We do have a new year, but we have the same God.
And so we come to God's word expecting many of the same things as we have in the past.
I wonder if you know what outsiders need.
They need solidarity.
Sometimes they need encouragement.
I wonder if you know what wanderers need.
Well, wanderers need guidance.
And what do the vulnerable need?
The vulnerable needs protection.
And it's all of these things that the audience of 1 Peter needs.
Peter is writing to Christians who are in exile of a sort.
They're out of the Holy Land.
They're away from the place they've gotten used to knowing about God's promises.
If you can imagine the earliest Christians still hanging on to quite a bit of the Jewish traditions.
That the Temple or the Holy Land would have had significance.
And being located elsewhere could be a problem.
And indeed they did.
They faced trials.
They faced problems of that sort.
They were in the diaspora.
Peter addresses the letter to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.
And Pontus, Galatia, and so on.
He names all these different places that are outside of Israel.
These people are expats.
And they need to hear from their own country.
The difficulties that they were facing were really sufferings.
Hardships of various types.
But particularly the type of hardship that a Christian faces in a society that does not share its beliefs.
The government.
Different social relationships.
People's reputation.
All of this stuff was critical for how the Christians would live.
And how they were experiencing life as God's people.
And so Peter wants to reassure them.
You can live in this society and respond in godly ways.
Don't give up hope.
You can live and respond in godly ways.
And so we come to the end of the book here actually in chapter 5.
And this little passage is addressed to the elders.
As you would have heard, I exhort the elders among you.
But it's also addressed to the wider congregation.
Its message is quite straightforward.
Elders should lead the church like Christ the great shepherd.
Everyone should remain humble before God.
Because God will restore them in the end.
As you can see in verse 6.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God.
And in verse 10.
After you have suffered for 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.
This is the great promise that is upheld in this letter.
What appears several times though is the theme of glory.
And I don't know if you caught it when we read the passage.
Glory is laced throughout the entire passage.
And it comes in two forms.
First is the glory of God.
And second is the glory of oneself.
As many of you will know, I really do like America.
It is my favorite country.
So we'll just get that out of the way for the record.
But what I'd like to talk about this morning is the senator from Nevada.
Someone who has recently passed away.
Maybe you saw this in the news.
Harry Reid was a senator from Nevada.
And he of course received all sorts of tributes.
All sorts of words of kindness from people who knew him.
Senator Reid was one of a kind.
He was honest.
He was tough as nails.
He ran a tight ship.
He was a caring friend.
What one politician said really caught my attention.
Above all, in everything that he did,
Senator Reid was a consummate American.
A consummate American.
That's the kind of tribute that someone would give to a senator in the U.S.
Americans love America.
Most of the time.
That is a nation that is among other things a source of pride, importance, and even glory.
Now it's not always a source of those sorts of things.
But it can be.
You may know the star-spangled banner.
Now it, that is the flag,
catches the gleam of the morning's first beam.
And full glory reflected now shines in the stream.
Tis the star-spangled banner.
O long may it wave
over the land of the free and the home of the brave.
In full glory reflected now, it shines.
I'm not going to rattle on about America, however great or not so great it might be.
But it should come as no surprise that the Bible is going to give a stern warning about our own self-importance.
It's going to give a stern warning about our own self-importance and the sources of that self-importance and glory.
The warning comes through very clearly in the first four verses of today's passage.
Now remember, these are instructions mainly for the elders of the church.
It will have a broader application than that, but that is the initial target.
So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ,
as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.
Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you.
Not for shameful gain, but eagerly.
Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Notice how glory occurs in verses 1 and 4.
As a witness of the sufferings of Christ, we also partake in the glory that is going to be revealed.
And then in verse 4, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
What these instructions show, and it's not particularly evident at first,
is that elders can be particularly prone to glorify themselves.
And there are really three ways that leadership might go wrong.
The glorification part will become clear later on.
Three ways that leadership might go wrong.
Leadership can go wrong when an elder feels obligated to serve, rather than delighted to serve.
Obligated to serve, rather than delighted to serve.
Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly,
as God would have you.
Leadership might go wrong when an elder pastors for gain, rather than for the people.
When an elder seeks to build a bank account, instead of building up the good of the people of God.
The passage goes on to say, not for shameful gain, but eagerly.
Not for shameful gain, but eagerly.
That is, eager for the people of God.
Thirdly, leadership might go wrong when an elder bullies the congregation, rather than serving as a worthy example.
Verse 3 says, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
Not domineering over those in your charge, but examples to the flock.
These might be framed as three thoughts of problematic pastoring.
Pastors might be in trouble if they're thinking, well, it's what I have to do.
You know, I signed a contract.
Or it pays the bills, and for what it is, you know, it's decent money.
Or, people just need to do what I say.
Things would go a lot smoother around here if you all just listened to me.
Three thoughts of problematic pastoring.
Sometimes, we might be able to say some of those things about other jobs.
But God's chosen leaders must tend after the sheep.
This is a holy calling, and a special calling.
And so, what about glory?
What about glory?
I said this passage has something, or a lot to do with glory.
And it's framed.
Those instructions we just read are framed by this reference to glory.
And I don't think the problem is simply that those mottos,
the thoughts I just gave you, are ways of glorifying ourselves.
It doesn't seem that straightforward.
They don't big up the pastor, necessarily.
I mean, they do, in a way.
But the problem is, really, that those methods of leadership
have lost sight of the glory of God.
They've lost sight of the glory of God,
and put the pastor first, and the people second.
It's a failure to recall that God has made us a participant in his very own glory,
and that he's promised an inheritance that will not fade.
It's a matter of losing sight, of taking our eye off the prize,
of not watching the point of focus.
And so, what I'd like to do this morning is focus.
Let's all focus, elders and congregation alike,
on that glory, the glory of God.
And we're going to see three things.
God reveals his glory,
God gives his glory,
and God draws us to his glory.
God reveals his glory,
he gives his glory over to us,
and he draws us, or invites us,
into his own glory.
As I said, Christians, and especially elders,
are partakers in the glory that is going to be revealed.
That is the first verse.
The language here clearly designates a type of glory.
This is a to-be-revealed glory.
It's the glory that is going to be revealed.
It might be soon, it's about to be revealed,
or it might be some unspecified point in the future.
But it's not the glory that you now see,
or that we've now experienced through scripture,
or through experience.
It's not the glory that's been fully realized.
It is yet to come.
Now, we know full well that God reveals himself
through creation.
He reveals his glory in creation.
Many of you could quote to me,
Psalm 19, 1.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
So, Peter can't be thinking about that kind of glory,
the kind of creation glory,
the glory that you experience
when you go on a trip through the mountains in Scotland
or watch a National Geographic program.
Right?
This isn't blue planet glory.
But we have, I think,
had a taste of this to-be-revealed glory.
We have had a taste of it.
It's not the same as the glory we see
when we look out the window.
But we have had a little bit of a taste,
even if it's going to be revealed.
Who is the radiance of the glory of God
and the exact imprint of his nature?
Who became flesh and dwelt among us?
Whose glory we have seen.
Glory is of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
This is Christ, obviously.
God reveals his glory in Christ.
And dare I say,
through the incarnation,
he has given us a meager revelation
of the glory that will be revealed
when Christ comes in full glory
in his second coming.
We're told that every knee will bow
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.
There was a huge mismatch
between the revelation that came in Christ
and the revelation to come in Christ.
But we have nonetheless
had the revelation in Christ
and gotten a taste of the glory of God.
But this is not just the
to be revealed type of glory.
Peter says we're partakers in that glory.
Partakers in that glory.
Now, how can we be partakers in that glory
when Paul says,
for all have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God?
When I think of the glory of God,
I often think of that's something
that we fall short of.
The majesty of God.
The expectations of God.
The Christ-likeness of God.
The very image of God.
We have not attained these things
and yet we are partakers of it.
This is a classic case of God's work
being already started but not yet complete.
It's God's work being already started
and not yet complete.
a real, real feature
of the Christian life.
And this is why Paul can also say,
and we all with unveiled face
beholding the glory of the Lord
are being transformed
into the same image
from one degree of glory to another.
We have fallen short
but God is in the process
of restoring us.
And his own glory
and our beholding of that glory
has a big role to play.
So you are a participant
in the glory of God
that is and will be revealed.
And God first reveals his glory.
Second, God gives his glory.
Verse 4 says,
when Christ appears,
we will receive
the unfading crown of glory.
The unfading crown of glory.
Or the crown that doesn't fade.
That is the crown of glory.
Now, crowns in those days
were usually made of wreaths.
You'd be familiar with that.
A Roman or a Greek soldier
kind of celebrating a victory.
Or someone in a contest,
an Olympian or something like that
would have a wreath of leaves.
Right?
So take your advent wreath,
take the candles off
and put it on your head.
That's what they did.
Okay?
But you can also think
of a golden crown
because a leafy crown
will obviously fade.
It's fading.
It's a fading crown.
Right?
Those leaves will eventually droop
and the thing will kind of
fall apart and so on.
So let's imagine still
a golden crown,
a metal crown.
Something that's suitable
for royalty.
Even those crowns
will fade.
And a lot of jewelry fades,
doesn't it?
Right?
If I'm lifting something metallic,
I try to take my ring off.
Right?
So if I'm fixing a bicycle
or using gym equipment
or something like that,
I'll take my ring off
because it's going to
scratch up the gold.
I still remember buying
this wedding ring actually
and the sales person
left me with an invitation
to what?
Come back any time
and get that thing shined.
You can come back any time
and I'll put it in the machine
and we'll shine it up.
And sure enough,
a few months later,
I found myself walking
by the store
and I thought,
why not?
Let's shine it up.
And I stopped him.
Jewelry fades.
And so we polish the silver.
We get our ring shined.
We have diamonds cleaned up.
We rub our watches.
But the crown of glory
will not fade.
And that crown of glory
refers to our future inheritance.
Our future inheritance in Christ.
If we go back to the first chapter
of 1 Peter,
it's just one page to the left.
And look in verse 4.
Peter says,
we've been born again
to a living hope.
And verse 4 says,
to an inheritance
that is imperishable,
undefiled,
and unfading,
kept in heaven
for you.
In that passage,
and back here in chapter 5,
Peter's referring to our salvation.
That's the inheritance.
The inheritance
of our fully restored humanity.
Salvation is not just being,
in a kind of simple way,
taken out of sin
and into heaven,
or out of a destiny to hell
and into a destiny of heaven.
It is that.
But salvation refers
to the full-orbed blessings
of God in Christ.
And that includes
a fully restored people.
This is when we will worship God
and love one another
without stain or blemish.
The day when we will say,
holy is the Lamb
and worthy is the Lord
to be worshipped
forever and ever.
It is the day we say that
without reservation.
That is our inheritance.
Holy and fully committed
to God.
That is the unfading crown
that will be ours.
This glory will be revealed.
It will be a gift
that does not fade.
And this glory, lastly,
also belongs to God.
It is his eternal glory.
Have a look at verse 10.
After you have suffered
for 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.
This is God's eternal glory.
And he has called us
to it.
There are two points
I'd like us to see here.
The first is
the more obvious one
that I've already said,
sort of.
That glory belongs to God.
You may know the hymn,
To God be the glory,
great things he has done.
And that's the first thing
that this phrase
brought to mind for me.
I found that the lyrics
and tune for this hymn
were written by two Americans
in the 1870s,
but that the hymn
gained large popularity
in Britain, actually.
It was recommended
to Billy Graham
for his London crusade
in 1954
and was a great success.
There's a very good version
of this hymn, also,
recorded at the Royal Albert Hall.
It took me right back
to summer of 2019,
or 2020,
and being there
in the living room
with one of the IPC Psalms
picked on YouTube
and singing along
with the Royal Albert Hall
Orchestra.
And how do you think
that version begins?
What instrument do you think
starts that version,
To God be the glory,
in the Royal Albert Hall?
Clarinet?
Flute?
Percussion?
Trombone?
It's a trumpet.
It's a trumpet, of course.
Trumpets are the sound
of glory.
And that's not just
a choice of musical arrangement.
That's really
a biblical musical preference.
The Lord will descend
from heaven
with a cry of command
and with the sound
of the trumpet
of God.
1 Thessalonians.
The trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised,
imperishable.
That's 1 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians.
The trumpet signals
a glory that belongs
to God.
To God be the glory.
One consequence
of this glory
belonging to God
is that he doesn't
share it with anyone else,
at least parts of it.
Isaiah says,
I am the Lord,
that is my name.
My glory I give
to no other,
nor my praise
to carved idols.
God's warning his people.
Don't go making
little gods
and giving glory to them.
Don't package my majesty
in some wooden figure.
In John's gospel,
when Lazarus has died,
Jesus is standing
at the tomb
with Lazarus'
sister Mary.
Excuse me, Martha.
And Jesus and Martha
are standing there,
and you know what happens.
Martha says,
let's roll away,
no, Jesus says,
let's roll away the tomb.
Let's roll away the tomb.
And Martha says,
oh, Jesus,
I don't think I would do that.
I just think,
maybe give him a few days,
right?
Why?
Because it's going to smell.
And Jesus says,
no, no,
let's roll the stone away.
And he adds this
to Martha.
Did I not tell you
that if you believed,
you would see
the glory of God?
If you believed,
you will see
the glory of God.
Jesus is referring
to God's glory
that belongs to him,
that shows up again
and again
in his mighty works.
Who else's glory
is Martha going to see
when it comes to
raising her brother
from the dead?
She doesn't know
it's coming.
But indeed,
it comes.
And that's the corollary
of glory belonging to God.
It's not our glory.
We are participants
in the revealed glory
that God has promised
to grant us
in Christ.
But there is a level
of glory
that the people saw
in the life of Christ
and that we witness
in the scriptures
that belongs
wholly to God.
Jesus raising Lazarus
from the dead
belongs to that category.
And it's not something
that we will know
from Jesus' side of things.
Jesus miraculously
feeds people.
He raises men
from the dead.
He knows the thoughts
of his dinner guests.
He outwits the intelligentsia
of his day.
He's in a different category.
Jesus does things
that we don't do
to get the glory.
The kind of things
that we do
that get sort of
importance and honor
and praise and so on
are not like that.
Jesus is in a different category
because he has the glory
that belongs to God.
So this glory belongs to God.
And secondly,
glory has a special relationship
to suffering.
This comes through
in the beginning
of verse 10.
And after you have suffered
for 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
after you have suffered
for a little while.
Paul says in Romans,
for I consider
that the sufferings
of this present time
are not worth comparing
with the glory
that is to be revealed
in us.
This is what a lot
of the letter of Peter
has to do with.
This is what a lot of it
is what it's about.
As I said at the beginning,
people are undergoing trial,
hardship.
What do they look to?
They get encouragement
from God,
looking to the glory
that is going to be revealed
and that is promised
to them.
And there's all
these comparisons.
The suffering
that you suffer
for a little while
compared to
what type of glory?
Eternal glory
of God.
God's glory
is revealed.
He gives it to us
and then He invites us
to it.
We need to behold it.
We need to put it
before our eyes.
We need to read about
the glory of God.
We need to remind
one another of it.
We need to hang it
on the wall
and look at it
every time we walk
through the room.
It's a part
of God's very being
and something
we need to encounter
again and again.
And yet we must
also respond
to that glory,
that glory of the Lord
with humility.
If we go back
to verse 6,
this is really
the kind of crux
of the passage.
Humble yourselves
therefore
under the mighty
hand of God
so that at the
proper time
He may exalt you.
Cast all your anxieties
on Him
because He cares
for you.
Peter says
to give your
sufferings
and your worries
over to God.
Trust that He
will care for you.
Resist the devil
and know that God
will protect you.
Hardship,
anxiety,
and even Satan
himself can take
so much
from us.
Those things
can take so much
from us.
Happiness,
they take the people
we love,
they take our security,
they take our health,
just to name a few things.
But none
of those things,
no hardship,
no worry,
no activity
of Satan
can compromise
the inheritance
of glory
that God
will give to those
who know Jesus Christ.
They cannot touch it.
This is the inheritance
that God now
invites us to.
Let me conclude
with some promises
of Scripture.
The prophet Habakkuk
said,
for the earth
will be filled
with the knowledge
of the glory
of the Lord
as the waters
cover the sea.
And John
in the book of Revelation
picks up on this
and says,
when the congregation
is gathered around
the Lamb in heaven,
they will say,
worthy are you,
our Lord and God,
to receive honor
and power
and glory.
For you created
all things
and by your will
they existed
and were created.
the new heavens
and the new earth
will have a new city,
the new Jerusalem.
And that city,
we are told,
has no need
of sun
or moon.
For the glory
of God
will give it
its light
and its lamp
will be
the Lamb,
Jesus Christ.
And this is why
we say,
glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Ghost
as it was in the beginning
is now
and never shall be
world without end.
Amen.