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Pastor Vic's Message
“It’s Smart to be Simple”
October 26, 2008
1 Peter 4:11-5:14
The
Scripture commanded us in 4:1 to arm ourselves with the attitude of Christ.
The attitude of Christ is an attitude that is aware of God and is willing to
suffer to obey God’s clear Word. In the Beattitudes, Jesus said the pure in
heart see God. The pure in heart have an awareness of God in the present.
This is the attitude of Christ.
Look at
the doxology in 4:11. Peter is suggesting that all the speaking of believers
should be words in harmony with God's will and God's way. Are we aware that
God is present and may be speaking through us? All speaking should be
edifying to believers. We are to serve one another with our words. In
effect, Peter is broadening the tradional understanding of prophecy so that it
includes teaching, exhortation, and all words that build up one another. All
speaking must build up the church to the glory of God. Our daily living
should be with an awareness that God is speaking and has spoken.
“Whoever
does the speaking, do it as one bringing the words of God.”
“Whoever
serves, do it out of strength that God provides.”
God is
mentioned 3 times in this verse. Whoever serves with the attitude of Christ
should serve out of the strength God provides. The word for ‘serve’ is our
word deacon 'diakoveiv'. Literally it means to stir up the dust, but
practically it is a comprehensive term for every conceivable kind of
ministry. These are all the non-speaking ministries. God gives strength to
all who serve Him. He gives words to those who speak and strength to those
who serve. With the attitude of Christ, God can fulfill our ministry in
speaking and serving. In the Corinthian letter Paul tells us that God gives
us the power to serve. The Holy Spirit gives us the ministry in the body and
Jesus binds it all together in love.
Does that
mean that every time a Christian opens his mouth, he is speaking the words of
God?
Does that
mean that every time you do a good deed you are doing it with God’s strength?
Maybe we need to be aware that we could be.
Do you
see people as God does? Do you hear them saying what God hears? Jesus said
the pure in heart see God. If God gives you the words and strength who gets
the praise and thanks?
In verse
11, the word that is translated ‘provides’ or ‘supplies’ is the word
‘choregein’ which we get our word chorus from. The word here means to sponsor
a chorus or traveling group. Peter sees the church as a traveling group that
is totally funded and sponsored by God. God is our benefactor and
choreographer.
All the
promotion and advertizing should acknowledge that we exist only because of our
generous sponsor/choreographer. All praise, thanks, and glory belong to God.
In this
doxology Peter is suggesting that the ministry of Christians to one another is
credited as authentic worship toward God. Jesus makes it possible for
believers to glorify God as they build one another up. There is an
equivalency between acts of worship to God and the acts of ministry that
believers perform to one another. Whatever help or service is rendered to
fellow believers is the work of God and at the same time it is true worship
offered up to God through Jesus Christ. When Peter was talking about doing
good, he was telling us how Christians should treat their enemies. But here
he connects ministry with life among believers. This is how Christians should
treat each other. Our words that bless believers may judge and convict
unbelievers.
This
doxology is not a prayer or a wish, but a statement of fact. Glory and might
belong to Jesus because glory and might belong to God who raised Him to
eternal life. God will be glorified in the life that believers share together
and they will be ready for the end of all things.
I think
Peter intended to close the letter at this point, but decided to review what
he has been saying.
4:12
“dear friends” one last time let me tell you how to respond to those who
slander you.
Dear
friends, don't be surprised at the behavior of unbelievers. They might be
surprised with your behavior, but you should not be surprised at theirs.
Remember everyone has problems. The trials of life are used by God to test
you and judge the unbeliever. God is not partial. Everyone has problems,
both the just and unjust. But your reaction/attitude should be different.
You should be armed with the attitude of Christ. You should trust God.
4:13 says
sharing the sufferings of Christ brings joy. Don’t be surprised, but
rejoice. Consider it all joy knowing that the testing of your faith produces
endurance and through endurance you can be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing. When you suffer for dispensing grace and doing good, you can have
joy in your trial and you will certainly have joy after your trial. There
should be a growing joy in the Christian as the end comes near.
4:14 When
you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed. This was the
verbal abuse of being called a ‘Christian’. The Spirit of God is the Spirit
of glory or joy and praise. This Spirit of God rests on those who are
ridiculed for the name of Christ.
4:15 Make
sure you are suffering for the right reason if you want to be blessed with
God’s presence. A busybody is one who tries to exercise someone else’s gift.
It is meddling in things that are none of your business. Don’t try to
legislate morality for others. God can take care of public morality if we in
the church fear God, do good, and love one another.
4:16 If
you suffer for being a Christian, give glory to God. You will not be shamed.
Let your attitudes and responses bring glory to God. Even though the word
Christian is a swear word and a word of contempt to some, wear it proudly, for
that is what you are.
4:17
Jesus has come. God has spoken. The world is judged. The righteous are
judged first by man. Your refining is just the beginning of judgment for all.
4:18 If
you think your suffering is bad, remember you are only misjudged by man.
Think what will happen to the godless and sinner when they are judged by God.
4:19 It
may be God’s will for you to suffer unjustly. He has a reason. Undeserved
suffering may be hard, but it is better than deserved suffering because the
final outcome is never in doubt. If you have a good attitude you will be able
to glorify God in your trial. Only as you trust God can you glorify God.
Only as you trust God can you see God. Jesus said the pure in heart see God
in everything. The ungodly are not so. The prophet Isaiah was crying because
the world was in such a mess, but when the seraphim looked at the same world,
they said holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of His glory. The command
here is to continually entrust yourself to God's protecting care. It is a
present imperative verb.
The word
souls is a translation of psyche which is used here for the whole person. It
refers to your whole life not just an immaterial soul.
What
evidence do our neighbors have that we are really trusting God? You do not
have to trust God if you always play it safe.
A
Christian has problems like everyone else. They suffer from disease and sin
in the world like everyone else. But being a Christian means my sins have
been forgiven. As I keep a good attitude, God gives me strength to overcome
the evil with good. Trials help the people of God to get ready for the future
day of glory. You entrust your life to God by doing good.
4:19.
When I am suffering unjustly, I need to keep entrusting myself to God. God is
faithful and worthy of trust. Keep doing good. God cares for you. Let the
light of Jesus shine through you.
Peter
never forgot the 3 fold command to sheep-feeding. God is our Shepherd. He
walks with us in His playground. God owns our playground. He knows there are
bullies in the playground. They do not know who our Father is.
This week
I walked with my grandson a couple days. When we wander through deer trails
he wants my hand. The trails are narrow. The sword fern brush his face. I
walk in the rough trying to step on the ferns ahead of him or push the Oregon
Grape back a little, making sure he has the smoothest part of the trail. He
was not aware of what could be happening.
This
letter is intended to be a reminder. God is walking with you but that does
not make you immune to suffering. So listen to what he says.
Peter
identifies himself with his readers. In 5:1 he identifies with them in 3
ways: 1. fellow-elder 2. witness 3. sharer of the glory.
1.
Fellow-elder. He's writing to the leaders in the church. Peter does not
claim or assume any position higher than a local church elder. But at the
same time he strongly exhorts them. He shows by example that we are to
admonish one another as Paul clearly instructed. We build each other up as
equal brothers. The word elder is not a church office, but an age.
2.
Witness. This is the word Jesus used in Acts 1:8. It does not refer to the
act of seeing, but of testifying to what has been seen. The Greek word is 'martus'.
We are all witnesses.
3.
Sharer. A sharer is a 'koinoner'. Peter is proud to be a fellow partaker of
the about to be revealed glory. He is heavy on the glory; he begins and ends
both letters with it. (I Peter 1:7 & 5:11; II Peter 1:3 & 3:18) Glory is at
the point of being revealed. Jesus could return any time.
In 5:1
Peter identifies with his readers then in verse 2 gives them a job description.
5:2
"Shepherd the flock of God among you." Jesus had given Peter this same
command in John 21:16. Now Peter passes the command on to all leaders in the
church. When Peter had given up and gone back to fishing, Jesus told him he
had a reason to live. The paradox of this chapter is the shepherd is
described as humble (laying low) and standing firm.
Who are
these elders? Everyone who has someone looking up to you is an elder. We are
all elders to someone.
We are
also 'overseers'. Episcopountes literally means to look over. We are
responsible to watch over some sheep as God watches over us. The verb form is
only used here and in Hebrews 12:15, but the noun form is used in I Peter
2:25. There Peter was focusing on the pattern that Christ gave us. He
trusted God completely and so must we. He is our Shepherd and Overseer.
Sheep recognize the Shepherd’s voice.
We are
elders, not because we were appointed and forced to serve, but spontaneously.
It is a fact of life that some of us are older than others. We all look up to
someone and someone is looking up to us.
This word
joy 'prothumos' is where we get our word for enthusiasm. Our ministry is not
drudgery, but a joy. Some leaders were getting paid and they were just doing
their job. They had lost their enthusiasm. They had lost the joy of the
Lord.
5:3 We
are elders, not lords. Jesus gave us the formula for being great in His
kingdom: learn to be a servant.
We do not
possess our ministry. We do not have a career in the church. We are not
lords; we are examples. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. He is our
example. We must be examples to those who listen to us.
5:4 Just
as Jesus was a servant who suffered and endured the cross for the glories to
follow, so "after His appearing as Chief Shepherd we will all receive for
ourselves the eternal crown of glory."
The crown
is a symbol of victory, a reward for a job well done. Our crown is the
presence of God.
Now Peter
has an admonition to the younger leaders, the college kids who look up to
others, but also have some looking up to them.
5:5
"In the same way you younger men be submissive..." In what same way?
Peter is
referring back again to the example of Christ. He expanded this theme of
submission in chapters 2 & 3. Here the word submission is in the passive
voice as it is also in 2:13 and 3:22. This submission is because of external
requirements in contrast to the submission expressed by the middle voice in
2:18, 3:1, & 3:5 which was a submission because I want to.
Here the
younger submit to the older because it is required in contrast to the wives
who submit themselves to their husbands in chapter 3 because they want to.
Now Peter
gets back to all of us. All ages, all sexes, all classes, all colors,
"everybody clothe yourselves with humility to one another." We are to tie
humility around us with a knot like an apron. If we are servants of God,
let’s dress like it. Our apron of humility becomes a garment of honor
like the apron our mothers or grandmothers wore.
Stop and
think about it. In the past the apron was a good symbol of a mother's love.
She baked to provide for her family. She wore an apron when she worked.
Think about the machinist. The apron suggests work and is a protection from
the defilement of work. A symbol for a mother’s love today may be a driver’s
license or a handful of clipped coupons or a job.
Every
Christian should wear humility. Let your light so shine among men that they
see your good work and glorify God. When people look at you do they see a
dirty apron? Do they see evidence that you have fed the needy, bandaged
the sick, or wiped some dirty noses? When people see you do they see a
servant or a lord in fine clothes?
Why
should we tie the apron of humility around us? Why is it smart to be simple?
Because God sets Himself against the arrogant. Literally God arranges Himself
against the proud. Pride is the sinful attitude that precipitates God's
wrath. He battles against the proud. Is it any wonder that pride precedes
destruction? (Prov 3:34)
It is
smart to be simple. Psalms 116:6 (KJV)
Peter
says, not only does God not like a proud attitude, but He will fight against
it. Why is God so opposed to the proud heart? Think about the Pharisee with a
proud heart. He was self-centered not God-centered. “I thank you that I am
not like other men.” Pride is an attitude that has forgotten God. Pride
forgets God's blessings, God's care, God's power, and God’s promises. Pride
goes before destruction. Pride does not see God.
When I
forget that everything I have, I have received, I get proud. When I forget
that each breath I take is a gift of God, I get proud. When I think I deserve
what I have, I am proud. When I think it was my words or my strength allowed
me to get this thing, I am proud. When I think my self-discipline made me
this way, I am proud.
The word
‘remember’ is a big word in Scripture. In fact Peter says that is why he is
writing this letter; he wants us to remember. When we remember the majesty of
our God and who we are, it is easy to stay humble. When we forget, we get
proud.
God is
giving to the humble man grace. This word humble means, 'not rising far from
the ground'. Some translate it 'lowly'.
Jesus
tried to explain humility by using a child. Matt 18:1ff It seems that the
child soon becomes selfish, deceitful and does not see God.
When
Jesus commissioned his disciples to go out to their neighbors and friends
(Matt 10) he told them to be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
The proud
are in a battle against God, but the humble are receiving grace. What does it
mean to receive grace? Look at verse 10. The very nature of God is grace.
When I receive grace I receive God. It is an inner beauty caused by
the presence of God which is reflected in an external attractiveness that
brings glory to God.
Peter
began speaking to us as elders, but now he is talking to us as part of this
world. If it is true that God opposes the proud and gives Himself to the
humble as the Scripture says, then what should we do about it?
5:6 "Be
Humbled" Peter comes to the same conclusion as James comes to in James 4:10.
Humility was a word of contempt for the Greeks, but it was a badge of honor
for Peter. Humility is an attitude we tie around us so we can perform our
service better.
Humility
then is placing yourself under God's mighty hand. Pride is standing outside
of God's care. Pride is being my own God. I clothe myself with humility (v5)
and I place myself under God’s hand (v6).
Isaiah
40:3-5 is a prophecy of Jesus that says the mountains must be humbled,
leveled, or made low for the Messiah. For Jesus to reign in our lives we must
keep leveling the mountains of pride.
Why do we
try to stand against God's mighty hand rather than under His hand? Why do we
try to fight against God? We forget.
We need
to humble ourselves "in order that He may be exalting you all at the proper
time." Remember Elijah. He trusted God and was exalted at the proper time.
5:7 So
worry may indicate some pride in areas of my life that I have not yet
committed to God.
He does
not say cast all your anxiety on Him as it arises, but he says, "Having
cast all your anxious care now and in the future on Him, remember He cares for
you."
What do
you worry about? An auto accident, a robbery, a job, a relationship, a child,
safety, a disease?
Pride is
at the root of worry. Worry is looking at circumstances as if I were God.
I have forgotten that God cares for me. I have forgotten that God is more
concerned about me and those I love than I am. "It is a care to Him
concerning you." So it makes sense to cast all our care on Him.
This is
an active commitment evidenced by doing my part as a steward of God's grace.
5:8
Trust in God is evidenced by doing good. Jesus trusted God completely and
went about doing good.
You don't
cast all your care on God and then go live it up. Don't get drunk with any
intoxicants. Keep awake physically and spiritually. The Devil is trying to
introduce a lawsuit against you. He's bringing false charges against you like
a roaring lion, hungry for anything. He wants to digest somebody. People who
continue to do good taste bitter to roaring lions.
5:9 If
we trust God, we are not tasty to lions. We will be a repulsive smell. We
can do good and resist Him because He that is in us is greater than he that is
in the world. Doing good protects us against temptations.
We cannot
fight against Satan in our own strength. It is Christ in us. His attitude
makes us officers in the Special Services. Our major weapon is love. We
overcome evil with good. We can stand firm and resist because of the power at
work within us. We are overcomers by doing good. Those that endure to the
end will be saved. We humble ourselves and stand under God’s care.
Peter has
said all of us should be humble, trust God, discipline ourselves, resist the
Devil, and remember our brothers, but verse 10 assures us that God is the one
who gives us strength.
If we are
humble, God does 4 things: 1. He will restore us. 2. He will protect us. 3.
He will make us strong. 4. He will make us buildable.
This is
the exciting truth of strength in humility. We bind ourselves with humility
because we believe God will make us strong at the proper time. Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Let's
look briefly at these 4 words.
Restore has the idea of adjustment.
It is used in Mark 1:19 for mending nets. The disciples were adjusting the
knots to make the net more functional, to add strength. It is also used of
resetting a bone that is out of joint.
As we
live holy lives, God makes adjustments to make us more useful. He resets the
noses that get bent out of joint.
Protect
or set firmly is to make steadfast. Jesus used this same word in His command
to Peter in Luke 22:32. He said when Peter repented that God would set him
firm. When you repent God makes you firm, nothing can shake you. You can
stand upright and immovable.
Make
strong
is a unique word only used here in the N.T. It seems to suggest some
offensive capability. We have strength to defeat the enemy in God's strength.
Buildable
may refer back to chapter 2 when Peter was comparing us to living stones. The
suffering has shaped us and polished us and made us buildable like the Chief
Cornerstone. Be humble (lay on your face) and stand firm.
If you
feel vulnerable and under Satan’s attack, humble yourself under the mighty
hand of God. The world may see you as weak, laying on your face. But Satan
sees you as standing firm with the flavor of Christ.
A simple
fact may help you understand the atmosphere of this letter a little better. 1
P 1:2 “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” Dan 4:1 and 6:25 is the
same words in the Septuagint. 1 P 5:13 suggests that Peter had been
reading the story of Daniel. Daniel showed us how to be righteous in a
foreign land. Daniel received status, but was considered an alien all his
life. Peter addresses this letter to aliens. He compares their situation to
Daniel’s.
We can be
like Daniel. This world is not our home. We belong to a different Kingdom.
We can be an influence for good in a corrupt culture.
4:11 God is our life's
'choreographer'.
4:17 It is better to suffer people's judgment now than God's judgment later.
5:5 Better to be simple because God opposes the proud.
5:8 Humility has a bitter taste to Satan.
5:13 Peter has been reading the story of Daniel.
Psalm 116:6 (KJV) "The Lord preserveth the simple."
Sunday
Morning Family Worship -- 9:00 a.m.
Vic Dunton,
Chaplain
Phone: (503) 829-8591
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