“Humble
Yourselves” 1 Peter
5:1-7 August 21, 2011
SCRIPTURE INTRO: We’re almost finished with 1 Peter.
Just today and next Sunday. I’ve loved this letter.
It
presents such a grand, Christ-centered view of life.
The cross and the crown. Suffering and glory.
Through
our union with Christ, our suffering is a path to glory, just like his.
From
the perspective of eternity suffering is just a “little while.”
We pass through this little while into our
sure and imperishable inheritance.
In
the sovereignty of God and through the work of the Holy Spirit,
our suffering is a purifying crucible in
which the gold of our faith is purified.
I’ve
loved it, but I’m ready to be finished.
But
Peter is so focused on suffering
that I’ve found preaching through this
letter hard.
Because
I can’t help thinking about many of you and your particular suffering.
Peter’s words are so strong, so blunt—it’s
not that I don’t think you can take it.
I
worry that I won’t preach it with grace—
and that I’ll weigh you down instead of lift
you up.
That’s
always a worry, but I’ve felt it even more strongly with this letter.
And
this last chapter isn’t fluffy. It’s
just as strong and meaty and focused.
Peter
has finished with his doctrinal teaching on suffering
He has just two more things to say of a
practical nature.
First
one, that we will study today is very blunt.
Peter
says that there is one character quality above all that we are to cultivate
in the face of suffering—both as individuals
and as a church body.
What
is it?
INTRO: We took Adrienne to college Friday—our alma
mater, Covenant College
It was a great day and nobody cried, not
even Allison.
This
past year, after Adrienne was accepted at Covenant,
she went through a scholarship application
process.
It
involved essays and interviews.
While she was doing that, I ran across a
humorous spoof
of a college scholarship letter.
Dear
Ms. Jones:
The
committee has received and reviewed your scholarship application. Your high school transcripts and standardized
test scores are excellent. Academically
speaking, you are the kind of student this fine college wants.
However,
we have one serious concern about your application. When asked:
Do you consider yourself a leader or a follower? You answered:
I consider myself a follower.
This
institution of higher learning prides itself in training the next generation of
leaders. In fact, all of this year’s
1,265 incoming freshmen stated on their applications that they were
leaders. Except one. You.
Although we normally give scholarships only to student leaders, we have
realized that our incoming freshmen will have difficulty leading without a
follower such as yourself.
To
that end, we would like to extend to you a full scholarship—tuition, room, and
board. We hope you make the most of this
opportunity to develop your following talents and abilities and one day,
somehow, make this school proud.
Sincerely,
etc.
That’s
obviously a tongue in cheek dig at American culture, American schooling.
Telling
every kid in the class, year after year:
You’re all leaders.
You’re all above average. The Lake Woebegone Syndrome.
I
have no doubt that message works. It
changes self-perception.
And I’m sure it makes some students more
forward and assertive and successful
in a worldly sense—because those are the
character traits the world often looks
for, and even rewards.
But
does pride and assertiveness and self-promotion help you when you are
suffering?
When you pass through the fire.
When the important things
in your life are threatened or even lost,
then what character traits,
and what self-perception will stand you in
good stead?
Peter
says it’s humility. It’s being
humble.
That’s
not what we would normally think of telling a suffering Christian.
During this little time of suffering in your
life, you need to be humble.
But that’s exactly what Peter says to end
his letter.
Humility
will enable you to face suffering with great strength.
And here’s why: The opposite of humility is pride.
Pride appears in many forms. And one form of pride is anxiety.
Anxiety
is your imagination running wild without trust in God.
It’s rooted in a deep sense that God is not
doing things right.
If he was, I wouldn’t be in this mess, I
wouldn’t be suffering this loss.
I know how it should be. You hear the pride in that thinking.
An
anxious person may not appear to be proud.
He may be trembling with fear and unable to
get out of bed.
But underlying that worry is a pride that
says: I know what’s best for my life.
So
Peter says to these suffering Christians—Be humble.
Submit your hearts to God who has permitted
you to undergo this trial.
True humility destroys anxiety.
Enables
you to believe and say: This is exactly
where God wants me.
So
how do you become humble?
Well,
Peter says, you don’t learn it in private.
You don’t learn it in your quiet time.
You learn it by participating in the life of
your church.
You
learn humility before God with real people in your church.
Real personalities, conflicts, problems, ups
and downs.
This
is a theme that runs right through Peter’s letter from first to last—
the theme of the church. Over and over Peter makes it clear that these
lessons
about suffering are not for us to learn
alone, but to be learned corporately.
That’s
a very hard concept for us to grasp as individualistic Americans.
That I need the church. That I cannot become a humble Christian
without church.
But
in the Bible, the truly humble spirit is measured primarily by humility before
other human beings. If we can’t be humble before the people we
can see,
how can we be humble before the Great God
who we cannot see?
Peter
makes three points in these verses.
In
order to be refined in suffering, the church must have . . .
1.
Humble leaders 2. Humble members 3.
Humble sufferers
MP#1 Humble leaders
“To
the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s
sufferings and one who will also share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock, serving as
overseers.”
Peter
starts by addressing elders. This
passage has a very Presbyterian ring to it.
Elders plural. Not just one man running the church but a
board of elders, Session.
An appeal as a fellow elder. Peter was an Apostle. He could have pulled rank.
But
in a very Presbyterian way he says: I’m
just one fellow elder among you.
We have a name for that. We call it the parity of elders.
Peter
says: Look, fellow elders. If the church is going to learn humility
that leads to sanctification in suffering,
it starts with you men.
It
starts with the way you lead—serving, serving, being an example.
There are many positions of leadership in
the church that aren’t church office.
If you are teaching children’s Sunday
school, you are leading those children.
Certainly
there are things to learn in Peter’s words for every place of leadership.
You can even apply these things to
leadership in home, school, work.
But
I’m not going to go that direction. I
don’t think that’s right.
These
are very tough, convicting words directed at me because I’m a teaching elder.
And at all you men in this congregation who
are ruling elders.
And
all you men who are deacons. You also
serve in an ordained office.
Peter
says three things to elders.
You
are to shepherd the flock not because you must, but because you are willing.
This
sounds like what the Bible says about giving your tithes and offerings.
Don’t give reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
As
a Christian you are to give your money from the heart—
and as an elder, you are to lead from the
heart, not because you must.
Remember
the context of the letter. A church
facing persecution.
In
times of persecution, leading church is not just more costly, it’s harder.
Because, contrary to our romantic idea of
persecuted Christians, it often brings
out the worst. There are many who cave in and pull
away. Have to be pursued.
There
is a tendency of those who stay to become more critical and judgmental.
Elders have to deal with those things. A good shepherd does it willingly.
He doesn’t get fed up with the people of God
and tired of dealing with them.
That
is so convicting.
I
can’t even count how many times I’ve operated as a pastor out of compulsion
rather than a willing, cheerful heart. And how many times I’ve been exasperated
and cynical about sin in the body.
Peter
also says: Not greedy for money, but
eager to serve.
Am
I greedy for money? I had to ask myself
that question this week.
I thought, I’m not greedy. I don’t badger the church to pay me more.
I
have a budget, I tithe. I worry about
money too much, but no more than
anybody else with a family and bills. And I felt pretty good about myself.
But
then I focused on the second phrase—not greedy for money, but eager to serve.
And all my carefully constructed
justifications came crashing down.
Because
I realized that there are many ways I use the church to serve me.
It doesn’t have to be money.
I use it to get the approval I crave. The strokes.
Where
do I spend most of my time and efforts.
Usually on things I know you all will see.
When
somebody lowly or something hidden needs my service,
I’m much more inclined to ignore it, because
it won’t get me what I want.
Third,
Peter says: Not lording it over people
entrusted to you, but setting example.
Don’t lead by forcing people. Don’t lead by being domineering.
Instead
commend the Christian way of life to the flock
by the example your character, your
faithfulness, your humility, your wisdom,
the rightness of your judgments and the
truth of your teaching.
This
is an impossibly high calling, to be an officer in the church.
But by God’s grace, the church is sometimes
blessed with humble leaders.
When
we were up at Covenant College on Friday we were stunned to run into a
couple we haven’t seen for 15 years. A ruling elder and his wife from Marco
Presbyterian Church. The church I was in before I came here.
Let
me tell you about this elder. His name
is Tony Castillo. He’s from Cuba.
Came to America in 1959 to get away from
Castro.
He had a wife, a baby girl, one dollar, and
his faith in Jesus Christ.
He
lived the American dream and retired after a successful career with Ford.
He
loved the church. He loved serving
people.
He
didn’t just work in our church, he would frequently drive to Miami,
to help in a Spanish speaking PCA
congregation there.
He
sponsored a Cuban family, brought them to Marco Island.
Got them set up in a dry cleaning
business.
And many days worked there for free even
though his health was poor.
So
we ran into him and his wife on Lookout Mountain. They are in their 80s.
Why are you here? Had sponsored another Cuban family 10 years
ago. .
Led
them to the Lord. Arranged for daughter
to attend Covenant College.
Came all the way up to Chattanooga to get
her settled.
And
as we talked, just one story after another about the church spilled out.
They
told about the church in Miami. Told
about how Tony had recently been
at the deathbed of another old Cuban, read
Bible verses, led to Christ.
Told
sad story about a man we know from our old church who left his wife—
and how Tony pleaded with him two times to
no avail.
And
told Allison and me that they had prayed for us every day for the past
15years.
Then
they kissed us, as only Cubans can. Kissed
Adrienne—Adrianna!.
Kissed Eliza—Elisa.
Kissed Will.
Who is this? They asked. Is this the Alabama boy?
And
they commended us to the grace of God.
When
we were driving away, after leaving Allison asked me how I felt.
I said my overwhelming emotions at that
moment are humility and gratitude.
My
encounter with Tony and Lily Castillo—this old, faithful elder and his wife—
colored the entire experience of taking my
firstborn to college.
I
want to be an elder like that. Peter
says there is a reward.
When
the Chief Shepherd appears,
you will receive a crown of glory that will
never fade away.
Humble
leaders.
MP#2 Humble members
Verse
5. “Young men, in the same way be
submissive to those who are older.”
Peter
doesn’t spend as much time on this point, and I’m not going to either.
I’ve nailed myself and the other elders, I’m
not going to take it out on you.
Just
a few points of clarification.
First,
why does he address young men?
Well, this could also be translated young
people.
Doesn’t necessary refer just to the young
men in the congregation.
I
think Peter is just making a common observation that it is sometimes
younger church members who resist older
leadership.
Think they are too cautious. Out of touch.
Pete
says: Be submissive. Humble yourself.
Second,
“Those who are older.” It’s the word
“presbuteros.” The word for elder.
It can refer to the office of elder or just
to older people in the church.
Peter
might be saying: Young people, be
submissive to older people in the church.
But I think he’s actually talking about the
office of elder. Way ESV translates.
Elders
submit to the Chief Shepherd, serve congregation with in humility.
Young people, submit to and follow elders.
It’s
similar to Hebrews 13:17
Obey your
leaders and submit to their authority. They
keep watch over you as men who must
give an
account. Obey them so that their work
will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be
of no
advantage to you.
It seems that Peter is saying something similar—
young people
especially learn humility by submitting to elders.
Not limited
to young people, of course, but sometimes for them particularly hard.
Enough said on that.
The next that that Peter says expands this teaching.
“All of you,
clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because
‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble.’”
Not only is humility learned and practiced as elders
serve and as members submit.
Humility is
also learned as every member is humble toward each other.
This is the way one commentator, Wayne Grudem,
explained this verse:
“Peter uses a
metaphor of clothing or fastening on garments to speak of the atmosphere of
humility
towards one another which should characterize relationships among
Christians. No
one is
exempt, for Peter includes church officers and non-officers, young and old, new
Christians
and mature believers.”
No one is exempt.
Every encounter, every interaction with every other member
of your
church is an opportunity for you to grow in humility.
Think about the many ways that can happen in a church
body.
You see that someone has a need—for a meal, for a
phone call or visit.
You’re
busy. You have things to do. But you humble yourself and do it.
Someone talks too much about themselves and their
problems.
You wish they
would ask about you. But you humble
yourself and listen.
Someone is boring.
You humble yourself and ask how they are doing.
Someone is distant and distracted. You don’t think they like you very much.
You humble
yourself and talk to them anyway.
Someone criticizes you or confronts you about
something.
It
stings. You’re irritated. But you humble yourself and consider their
words.
You accept
what is true and forgive and forget what is not.
You pray about challenging someone about a problem in
their life.
You expect
them to respond well but they don’t.
They get mad at you.
You humble
yourself, give their response to God.
Your child is slighted by another child in the church.
You humble yourself, use it as a chance to teach what
it means to love
the body of
Christ with all its flaws and problems.
You can’t understand why someone responds in such an
immature way—
you humble
yourself, love that person, and believe the Holy Spirit is at work.
This is what it means to clothe yourself with humility
toward one another.
To believe
the Holy Spirit is at work.
To overlook
insults.
To speak the
truth in love.
To spend time with people and talk to people that you
wouldn’t normally choose
to hang out
with but you do because they are members of your church.
And as you do, something remarkable happens in your
spirit.
That brings
us to the third point.
MP#3 Humble sufferers
Peter makes an amazing jump in verse 6. He’s been talking about how we
treat each
other in the church. Submission and
humility.
Then suddenly he changes to God.
“Humble
yourselves, therefore under God’s mighty hand that he may lift you up in due
time.
Cast all your
anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
I’ve said it already, but I’m going to say it again—
because this
is the point Peter is making, this connection.
Anxiety is form of pride. It’s your imagination running wild without
God.
It’s the
thought that God is not doing it right.
That I know
how my life should be and this isn’t it.
The only way to cut the root of anxiety is to be able
to say and believe—
God is
God. God is right. God is good.
He has me where he wants me.
This is
exactly where I need to be in this little while of suffering.
That’s humility.
You don’t learn to humble yourself before God in
solitude.
You learn it
in the church—serving humbly if you are an officer,
following
submissively as a member,
clothing
yourself with humility toward each other.
And as you learn humility,
wonderful
truths about suffering pressed home in your spirit.
First, You are suffering under God’s mighty hand.
You are not
suffering bad luck. You are not cursed.
You are not
adrift. This is not random. It is the mighty hand of God.
That terrifies some people. It infuriates others.
But for
believers who have learned humility, it is a profound comfort.
How often in this letter have we seen suffering
depicted as a weight.
That’s the
way most people describe suffering.
Heaviness. A load.
If you’ve
every suffered, you know it feels like a weight on your shoulders.
Humility teaches that this weight you feel is not some
alien force—
it’s the
mighty hand of your heavenly Father.
Perhaps for discipline. Perhaps for testing.
Perhaps for
some mysterious purpose that you’ll never know till I get to heaven.
But it’s his
hand. He is the one with whom you have
to deal.
Second, God will lift you up at the proper time.
All suffering
has an end. This promise is repeated
over and over.
Weeping may
endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
After the valley of the shadow of death comes the
table prepared,
the anointed
head and the overflowing cup.
God has appointed times and seasons.
After a
little while he will lead you out into a spacious, sun shiny place.
Lord, you may ask, What about now? Now would be good.
You can tell
him what you want. Nothing wrong with
that.
But humility
enables you to wait for his proper time.
Third, in the meantime, in the waiting time,
God wants you
to cast your cares on him because he cares for you.
What does the humble sufferer look like?
Do you walk
around stooped over?
Hunching your
shoulders. Talking bad about yourself.
No—Peter says that you cast your anxieties on
him.
Do you know
what that means?
Have you ever
heaved something heavy on someone else?
I was talking to a man recently who told me that when
he and his wife were
first
married, they made a solemn promise with each other.
They swore that if ever either one of them was awake
in the night,
worrying
about something at 2:00 in the morning, unable to sleep.
That the worrier would wake up the other spouse,
no matter how
deeply he or she was sleeping and tell what was troubling.
Man who told me this had been married 40 years.
He said that
many times over the years he and his wife had kept that promise.
He said it is not hard being the one awakened.
It’s hard
when you are the one lying there in the dark.
Listening to
your wife’s deep breathing, telling yourself that you shouldn’t
bother her,
that you are a man, that you should be able to handle this.
But then remembering the promise. Fighting back the pride, shaking her.
Baby, wake
up. I can’t sleep. I’m worried.
He said that every time through the years when he had
kept the promise
the sensation
was like he had heaved a heavy anchor off the side of a boat.
Cast all your anxieties on the Lord, because he cares
for you.
Heave them on
to him. And here’s a practical
application.
Sometimes casting your cares on the Lord means casting
them on
a trustworthy
Christian friend.
Can I talk to you.
Will you listen and pray for me.
It’s hard for
you to ask, but it honors them.
Yes, they say.
I would be glad to. And you heave
away.
This is a
good church for that.
There are
lots of people in Christ Covenant who would be glad to listen.
Doing that, not trying to handle it all yourself, is
an act of practical humility.
Remember: God gives grace to the
humble.
True humility does not discourage or depress, it opens
the door to the love
of Christ and
the full experience of that love.
And that experience makes a man or a woman the most
cheerful and useful
friend to
others. We love them, however unlovely
they may be from time to time,
because when
we were still more unlovely, God loved us and Christ gave
himself for
us.