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.
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,
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.
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
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
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
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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