Message for Sunday Morning, February 13, 2011 SERIES: I Peter (Making The Best Out of The Worst of Times) MESSAGE 21 by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister FINAL INSTRUCTIONS Message 21 in I Peter Sermon Series I Peter 5:6-11 This morning as we bring our series from I PETER to a close, I would like for you to please turn with me in your Bibles to I Peter chapter five. P R A Y E R ******************* READ: I Peter 5:6-11 Illustration: Years ago Linda and I took our son, Seth and daughter, Brooke white water rafting in the Natahala River in the western part of North Carolina. After demonstrating the various techniques we would need to know to maneuver the raft in the river, our guide gave us some final instructions before starting our journey. (1) STAY ALERT AT ALL TIMES. (2) DO NOT REMOVE YOUR LIFE-JACKET OR HELMET AT ANY TIME. (3) KEEP YOUR PADDLE DOWN SO YOU DO NOT HURT OTHERS IN THE RAFT. (4) RELAX BETWEEN RAPIDS TO CONSERVE ENERGY (5) IF YOU FALL OUT OF THE RAFT, DO NOT PANIC. GET IN A SEATED POSITION WITH LEGS EXTENDED AND TOES POINTED UPWARD. Those final instructions were more than just good advice. They were a matter of survival. Those final instructions took on even greater meaning when the guide had us sign wavers before getting in our raft and we had to list a next of kin to notify in the event something happened to us. *************
In many ways, the Christian life is a lot like taking a white-water rafting trip. -There are times along our journey when the waters are calm and we can catch our breath. -But then there are times when we encounter the turbulent waters of trials and temptations and we wonder if we ll ever reach the calm waters again. Of course our goal is to make it safely to our final destination. But how do we survive until our journey is completed? How can we remain faithful to the LORD until death? Well as Peter brings this first of his two New Testament letters to a close he gives us some Final Instructions to help us on our journey. ************ First of all, Peter instructs us to I. Stay HUMBLE At All Times (v. 5, 6) I want to back up and include a verse we looked at last week, because it follows this same thought about humility. READ: Verses 5, 6 1. I draw your attention to that phrase in verse 5, Clothe yourselves with humility. The Greek word used here for clothe yourselves literally means put on your apron. In New Testament times, those who were servants or slaves would tie on their servant apron the first thing every morning and would not remove it until they went to bed each night. That apron actually became an identifying mark. If the master sent his servant or slave to the marketplace to purchase goods, everyone knew they were a servant by their apron.
2. Remember the night before He was crucified, Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer garment, wrapped a towel around His waist, and knelt down to wash each of His disciples feet. Washing feet was a duty reserved for the lowest of all servants in the household. Jesus put on the apron of humility and performed the lowliest of all duties. 3. If our Master, our Lord, could clothe Himself in humility then how could anyone of us even think of clothing ourselves in pride? 4. GOD is opposed to pride in all its forms. When we think of pride we think of someone who is arrogant or boastful, someone who is stuck on themselves. We think of someone who walks around with their nose in the air as though they are better than everyone else. Indeed those are some examples of pride in its grossest form. But pride is a very subtle sin. Sometimes we have pride issues and we don t even realize it. Let me toss out a few words at you and see if any of them touch a nerve. (read s-l-o-w-l-y!!!) SELF-PROMOTION.SELF-CONFIDENCE.SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS SELF-RELIANCE SELF-CENTEREDNESS..SELF-HATRED SELF-GLORIFICATION SELF-GRATIFICATION.SELF-SUFFICIENT SELF-ASSURED..SELF-ASSERTIVE.SELF-DEPRECATING SELF-CRITICAL.SELF-INDULGENT.SELF-IMPORTANT SELF-PITY.SELF-SATISFACTION.SELF-WILLED. SELF-OPINIONATED SELFISH These are just a few of the many faces of pride. And GOD opposes the proud. GOD is the enemy of pride! 5. But notice God s attitude toward the humble: God opposes the proud, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. That means God is the ally of humble people. God gives His divine favor to the humble.
6. So if God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble, what should our response be? Peter tells us in verse 6, Humble yourselves, therefore, under God s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. When Peter says, humble yourselves, therefore, under God s mighty hand he is warning us that if we don t humble ourselves, God will humble us. He will place His mighty hand upon us and apply pressure and discipline until we do humble ourselves. And when Peter says, that He may lift you up in due time that has a short term and long term meaning. In the short term it could mean once we have demonstrated a true spirit of humility, in His time and in His way, God may raise us to a new position in life or entrust us with greater responsibility or open a new door of opportunity that had previously been barred because of our pride. In the long term, of course, God will raise us up to share in the eternal glory of Jesus Christ when the LORD comes to get His Church. So as Peter gives us some Final Instructions in this last portion of his letter, the first thing he tells us to do is STAY HUMBLE AT ALL TIMES! ***************************** Secondly, Peter instructs us to.. II. Stay PRAYERFUL At All Times (v. 7) READ: VERSE 7 again 1. How do you respond to trials and troubles? -Do you hit the panic button -Do you go off the deep end -Do you worry yourself sick? -Do you fall to pieces? -Do you lash out in frustration toward those who are nearest and dear to you? -Do you become angry at the whole world? Let me ask you again, How do you respond to trials and troubles?
2. Who among us here this morning can truthfully say he or she always handles life s difficulties correctly every time? I sure can t! And I doubt that any of you can either. 3. When Peter says, Cast all your anxiety on Him he is telling us to PRAY. When you have TRIALS don t panic! PRAY! When you have TROUBLES don t fall to pieces! PRAY! When NOTHING IS GOING RIGHT.don t wallow in self-pity! PRAY! When PROBLEMS are coming at you from every direction, don t stress out! PRAY! Cast ALL Cast ALL your anxiety on HIM! Not some of your anxieties..but every last one of them, BIG or SMALL. 4. Why does GOD want us to do this? Because HE CARES! GOD cares about what s going on in your life and mine! GOD cares about those things that are bothering us! GOD cares about those things that are keeping us awake at night! 5. You know earlier we were talking about pride and humility. There is a direct connection between humility and prayer. In fact, prayerlessness reveals there s pride in our heart. When you and I fail to cast all our anxiety upon the LORD when we don t pray about our trials and troubles, that is our pride saying, God, I don t need Your help! God I can handle this by myself. God, let me do this my way. And you know what? God will let us handle it our way until the weight of our problems becomes so heavy it breaks our pride and causes us to humbly fall to our knees before God and cry out for His help. STAY HUMBLE AT ALL TIMES! STAY PRAYERFUL AT ALL TIMES!
Thirdly, Peter instructs us to. III. Stay ALERT At All Times (vs. 8, 9) READ: Verses 8, 9 again 1. When Peter says, Be self-controlled and alert he is warning us to pay attention.. never let down your guard. 2. You and I have got to take Satan seriously. Some people believe Satan is in the same class with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. They believe the devil is some sort of fairy tale creature. 3. But make no mistake! The Bible makes it very clear that THE DEVIL is just as real as the person seated beside you or in front of you. And he HATES GOD and hates GOD S PEOPLE. And because Satan can t hurt GOD, he will do everything possible to hurt you and me. Notice the two terms Peter uses to describe the devil. (a) First, he calls the devil our ENEMY. The greek term used for enemy here conveys the idea of a legal opponent in a court of law. Revelation 12:10 tells us that Satan accuses you and me before God day and night. He points out our every sin, our every failure, our every mistake and our every shortcoming. He reminds God of every act of hypocrisy. He nags God about our unworthiness. But because our sins have been covered by the precious cleansing blood of Christ, none of Satan s charges stick!
(b) Secondly, Peter refers to the devil as ROARING LION. The roar is significant for three reasons: 1. A lion roars to strike fear in the heart of its prey. Satan wants us to be afraid to share our faith with others. He wants us to be afraid to take a stand for Christ. He wants us to be afraid to speak out against sin so as not to offend anyone. You see, a cowardly Christian is ineffective Christian. And that s the way Satan wants it! 2. A lion also roars when it is hungry. Satan has an insatiable appetite. He is constantly looking for ways to tempt us and torment us. He never gets his fill of it! Its what Satan lives for every day. 3. A lion also roars when it has been wounded. Wounded animals become far more aggressive and agitated. This is especially true of a LION. Satan was dealt a mortal wound when Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave. Satan already know his days are numbered. That s why right now he is roaming around like a wounded, roaring lion inflicting as much harm as possible on God s people. In Revelation we read where Satan will make one final desperate attempt to take down as many people along with him during the Great Tribulation before he is cast into the abyss of hell forever and ever. 4. Now in case you are thinking you are defenseless against Satan, look at what Peter says in VERSE 9. Resist him (the devil) standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering.
5. How do we resist the devil? -By abstaining from every appearance of evil. -By taking captive every thought. -By fleeing youthful lusts! -By fleeing our love of money and material possessions. -By not giving Satan a foothold into our mind, heart or spirit. STAY HUMBLE AT ALL TIMES! STAY PRAYERFUL AT ALL TIMES! STAY ALERT AT ALL TIMES! ********************************* And finally Peter instructs us to IV. Stay FOCUSED At All Times (vs. 10, 11) READ----VERSES 10, 11 again 1. Remember at the outset of the message I compared the Christian life to white water rafting? 2. Let me go back to that analogy for just a moment. When you are white water rafting and you find yourself caught in one of those Class 3 or Class 4 rapids and the water is rushing all around the raft and the roar of the water is deafening, there are moments when you wonder, Will I survive? Then all the sudden you look down stream and you can see the final destination in sight. Others who rafted the river before you are standing safely on the river bank. Their rafts are tied up. They have completed the journey. There s something about seeing the final destination that gives you a renewed sense of strength and hope. 3. Christ has already completed the difficult journey you and I are now on. He has overcome DEATH, and we will too! He has overcome DEATH, and we will too! He has overcome SIN and we will too!
4. Until our journey is over, let us STAY FOCUSED AT ALL TIMES! Let us STAY FOCUSED ON CHRIST, THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH. C O N C L U S I O N Several years ago this sign appeared in a store front window in Nottingham, England. We have been established for over 100 years and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever since. We have made money and lost money, suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coal rationing, government control and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed and swindled. The only reason we stay in business is to SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! That store owner had obviously known many difficulties during his life, and yet he was determined to survive, if for no other reason than to see what happens next! Like that store owner, you and I have known many difficult days during our lives here on earth. And no doubt we will have more difficult days ahead. As we close this series may we be soberly reminded that many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world are suffering terrible persecution and martyrdom, just like those who first read this letter from Peter. May we remember our suffering brothers and sisters in our prayers. This hatred and hostility toward Christians is only going to increase in the coming days as the time for the LORD S return draws near. How do we make the best out of the worst of time? STAY HUMBLE! STAY PRAYERFUL! STAY ALERT! AND STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST! LOOK UP CHRISTIAN, FOR OUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR! The store owner knew that life was full of difficulties. But he was determined to survive, even if only to hope for the best and "see what happens next." Christ's followers have a much better reason to endure tough times as they live for Him. The Lord has assured us in His Word that better times are ahead. The psalmist reminded us that in spite of the prosperity of the wicked, the righteous will be vindicated.