enough

on your own,

firm in your faith

and you're strong

and loving God

because as you

trust God

and know that

he is good,

so good,

that even the evil

in your life

is refining you

and is making

your faith

of greater worth

than gold,

when that's really

what you know

to be true,

then the flaming arrows

of Satan coming

at you will be

extinguished.

He's good.

He's safe

for you to trust.

So when Satan

appears to stop

up our path

and fill us

with fear,

we triumph

by faith.

The Lord

will provide,

right?

That's what we say.

Satan tells us

we're weak.

That certainly

seems true

a lot of times,

doesn't it?

Satan tells us

our hope

is in vain

and when suffering

is coming

and life is hard,

that looks

to be true too.

The good

that you seek,

you will never

obtain.

How many days

do you feel like

you're not going

to persevere?

You couldn't

make it.

I'm not going

to last

through this

situation long

enough to see

whatever so-called

good there could

possibly be

coming of this.

maybe that's

true too.

I'm never

going to...

No.

No, we say

and we sing

the Lord

will provide.

He is good.

His promises

never fail

and we resist.

Resisting Satan,

by the way,

is not just

a you

and God

and your

Bible

and your prayer

closet

kind of activity,

by the way.

not just you

sitting there alone

trying to convince

yourself of the truth

if you just think

about it long

and hard enough.

The prowling lion

would love to

isolate the prey

like that.

Verse 9,

resist him

firm in the faith

knowing

that the same

kinds of suffering

are being experienced

by your brotherhood

throughout the world.

Resisting Satan

is a community

project,

isn't it?

How many of you

have needed that?

You've needed

people around you

helping you remember

you're not alone.

I'm hurting too.

She's doubting too.

He's struggling too.

And these

sufferings

that we're in

are the ones

that our Savior

told us

we were going

to have.

And they remind us

of something

not what Satan

may be telling

your heart

not that Jesus

has left you

no, no

far from it.

They remind us

that Jesus

has bound

himself to us

that we are

united with him

in these

sufferings.

The one who went

to the cross

we're united

with him

and then he

rose from the

grave to deliver

us from these

sufferings forever.

And we need to

remember

that we're bound

to him

and to one another

in those

sufferings.

Now that we're

able to travel

again to some

of our

mission partners

after COVID

and get to

visit them

our mission team

as we've been

planning some

trips has asked

them

what do y'all

need?

How can we

partner with you?

Where can we

be of help?

And it's amazing

how many

times

we've heard

from them

recently

not

send a preacher

or

send a doctor

or even

send money

that's usually

in there

somewhere

but

send other

Christians

we need

to feel

that we're

not alone

that we are

not the only

Christians

in the world

holding

to the truth

of Jesus

and the good

news found

in God's

word

in the midst

of a world

that seems

against us

we need

brothers and

sisters

to come

be with us

so when we

send a team

to DC

when we

send a family

to France

when we

send a pastor

to India

we're resisting

Satan

with them

we are

locking arms

with our

brothers and

sisters

united

to Jesus

and by

Jesus

to one

another

to stand

firm

well what's

true

we're already

talking about

it

you can

you really

can't resist

Satan

if you're

not aware

that he's

real

he's active

he's against

you

you don't

resist

Mickey

Mouse

no need

so again

if

if suffering

is no

surprise

because

you're

not

home

yet

you're

you're

in a

battle

suffering

doesn't

shock

you

but

though

Satan

is

active

God

is

stronger

you

dare

not

resist

Satan

unless

that's

true

too

right

it's a

similar

spiritual

reality

to that

first part

he is

the God

of all

grace

you don't

have to do

enough

you don't

have to

figure it

out

you don't

have to

measure up

you have

to have

him

he knows

exactly what

you need in

your suffering

to him is

the eternal

dominion

the all

surpassing

power

and authority

greater is

he that

is in

you

than he

that is

in the

world

amen

Satan

is a

fierce

enemy

but he's

not

omnipresent

did you

know that

he's

not

he's

not

omniscient

he is

certainly

not

omnipotent

don't

believe

those

for a

minute

that's

not

who

he

is

greater

is

he

that

is

in

you

Satan

fights

God's

people

only

under

God's

ultimate

control

greater

is

he

that

is

where

in

you

not

not

some

out

there

somewhere

distant

figment

of your

imagination

God

no

in

you

so

you

can

resist

Satan

without

it

being a

fool's

errand

you

are

the

tabernacle

of the

most

high

God

whose

spirit

is

in

you

Christian

resist

Satan

cast

your

burdens

on the

Lord

gather

brothers

and

sisters

who

can

help

you

stand

whatever

is

needed

but

by

all

means

resist

and

fight

and

live

in

confident

faith

because

of who

your

God

is

listen

to

what

your

God

is

going

to

do

Peter

is

writing

this

passage

right

here

this whole

letter

to people

who are

already

facing

persecution

who he

said are

enduring

sufferings

of all

sorts

many of

whom will

face

martyrdom

for their

faith

listen

he says

no matter

what

no matter

all of

those

things

no matter

what

the

God

of all

grace

will

himself

personally

you can

count

on it

restore

confirm

strengthen

and establish

you

he will

one day

set back

right

like a

bone that's

been broken

and needs

to be

fixed

everything

that's been

messed up

by suffering

that's a lot

he will

reaffirm

your status

as children

and heirs

he will give you

power beyond

anything

Satan has

and he will

plant you

forever

on the firm

foundation

of the good news

of Jesus'

love

his life

and death

and resurrection

for you

so that on that

foundation

you will

never

be

moved

he promises

he will do

that

it's a bunch

of verbs

piled up

there

to promise

that God

will bring

you to

glory

eternally

his

eternal

glory

in Christ

the Father

and the Son

they won't

have it

without you

they will

bring you

to be there

standing firm

listen

if you're

out of

patience

this morning

weary

worn down

feeling weak

you need to

know God

will soon

crush

Satan

under your

feet

that's the

kind of

power

he gives

you

when he

dwells

in you

and establishes

you forever

Satan

is pictured

here as a

lion

and that

that can

be scary

there's

danger

there

but Jesus

is the

lion

of Judah

with the

true scepter

the rightful

throne

the eternal

kingdom

he is the

real lion

which C.S. Lewis

pictures so well

in the lion

Aslan

and the lion

the witch

and the wardrobe

where he writes

wrong will be

right

when Aslan

comes in sight

at the sound

of his roar

sorrows

will be no more

when he

bears his teeth

winter

meets its death

and when he

shakes his mane

we shall have

spring

again

yes

yes

we will

can't you

hardly

wait

until the

true

king

rules

over

everything

justice

peace

righteousness

everywhere

can't you

hardly wait

until sorrows

are no more

a day

where tears

are going to be

wiped away

can't you

hardly wait

until an

eternal

spring

comes

life

and

beauty

and joy

everywhere

unending

friends

the reality

we must

remember

to live

in this

world

is there's

a God

who is

strong

and loving

how could

we imagine

living

setting

priorities

making

decisions

losing

loved

ones

enduring

persecution

without

him

he's

greater

than the

very real

enemy

we face

and because

of that

there's a

guaranteed

eternity

so full

of glory

that it

far outweighs

somehow

the worst

sufferings

that we

face here

your

eternal

life

so full

of glory

that your

finite

mind

can't

comprehend

it

an eternity

so full

of glory

that the

God of

all grace

has called

you to it

and will

make you

fit for

it

forever

clothed

in the

righteous

robes

of his

son

depend

on

him

cast

your cares

on

him

fight

with his

power

trust

his

strong

hand

to bring

you

home

father

we

do

trust

you

would you

help our

unbelief

would you

keep

satan

and his

lies

from us

would you

anchor us

in your

word

would you

reassure

our

wandering

wondering

hearts

would we

feel your

arms

around us

strong

and loving

and know

that you

care

help us

Lord we

are weak

but you

are strong

and you

are in

us

and with

us

and for

us

and so

we are

delighted

to be

yours

give us

rest

right there

we ask

in Jesus

name

amen

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information

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