Humble and Watchful

Well, we're coming towards the end of this letter of 1 Peter.

In fact, next Sunday, Lord willing, will be the last message on 1 Peter, which we've been studying for some time. And at the end of the letter, Peter writes about humility. A man who was once very proud had learned a hard lesson.

Peter knew the bitter tears of denial and failure. A man who once prided himself on his self-reliance on the fact that he was superior to his fellow disciples now exhorts suffering Christians to trust, not in themselves, but in God. A man who once succumbed to the attacks of the evil one now encourages suffering Christians to resist the enemy, the devil.

And so, I believe he's riding out of his deep experiences of life. Let's turn to the Word of God, 1 Peter chapter 5, and we're looking at verses 5 through 9 this morning. Again, welcome if you're here for the first time. We believe this book, the Bible, is the Word of God, and so we're here not to listen to my insights, such as I may have, but rather to turn to the Word of God. So, it's very helpful if you have the Bible in front of you.

There's one in the pew if you didn't bring one. 1 Peter chapter 5 then, verse 5, Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all of 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. Peter here gives at least three lessons, three lessons which we who are followers of Jesus Christ must, I believe, practice every day of our lives. These are not just once and for all actions or experiences, but are part and parcel of living an authentic Christian life. These three lessons, simply stated, will help us navigate life's tough times. First lesson is, be humble. Second lesson is, trust in God. The third lesson is, resist the devil. Be humble, trust in God, resist the devil.

So, we'll look at each of these in turn. First, be humble. We see that in verses 5 through 7. We know from the teaching of Scripture, right from the very beginning to the end, and certainly supremely exemplified in our Lord Jesus Christ, that humility is a key virtue. And it is certainly a key virtue for the Christian.

Humility is to characterize every Christian. The story is told of Ulysses Grant, the leading Union general in the Civil War, who later, as you know, became the 18th president of the United States. And a reception was held in his honor. This was before he was president. And as he was going to it, he got caught in a shower and offered to share his umbrella with a man who was going in the same direction. And the man said that he was going to this reception in honor of Grant. And he said, I was just going out of curiosity. He said, I've never seen or met the general before, but I've always thought that he was a very much overrated man.

Ulysses Grant said, that's also my view. I thought, that is true humility. How do you rate yourself?

Probably you overrate yourself. What's the message of our culture? To be humble?

Not really. It's be yourself, exert yourself, live out yourself. Anyone or anything which hinders myself, improvement must be restricted. I have my truth. I don't care whether you like it or accept it, but this is my truth.

Too bad if you don't accept it. Each of us must decide, we're told, what is right for ourselves. Discard what you've been taught by your parents, by your church, by your teachers. Don't necessarily follow law enforcement orders.

Live out your own life. But that attitude, that action which we see in our society today is not the way of Christ. What does Peter say in verse 5? Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders. We saw last week he gives teaching to the elders, to the faithful shepherds in the church, and he tells those who are younger to be subject to the elders. In a church fellowship such as Calvary Church, God appoints His leaders, His elders, and the members of the church, all of us are to be in submission to the elders. One of the ways we demonstrate in a practical way, our humility is in our submission. Children are to be in submission to their parents.

They are to obey their parents. In other words, our humility is not just in our words, that's rather easy, but in our actions, in our attitudes. Is that true of you, you demonstrating humility in your submission to the spiritual leaders of Calvary Church, for example, to authority? You say, well, sometimes I don't agree with the elders. That's true.

I understand. But we've already learned last week that those who are in leadership are to serve not in a domineering way, not in a controlling way, but rather with humility. That's what Peter goes on to say, verse 5, you who are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. We are to be humble to one another, all of you.

No one is exempt. We are to clothe ourselves with this beautiful garment of humility. The picture is of the slave putting on an apron over his or her clothes.

The supreme example of being clothed with humility is the Lord Jesus. Remember that remarkable scene in John chapter 13, where our Lord is with the disciples and no one is there to wash their feet. There's no slave, there's no woman, there's no children to wash their feet. And who's going to wash their feet? And you can see them looking at each other and saying, well, I'm not going to do it. And then to their other astonishment, the Lord Jesus girds Himself and bends down and washes the feet of His disciples. Would you have done that?

Do you do something like that? When was the last time you clothed yourself with humility towards a brother or sister? Perhaps a brother or sister you don't agree with, perhaps a brother or sister who you think doesn't value you the way they should. When did you last, practically, take the lowly place? This is what Peter is saying. Clothe yourself, all of you, with this wonderful garment of humility. You see, not only are we to show our humility by submitting to those in authority, but we are to humble ourselves before one another. And Peter goes on to say, chapter 6, we are to humble ourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God.

There it is. The mighty hand of God, a symbol of power, a symbol of authority, a symbol of might. And we may be humiliated by others, but humbling ourselves is something we do voluntarily. We are to place ourselves under the mighty hand of God in suffering and difficulties and trials. We must humbly submit to God. When I meet with couples who may have tensions in their marriage, I often wonder and sometimes challenge them, are you humbling yourselves under the mighty hand of God?

Easy to point out the faults of one another, isn't it? But here is the Spirit of Christ. This is what God wants, to humble ourselves, yes, before one another, but to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. When there are difficulties, when there are disappointments, when we don't feel appreciated, when life doesn't go the way we want, it's so easy to be bitter against others and even to be bitter against God.

That's a sign of our pride, isn't it? That's a sign of saying, well God, I really don't deserve this, but under God's mighty hand, we're in a safe place and we're in a secure place. Where else would you want to be but under the mighty hand of God? Now, Peter gives two reasons for being humble.

There's many reasons. Think of the example of the Lord, of course. But in this passage, he gives two reasons. First, God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Verse 5, likewise you who are younger be subject to the elders, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. Here's the reason, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Do you want God to oppose you? Do you want God to be against you? God, Scripture states here and elsewhere that God is opposed to the proud.

Think of the examples of Scripture. Think of Satan himself and his pride, I will be God. Think of Nebuchadnezzar, that powerful king of Babylon. As you looked at Babylon, and this is what I have built.

Look at me. I'm the top person in the whole world. The leader of the free world is the world, although I put into slavery everyone where I go, and God reduces them and gets them eating grass. Think of King Herod in the New Testament, proud man exalting himself, and in a moment in Acts 12, he's brought down. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. You think, well, it's the proud that needs grace. You think God would give grace to the proud, but those who are proud, when we're proud, we cannot be used by God. We will not receive His grace.

We think we don't need God. You're struggling in a difficult situation. Are you really asking God for His help? Asking God for His blessing?

Are you really in a situation where you would do exactly what God says as you pray to God for guidance, as you pray to God for help, as you're discerning God's will? Are you truly in a humble position under the mighty hand of God? Because, here is a promise, God always gives grace to the humble. How do we begin the Christian life? Not through our baptism, as we've been told, important although baptism is.

Not through communion, which we will celebrate in a minute. No, we begin the Christian life in humility, in repentance, in an acknowledgement that we cannot save ourselves. As long as you're proud, as long as you depend on your church heritage, as long as you boast of what you have done, of what you have accomplished, you will never enter the kingdom of God. Says Jesus, no, you want to become like a child and to stoop down, and to humble yourself. And God gives grace to the humble. So here's Paul with his thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12, and he prays and he prays and he prays, but the thorn in the flesh remains. But here is what God says to my grace.

It's sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. It is the humble, it is the lowly that God uses, not the proud, not the exalted, not the individual at the top of the tree saying, look what I've done, who's so superior to everyone else, puffed up with arrogance. That's an affront to God. God's always opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. So, that's the first reason God's opposed to the proud.

The second reason to be humble is also given. Verse 6, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that, are you listening? At the proper time, He may exalt you.

At the right time, that is the time, not that you want, but what God wants. At the proper time, He will lift you up. Have we learned that repeatedly in 1 Peter? First the suffering, then the glory. First the cross, then the crown. First the tragedy, then the triumph. First the humiliation, and then the exaltation. That was the way of our Savior, and this is what Peter is saying. I want you to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and at the time of God's choice, He may lift you up.

It's wonderful to know, isn't it? You say, well, I want to be lifted up right now. Well, God may do that, or the timing may not be right for you. Go through a tough time at the moment, hard time in life where you're working long hours and not getting much money. You're trying to live a holy life, a life for Christ and a difficult marriage. You're a single person. You're committed to being pure in the sight of God, but those that you date have a different idea, and you quickly, and I hope rightly, terminate these relationships and you're a bit discouraged, unemployed, serving others.

Here you are at Calvary Church. You're serving others, and you're just not recognized. You don't feel appreciated.

You feel misunderstood. Here's what God is saying to you today. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.

Accept the place. Accept the position that God has for you at the moment, and at the proper time, at the time of God's choosing, He may exalt you. God is opposed to the proud. He gives grace to the humble, and at the proper time, He may exalt you. So when suffering comes, difficult times come, don't rebel against God, don't be overcome with self-pity, but be humble under God's mighty hand.

That's not easy for us, is it? But God, through His Spirit, pours His grace on us that in the difficulties, His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Now here's our second lesson, and it's basic to the Christian life.

This is Christianity. It is to trust in God. Verse 7, casting all of your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.

You are to cast all of your anxieties on God. This is another way we show humility. I think this verse, verse 7, which is a much-loved verse and rightly so, but I think it's often divorced from its context.

This is one of the ways we show our humility, is by casting our anxieties on God. Now, I don't want to be too technical here, but if you look at the word humble, that is an imperative, that is a command. And the word casting, verse 7, is a circumstantial participle dependent on the imperative. Some of you didn't listen to your English teacher and you have no idea what I'm talking about.

You've never — you wouldn't know a circumstantial participle if it bit you on the end of your nose. But this is what we have in verse 7. You have the command, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. What's the relationship of the participle casting to the imperative humble? It is this, the way by which you demonstrate your humility before God is by doing this, is by casting, is by unloading, is by throwing, is the point, all of my anxieties on God.

You get that? One of the ways we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God is by unloading, is by throwing, is by casting all of my anxieties on God. This word cast, interesting, is used of the throwing of the cloaks on that colt that our Lord was going to ride on that triumphal day into Jerusalem.

It's casting, it's throwing. You see, humility under God's mighty hand leads to trusting in God. Of course, life often doesn't go the way we expect. Peter has told us, chapter 4, verse 12, don't be surprised when you find yourself in the fiery trials.

Of course not. And if you don't cast all of your anxieties on God, know what's going to happen? You're going to experience anxiety. I have the privilege of speaking to our college students today, and I'm going to talk to them about anxiety, going to dig into this a little deeper. Do you know what the number one struggle of students is today? The research tells us anxiety. Anxiety. We've got a very, very anxious society, not just with our students. Anxiety. Any anxious people today?

What's the answer? Look to Christ. Cast your anxieties on Him. And also, don't buy into the philosophy of the day that the most important thing in your life is your personal happiness.

If you have happiness as the goal of your life, let me tell you, you're going to live a pretty discouraging life. I mean, think of yesterday, whatever you did. How much of yesterday did you feel happy? Somebody says, well, I got married.

OK. Although I've known women to tell me when they're walking down the aisle, they thought this is not what I should be doing. But most of us are happy on our wedding day.

Your boss called you and told you you've got a huge promotion. You felt a bit happy. But life, day after day after day, is not this feeling of happiness. This New Testament doesn't talk about happiness, it talks about the joy of the Lord, a joy which comes from the Holy Spirit. If you are expecting in your life to always have this feeling of happiness, you're going to live a pretty miserable life. I don't always feel happy.

Oh, this is wonderful. Here we are. I feel this way. As Christians, we don't conduct our lives based on our feelings. It's not what Peter is saying. No wonder you're anxious. No wonder you're depressed. You've got the wrong goal in your life. Our goal in life is not to be happy. Our goal in life is to please God. It's to humble myself under the mighty hand of God. It's to entrust my whole life to God, to surrender it, and that may make me feel from time to time very unhappy. Who's happy when they're going through the fiery trial?

No, we have joy when we know that God is with us and this is God's will for us, but if we determine our life based on our happiness, we're missing the point of the Christian faith and you're not going to have a very, very good life, practically as well, I would say. And we know this also from the research, and I'm talking particularly to our students, but to some of you who are older as well and you should know better is, don't spend so much time on social media. The research tells us this. Here's some student. They put a picture of themselves by a tree with a sun, and they give us six pictures of themselves in different poses.

Do you know what they're going to be doing? How many likes do you have? Listen, there's always someone who's going to have more likes than you are, because some people don't like you. I mean, what a narcissistic society we're in. Notice what the text says, casting all your anxieties on Him. We all, all experience anxiety.

It's a common human phenomenon. Think of the teaching of the Lord on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, verse 25. I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. That meant that as our Lord Jesus Christ was given the greatest sermon ever preached, there were many people listening to Him who were anxious. Verse 25, He's saying, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. Verse 31, therefore do not be anxious. Verse 34, therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow.

What are we to do? Don't be anxious. Look at the birds, look at the lilies. No, you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Have that as your goal, and all these things will be added to you. Again, Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, do not be anxious about anything. There must have been people in the church at Philippi who were anxious.

There are people sitting here who are anxious. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Being humble, don't forget the relationship between the command, be humble, and the casting. Being humble is acknowledging the sovereignty of God in your life and your complete dependence on Him. Circumstances in life have not gone the way you like.

Welcome to the human race. All of us live our lives under the sovereign purposes of God. I don't know all the purposes of God for my life or your life or for the life of Calvary Church, but I do know this, that the Lord is sovereign. He's in control.

He does as He pleases. He's got His purposes for your life and mine, often of which we don't know, we don't understand. But in that, I am to acknowledge my complete dependence on God. That's called faith. And without faith, it's impossible to please God. That's called trust in God.

I don't understand the situation. I wish it were different, the Lord, but I'm going to trust you because you are God and I am your creature and you have redeemed me with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, your my heavenly Father, and you always care for me. It's to acknowledge as well our helplessness before God. When we're humble, we acknowledge we don't have the solution to all of our problems. When we're humble, we don't try to impose our agenda on God.

You find yourself doing that, don't we? I've said before, that's what Martin Luther said, we must thank God, a very poor student, because we keep trying to teach Him. You're praying and instead of praying, Lord, I'll do Your will, we find ourselves trying to impose our will on God. This is what I think is best for my life, for the best of my family and so on, rather than humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and at the proper time, He may exalt us. Now what are we to do? You're to cast, you're to throw, you're to unload, is the picture, all of your anxieties on God. Now will you do that?

Will you do that? Peter helps us here, because God not only has a mighty hand, He has a caring hand. Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. How beautiful. Our great sovereign God, who's in control, not only can handle all of these anxieties and problems and sufferings and difficulties, He really does care for us.

He's all powerful, but He's also all loving. Some of you have read, as I have, Winston Churchill's account of World War II, and his second volume is called The Finest Hour. And it's a subtitle, How the British People Held the Fort Alone. It's 1940 in London, and the Nazis are blitzing London. They're in terrible destruction with their bombs.

The tiny island of the United Kingdom is standing alone. The Americans have not yet joined the war, and they're standing alone as night after night, these horrible bombs are dropping on London in the blitz. Winston Churchill is the prime minister, and he records in that volume, Our Finest Hour, that he went one morning after the destruction to visit the site of the bombing. And as he went, the area was in ruins. He said there was a few pathetic little Union jacks stuck in the ruins trying to encourage people. And as he went, he got out of his car, the word soon got round that the prime minister, the great Winston Churchill, was there, and he said a crowd of about a thousand people gathered around him as he was inspecting the damage. And Churchill, the great leader, wept when he saw the destruction.

And he records that this old woman said about the prime minister, you see, he really cares. He's crying. It's not wonderful to know that the great, all-powerful, eternal God is with us. Peter has talked about sharing Christ's sufferings, verse 13, and that in this mysterious way that when we suffer, Christ is suffering with us.

We see an example of that in John chapter 11 as Jesus goes to raise Lazarus from the dead, and here's Mary and Martha, His brothers and their suffering. And the great Christ who's going to raise Lazarus from the dead in His mighty power, in His compassion and His love, He groans and He weeps. Remember, brother, sister, not only has God got a mighty hand, He's got a caring hand. We humble ourselves under His mighty hand, but we also know that that hand is an all-loving hand. He loves us with an everlasting life. I find that very comforting, don't you? That He cares for me.

We're not very likable sometimes. We often don't respond very well to the difficulties and the disappointments of life, and we sometimes complain and we sometimes get bitter and we sometimes look to other people to blame. But how wonderful to know that God is in control and that He cares for us. Cast all of your anxieties, all of your burdens on the Lord. Who's the great burden bearer? Our Savior. Peter has said in chapter 2 verse 24 regarding our Savior, He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree. Do you wonder if God can deal with a burden of yours?

Of course He can. Our Lord Jesus has done the difficult thing, as it were. He took our sins, the burdens of our sins in His own body on the tree. He is the great, magnificent, unique burden bearer. There is no burden, there is no anxiety, there is no problem too difficult for our Savior. Whatever it is, we cast it on the Lord. Why are you carrying that burden?

Why are you carrying that anxiety? Why have you not cast it on the Lord? He cares for you. He died for you. Psalm 55 verse 22 says the same thing, and perhaps Peter is alluding to it. Psalm 55 22, cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. When you cast your anxiety, when you cast your burden on the Lord, you will not be shaken.

Why? Because we rest on the steadfast, immovable, unchanging and unchangeable rock of our great God. There is no greater power.

There is no greater love. And so, in that difficulty, when that anxiety comes and when you wake up in a sweat at three o'clock in the morning, worrying about whatever it is on your mind, what are you to do? Cast the anxiety on the Lord. Throw it off. Give it to Him. You say, well, I don't know what will happen.

No, you don't know what will happen. That's why you're to trust Him. A little boy trusts his dad.

A little girl trusts her mother. Why don't we trust the Lord? One day the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee. Some of us have been there in that beautiful sea of Gennesaret, but while it looks beautiful at times, we know storms come and the disciples in this little boat find themselves in the storm of their life. And they're afraid and they're fearful. Talk about being anxious.

And look at Jesus. Remember what He's doing? He's asleep. Asleep in the middle of a storm. This is when we need Him.

What a picture, isn't it? Do you think God's asleep? Do you think He's forgotten you? But they wake Him up and they ask a very silly question, but a very understandable question. And the question I've asked God and the question you've probably asked God, do you not care about me?

Lord, do you not care that we're perishing? Remember what He does? He stands supreme in that boat. And He does something which only God can do. He speaks to the winds and the waves. Peace. Be still.

And there's a great calm. And the disciples say one to another, what kind of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey Him? What kind of man is He? He's not mere man.

He's true man. He's true God. And this is the one in the middle of our storms of life when we think God has asleep and when we think that God has abandoned us and when we think we can't live another day and we don't know the future, that He still in the middle of the storms says, peace, be still.

Isn't that, isn't that Psalm 46 verse 10? Be still and know that I am God. The point of the, be still, the point is stop fretting. Stop worrying. Be still. It's not that you're doing nothing. No, you are resting in God.

Be still and know that I am God. Does Jesus care about your problem? Of course He does. He is a mighty hand. He calms the storm.

He is a caring hand. Peace. Be still to anxious thoughts. Pride, self-reliance, self-pity make us anxious. In faith today, cast all of your problems on the Lord.

Be humble. Second, trust in God very quickly. Thirdly, because we have to break bread and I'm watching the time. Third, resist the devil. Verse 8, 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. As I live my Christian life every day, I'm to be humble.

Every day, I'm to trust in God deliberately, intentionally. To cast that anxiety on the Lord. And every day, I'm to resist the devil. Peter tells us the devil is our enemy.

He calls him the adversary. We have a formidable adversary and therefore Peter says, I want you to be sober-minded. Want you to be disciplined in your thought. Don't allow your mind to go all over the place.

Be sober-minded and be watchful. You're in a battle and Satan is totally opposed to the kingdom of God. He's totally opposed to you and me living a life for the glory of God. He is the adversary.

Diabolos is the Greek word. He's against us. He deceives us as a serpent. Sometimes Paul says, he disguises himself as an angel of light.

Think of all of the error and the false philosophies and religions and thoughts in the world. And to the Christian, particularly to the Christian who's trusting in God, he is out to devour us as a roaring lion. That's a pretty graphic picture, isn't it? These early Christians knew about the roaring lions and the gladiators. This picture is of the devil prowling around like a lion. A lion's roar can be frightened and canted. So in the midst of our difficulties, when we're vulnerable in that self-pitting mode, in that discouragement, the devil often attacks, doesn't he? Have you found that? He's ruthless.

Talk about kicking you when you're down. He is 100 percent evil. Therefore, Peter says, be watchful. We're in great talk with the assassination attempt on President Trump if the law enforcement and the Secret Service were watchful.

Yes, they're to be watchful. There are bad actors out there. There are assassins out there.

This is the picture. As we live our Christian life, there is a devil out there and he can attack us. And what am I to do? I'm to be sober-minded and I'm to be watchful.

Don't be deceived. Resist the devil. He is our enemy. Resist him. Notice what Peter says, verse 9, resist him, firm in the faith. No, we don't go looking for him. We don't bind him, as some people say.

No, we are to resist him. Turn back a few pages to James and you'll see the same thing in James chapter 4, verse 6. But he gives more grace, therefore it says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

I hope that sounds familiar. James 4, verse 6, Peter and James are together on this. Submit yourself therefore to God.

See the context? I'm humbly, trusting God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Verse 10, humble yourselves therefore before the Lord and he will exalt you. James is doing what Peter is saying and putting these concepts together of humility, of trust, of submission, of resisting the devil and he will flee from us.

Do you do that? One of his favorite tactics is discouragement, isn't it? It's said that the favorite weapon of Satan against Christians, particularly those that lead us, is discouragement. Whatever it is, you know how the devil attacks you. Be watchful. Cast your anxieties on the Lord, trusting God, and resist the devil.

Will you do that? The Christian life begins by casting our burden of sin on Christ at Calvary. Have you been to the cross?

You saved? You still carrying that big burden of your sin? Will you come to the burden bearer?

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. Some of you may not have yet received Christ to forgive you and to cleanse you. Will you do that?

Do that right now. Ask Him to come. And then in our times of sorrow and pain, we humble ourselves under God's mighty hand. We cast all of our cares and anxieties with Him. We're going to sing, and you can remain seated as we do this, a short hymn, Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary. I don't want you just to sing.

I want you to do something more than that. I want you, and as we come to the Lord's table, to take that anxiety, to take that burden, that which is fretting you, and in faith cast it on the Lord because He cares for you. Our Father, we confess that we are often anxious, burdened, cast down, discouraged. We thank You for these verses which encourage us. I pray for humility, increase our faith, and may we resist the devil even now and cast our cares on our Savior because He cares for us. And we thank You that our burdens of our sin are lifted at Calvary, and the burden of our anxieties and these knowing worries are carried as we cast them on our Savior. Help us work in our hearts, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.