Stand In Grace
Following Jesus in a Hostile World • Sermon • Submitted
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Though skeptical of his teenage son’s newfound determination to build bulging muscles, one father followed his teenager to the store’s weight-lifting department, where they admired a set of weights.
“Please, Dad,” pleaded the teen, “I promise I’ll use ’em every day.”
“I don’t know, Michael. It’s really a commitment on your part,” the father said.
“Please, Dad?”
“They’re not cheap either,” the father said.
“I’ll use ’em, Dad, I promise. You’ll see.”
Finally won over, the father paid for the equipment and headed for the door. After a few steps, he heard his son behind him say, “What! You mean I have to carry them to the car?”
Preaching Today.com, More Perfect Illustrations: For Every Topic and Occasion (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2003), 44–45.
Growth requires commitment… today we want to land the plane on our study of 1 Peter...as we have been studying this marvelous book, I trust you have seen a common theme…regardless of the amount of suffering we endure, and regardless of where that suffering comes from, we must remain committed to doing what is right… for us to grow in our faith, we have to be committed to the process of progressive sanctification…that process often involves suffering…that has been Peter’s message throughout this book...
His audience was experiencing some difficult circumstances often at the hand of the the hostile culture they lived in…it was going to get worse…Peter wanted to encourage them to understand God’s plan in their suffering and that He provides the grace needed to endure it.
As we come to this final chapter, Peter is going to conclude his letter by addressing specific groups of people to exhort them regarding their responsibilities to stand in grace…if each group he addressed wanted to successfully stand in grace, it was important for them to fulfill their responsibilities.
With that in mind please turn to 1 Peter 5:1-14.
Main Point: Troubling Times Necessitate We Stand in Grace!
Main Point: Troubling Times Necessitate We Stand in Grace!
Therefore links this text to the previous text…read 1 Peter 4:19 “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”
Troubling times put a strain on the entire community of believers…it is in those times we need to trust God and do what is right.
Peter addresses three specific groups of people in the church because he is convinced that relationships within the Christian community matter…they needed each other and had a responsibility to one another.
If we are to be successful to stand in grace, all of us need to be actively engaged within the body!
Peter gives three exhortations to help us answer the question “What is my responsibility to help the entire community to stand in grace?
Leaders Must Strive to Shepherd God’s People Well (1-5).
Leaders Must Strive to Shepherd God’s People Well (1-5).
The first group Peter addresses is the leadership…because of the intense suffering and persecution these believers were facing and would face, the need for pastoral leadership was crucial.
He uses the term elders — this term is used interchangeably with pastor and bishop in the NT to refer to those who had leadership positions in the church…there was always a multiplicity of them because shepherding God’s people is too daunting to be done alone!
Notice Peter includes himself in this category…not only was he an apostle (which carried authority), but he was a fellow elder speaking to other elders…he was just as responsible to provide godly leadership as the people he addressed…
God has blessed our church with great men of God whom I am honored to call my brothers…fellow elders…or as my children call them…the Jedi council…
(take a moment and have all of them stand…make a point to thank Tim Hoffman for faithfully serving for 3 years, coming off this year, have Wayne Johnson stand…asking you to prayerfully consider adding Wayne).
I trust you are praying for us…we earnestly covet your prayers that we have the wisdom and compassion to lead you well...
Shepherding you well is something we take very seriously…
Notice how else Peter described himself...
witness of the sufferings of Christ...Everyone remembers what happened with Peter at the crucifixion…remember the rooster, the swearing, the denial…immediately that night, Peter came eyeball to eyeball with the suffering of Christ…(Luke 22:60-61).
fellow partaker of the glory that is to be revealed…Even though Peter denied him, Jesus fully restored him…he was completely forgiven and he leaned hard into the grace of God…regardless of your past, you can stand in grace, completely forgiven...
Peter uses his personal history and identification with his fellow elders to be an encouragement and challenge to them.
What are elders to do?
Watch over God’s Flock that is Under Your Care
Watch over God’s Flock that is Under Your Care
The task of the elders is to function as shepherds of God’s flock…they are not to be like the Jewish elders in Ezekiel’s time who treated their flock “harshly and brutally”…see Ezek 34:4, 8.
By using the term “the flock of God”, Peter reminds them (and us) of who owns them…the church is God’s church…God has entrusted them (and us) with the privilege and responsibility to shepherd them.
I think Peter is remembering the imagery Jesus’ uses with him in John 21:16 “He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.””
Jesus told Peter to feed them, take care of them, feed them.
Peter uses the same word that Jesus did…literally could read it as “Shepherd the sheep”
What does that mean in the 21st century church?
“Shepherd”...means to herd, to tend, lead to pasture, to guide, and to rule…
The primary objective of shepherding is feeding…the flock must be fed often and fed the right food…that is why pastors/elders must be able to teach…
We are committed to expository preaching (explain) and teaching for life change…we want to provide you with a steady diet of feasting on the Word of God so that you grow strong in your faith, that your roots go deep so you are not tossed around by every wave of doctrine...
Along with feeding is protecting…Acts 20:28-30 ““Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
It is our responsibility to protect you from the ravages of sinful choices and destructive people, and from following unbiblical doctrine and practices…
sometimes that may mean we have to protect you from yourself because you are on the verge of making a sinful choice that will lead you towards destruction...
sometimes we may have to protect you by exposing a false teacher or philosophy that sets itself up against Christ...
sometimes we may have to protect you from someone within the church who refuses to repent and their sinful choices are destroying the testimony of Christ and this church and the only biblical recourse we have is to remove them from our fellowship (whole other sermon series)…
that responsibility comes with what Peter says next...
Elders are also entrusted with exercising oversight — verb meaning to give attention to, look at, take care, see to it, to accept responsibility for the care of someone, supervise
God has entrusted the management of the church to godly men…you are the church…both individually and corporately.
That means we have to faithfully make decisions as good stewards of everything related to the ministry to ensure we stay focused on our mission: Building Lives to Know and Live for Jesus Christ.
Next Peter tells the elders HOW they do that..
Serve with the Proper Motivation
Serve with the Proper Motivation
Must be willing to lead, not pressured, but voluntarily.
Godly elders want to serve in this capacity because they love God and the Church and have a desire to help people grow in Christ.
Ministry should not be an unwanted burden, or done in an effort to please people.
Not greedy for money, but with eagerness
Peter is not suggesting pastors should not be paid…NT is very clear about that…by the way, Janine and I are so grateful for how you take care of us!
That being said, Scripture opposes the motivation for ministry being driven by greed…greed is dangerous in the ministry…some have fallen hard because of dishonesty with money…driven by greed also causes some to focus solely on personal financial needs to the neglect of others.
Eager = is a strong term meaning with enthusiasm, energy and excitement…it is ministry to others that brings excitement, not money.
Not lording, but leading as an example of Christ
lording over means to rule forcefully…it is a word of harshness that implies excessive use of authority.
There are times when a pastor/elders should exercise their authority, but it should never be flaunted or abused.
Godly leadership seeks to serve as examples to the body…means we are going to be sensitive to needs, show affection for people, live authentically, without greed or authoritarianism.
To please the Chief Shepherd
This is the highest motivation…all of those who lead in the church are ultimately responsible to Jesus as the Chief Shepherd.
When Jesus appears, he will honor those who have been faithful…
What is the Crown of glory?
We don’t know exactly…it could be eternal life or a special reward for elders...but what we do know is...
Receiving crowns is an idea that saturates the NT…in NT times, it was a cultural practice to bestow honor on citizens for distinguished public service as well as those who were victorious athletes.
it will never fade…contrasts with the physical crowns of laurel leaves awarded back then.
It is not something we get on this earth, it is only given on the day of Christ’s return
Elders can be confident that they will receive a great honor when their Chief Shepherd appears.
Second exhortation...
Followers Must be Submissive, Humble, and Stop Worrying About What We Can’t Control (5-7).
Followers Must be Submissive, Humble, and Stop Worrying About What We Can’t Control (5-7).
Followers Must Be Submissive to Leadership
Followers Must Be Submissive to Leadership
Jewish and Church leaders were usually older members…the younger members were to place themselves willingly under the authority of those who had been given the responsibility of leadership.
I think Peter addresses younger believers specifically here because they were generally those who would most need a reminder to be submissive to authority within the church…they were the ones who were mostly independent-minded and prone to be rebellious against the elders…so he issues this as a command.
Just as the elders have the responsibility to lead well, all of us have the responsibility to follow well.
Being submissive is a willingness to place yourself under the authority of someone else…in the context here it is the leadership of the church…Elders.
It indicates a spirit of cooperation as opposed to dissatisfaction with the leadership.
Some believers think it is their right and responsibility to be the “balance” of the pastor/elders and oppose everything…some even go beyond that and seek to destroy or sabotage them, simply because they don’t like their style of leadership.
Nowhere in Scripture do we see God calling the members to be the “check and balances” to the elders except in what they teach...When believers take this upon themselves, they allow Satan to use them as a tool for division and destruction in the church.
The message here is clear…when elders lead their congregation with responsible and godly leadership and the members resist that leadership, those members are in disobedience to the Lord and have opened the door for Satan to devour them.
The message here is clear…when elders lead their congregation with responsible and godly leadership and the members resist that leadership, those members are in disobedience to the Lord and have opened the door for Satan to devour them.
This does not mean “obedience no matter what”…if the direction they are leading is contrary to the Scripture then do not follow…
Those who are under leadership should be inclined to follow and submit to their leaders instead of resisting them and complaining about the direction of the church.
Please know, none of the elders believe anyone here is resisting the leadership.
Everyone Must Showcase Humility Toward One Another
Everyone Must Showcase Humility Toward One Another
Read v. 5b-6…Humility is the oil that allows relationships in the church to run smoothly and lovingly.
Clothe yourselves with humility… suggests humility should be a part of our wardrobe…it refers to a slave or servant putting on an apron or towel to serve someone else.
Peter saw this first hand when Jesus washed the disciples feet…John 13.
Humility = speaks of an attitude which puts others first, thinks of the desires, needs, and ideas of others as more worthy of attention than their own.
Showing humility to one another is to be aware of personal strengths and to be thankful to God for them…to be aware of your own personal weaknesses and to be dependent upon God to help you improve in those areas…
Peter emphasizes his point by quoting from Prov 3:34 from the Greek Translation of the OT by pointing out God’s attitude towards the prideful.
God stands against pride, while extending grace to the humble…why?
Because proud people trust only in themselves, not God. The proud only see themselves with strengths, not weaknesses. They consider themselves the standard for others to follow.
The proud glorify themselves instead of God.
This is a present tense verb meaning that God is continually opposing the proud but continually giving grace to the humble.
Peter says that by putting on humility, we bow to the mighty hand of God…this is a reference to God’s power in deliverance of Israel from Egypt…God intervened in human history to ensure the safe passage of His people to the Promised Land…He also had to exercise discipline on His people for their disobedience…
By humbling ourselves we experience God’s grace because we are displaying our need for Him!
Notice what else Peter says here…may lift you up in due time… trusting God is how we stand in grace…Satan wants us to dwell on our pain and to curse God and die....but trusting God ultimately leads to God lifting us up in HIS TIME!
Whether that time is now or in the future, it is God’s to determine!
We All Must Stop Worrying About What We Can’t Control
We All Must Stop Worrying About What We Can’t Control
Read v. 7…this really is a continuation of the command in verse 6...proper humility manifests itself is in handing our worries over to God.
I think Peter is alluding to Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
I think he also remembers what Jesus taught him concerning worry (this is another set of messages) in Matthew 6:25-34.
Cast means to throw something upon someone or something else…like throwing a blanket on a horse…this is a deliberate act of trust.
Anxiety (worry) — is a term that means “to be divided, to rip apart, to be drawn in different directions”…that is what worry does to us…it tears us apart…it divides us between our trust in God and trust in ourselves…it pulls us away from depending upon Him.
Important note: Casting is a participle meaning it shows how we can humble ourselves…so by giving in to worry, we succumb to our pride…
Worry is sin because it is a unbelief in the goodness of God…it also is a manifestation of pride...when we are worried, we are convinced that God doesn’t have our best interests in mind and that our circumstances are not going to be favorable to us...
We stop trusting God to work all things for our good and His glory.
We begin to let our minds wander down the path of disbelief in the goodness of God to provide.
By worrying, we have set our wants, desires, and plans as more important than God’s.
If we are not willing to give God control over that which is beyond us, then we become our own source of strength and the only god we trust!
If we are not willing to give God control over that which is beyond us, then we become our own source of strength and the only god we trust!
We are to do what we can do to live righteously before God and others (that’s what Peter says in 1 Peter 4:19. Trust God with the rest.
We can’t control the outcomes, but we can control how we think, how we act, how we react. The rest is in God’s hands!
We can give God control of the things that are not ours to control, because we know He cares!
When Peter says this, he chose the Greek form that communicates God’s care and concern for believers is CONSTANT, ONGOING, and UNENDING.
God does not turn a blind eye to our suffering…He knows all about it, He sees every detail of it…He simply wants us to trust Him...
We cannot control how difficult these times will be, but we can trust the God who does!
3rd Exhortation...
All of Us Are To Remain Active in Our Faith (8-14)
All of Us Are To Remain Active in Our Faith (8-14)
Stay Vigilant
Stay Vigilant
Read v 8
When we entrust ourselves to God that doesn’t mean we passively sit in our rocking chair or twiddle our thumbs.
Peter commands us here to be sober and on the alert.
We don’t want to be found in a spiritual stupor where our responses to situations are no different than the unbeliever.
We don’t want to be unaware of God’s perspective on each event.
Vigilance is needed because the devil is on the prowl trying to destroy your faith. Satan wants us to experience suffering to the point we deny Christ and lose our hope.
Devil = slanderer, accuser…he wants to accuse you of abandonment!
Peter portrays him as a roaring lion seeking to devour its prey…Satan roars like a lion to induce fear in us…suffering and persecution are used to intimidate us…
If we choose to not do right out of fear of what others might think or do to us, then Satan has devoured us!
If we choose to not do right out of fear of what others might think or do to us, then Satan has devoured us!
By staying vigilant we become more aware of the various ways Satan and his forces want to keep us from doing right, from honoring God with lives, from proclaiming Christ, from speaking truth.
We cannot fall into Satan’s trap of believing God is not good and He cheated us somehow…we must take every thought captive... 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”
Word of caution: We want to be aware of how our enemy attacks, but be careful not to give Satan too much credit…there is much evil in the world today, not as a direct onslaught of Satan, but simply because sin remains in our own hearts and the hearts of unbelievers.
Resist Satan
Resist Satan
read v 9
We are not called to fear him, we are called to resist him…to stand up to him in active opposition...
You do this by staying firm in your faith…draw strength from what you believe...
You can stand firm because you know brothers and sisters around the globe are doing the same thing.
There is an extreme bond of strength forged by our common struggles…that partnership, that koinonia brings an uncommon motivation.
That is why it is so important to faithfully gather with God’s people...
Thom Rainer is a church growth guru and he conducted a survey asking church leaders and church goers to share excuses they’ve heard or use for not attending church...
“We were out of peanut butter.” Of course, no one can worship without his or her peanut butter fix.“
“Both of my girlfriends attend church there.” I think you need to come talk to me about some other issues.
“The pastor is too attractive. When I see him preaching, I have impure thoughts, and I am distracted.” I can see that with Pastor Matthew, but no one ever said that to me.
“My wife cooked bacon for breakfast, and our entire family smelled like bacon.” Bacon aroma is always welcome at our church.
“The pastor stays in the Bible too much.” I’ve noticed that too. How dare he do such a thing.
“We got burned out at church and have been taking a break the past seven years.” I think you broke the world’s record for length of time to cool down.
“The church is too close to drive, and too far to walk.” If you like, we could move our church to the next state, and you could fly in.
“Someone called me ‘brother” instead of using my name.” At least he didn’t call you “sister.”
We need each other…our resistance against Satan is stronger when we stand together…don’t let Satan devour you by keeping you away from us!
Trust God To Complete His Work in You!
Trust God To Complete His Work in You!
Read v 10-11
This is a marvelous end to the letter that magnifies God and his gracious, restoring power.
This is more than just a hope, this is an assertion of what God will do…regardless of the strength of our suffering, God’s grace is stronger!
God called you to glory in Christ and He has the power to make sure you get there!
Look at what God promises to do to make sure you get there:
Perfect you…word means to complete, to make, create, restore,
This is a term used in medicine to “set a broken bone”, or refitting a damaged boat...
Think about this coming from Peter…the one who denied Christ was fully restored and was a pillar to early church.
What God did for Peter, He will do for you…all of us are broken, but none of us are broken beyond God’s power to restore!
Confirm, strengthen, and establish you ...
He shores up our foundation and provides the staying power we need when life’s storms rage against us!
What we experience now is only temporary compared to eternity! This too shall end!
For those who are in Christ, God will make sure you make it to glory! He will fulfill his promise to deliver you.
Remember the sovereign God who allows suffering and permits Satan to rage at us is the same God who cares for us. The dominion is his forever. He wields a mighty hand on behalf of his people.
Therefore we....
Stand in Grace
Stand in Grace
Read v 12
Peter summarizes this whole letter with “this is grace, stand in it”
Lesson for Life — In these difficult days, faithfully carry out your responsibility and remain confident that God can and will deliver you with an abundant supply of His marvelous grace. Stand in it!
Lesson for Life — In these difficult days, faithfully carry out your responsibility and remain confident that God can and will deliver you with an abundant supply of His marvelous grace. Stand in it!
