Under the Mighty Hand • 1 Peter 5:5-7
38:29 Teaching begins
Notes
The whole earth is headed to judgment. Everyone is going to give an account of their life to God. People will find that the One who sits on the throne of judgment is the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe this. We know that judgment begins with the house of God.
Because we believe this we want to live in a way that pleases God,to be made like the Lord Jesus Christ so that we live like Him.
It means submitting ourselves completely to His grace, His favour, His kindness to us in Jesus.
We’re reading in 1 Peter 5 beginning in verse 5.
1. Peter wants us all to be humble, because that’s how we receive grace from God.
A. Our salvation is the result of God’s favour.
1. For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. Romans 9:15-16
2. When God said that, the entire nation had sinned against God. While Moses was up on the mountain receiving the law from God, they made a golden calf and worshipped it and had an orgy on the side. The entire nation broke the covenant they had made with God, they were all liable to death. Moses says, if you blot them out, blot me out as well. That’s when God says this, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. There is no compelling God, we have already forfeited our lives because of our sin.
3. God doesn’t reward us according to our deserving. He has mercy on us because He is good. Out of His favour, His grace, He chose us in Christ before He made the world. He sent Jesus to die for our sins, that we might be born again and receive Jesus’ eternal life.
B. Our lives as Christians begin with submitting ourselves to God, humbling ourselves before Him. We confess, I have sinned against You. I deserve Your punishment. But Jesus died for me. Please forgive me and make me new. Have you ever done that? It was humbling, wasn’t it?
C. We don’t deserve forgiveness. We don’t deserve cleansing, or peace, or blessing. We don’t deserve God’s love and promise to provide for us. All that comes to us because God is good to those who turn to Jesus. It’s all because God is good.
2. As we began following Jesus, so we also continue following Him.
A. If you have received grace, then you receive more. John 1:16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace, says the Apostle John.
B. Receiving God’s grace is how we continue in Jesus. Peter says below in verse 12 we stand in the true grace of God. This is where we want to stay for the rest of our earthly existence.
3. Peter says everyone is to humble themselves before God and one another.
A. He admonishes the younger men to submit in the same way to their elders.
1. Just as pastors are submitted to Jesus even though they are not perfect, younger men are to follow that same example to those further along the way.
2. You don’t despise them because they’re a bunch of old, useless guys. They are valuable and necessary to your growth. You give them respect, you ask their judgment, you think about them. They don’t lord it over you and make you do things. They are there to encourage and sometimes rebuke you for your own good. That’s what they are there for, to help you inherit glory.
B. But then Peter says this is how everyone is to be towards one another. All of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility.
1. This is what Paul says in Philippians 2:1-4 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
2. Humble means thinking about others as more important than yourself. God is more important than you, others are more important than you. That doesn’t mean that you are not important. It means that your attitude is to esteem others more important than yourself. You think about others. Everyone helps everyone get to where they need to be. No one gets left behind. Everyone reaches the goal. Everyone rejoices.
3. Paul goes on to say that Jesus is humble. Philippians 2:5-8 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
4. Jesus demonstrates who God is. God considers others as more important than Himself. That’s amazing when you think that God is so far above human beings. He considered us sinners as more important than Himself. Jesus is God, and He died in our place under the wrath of God against sin. Jesus counted us as more important than His own well- being, and He is helping each of us get where we need to be, which is eternal glory.
C. Now we are to humble ourselves before God and others.
1. Just like Jesus thought and did. Staggering, isn’t it? A Christian isn’t a nice person who doesn’t do anything. It means being completely different from every human being. It means being godlike, perfect, like God Himself.
2. The only way we can do this is by being clothed with Christ. Clothed with His death to sin and pride and arrogance and selfishness. Then we are clothed with His resurrection life, a new heart and mind, like Jesus we consider everyone as better than ourselves. Jesus is the demonstration of humility. He is the measure, the definition.
D. The only way to be like Jesus is the grace of God.
1. He gives grace to the humble, the one who is not thinking about himself because knows he can’t do it. He gives ability to people who are poor in spirit. If you know you can’t think about others, that they are better than you are, you are a candidate for God’s grace. You say, I can’t do this. Please do this in me, and He will.
2. He gives new life, new attitudes, the grace to really think about others. He gives us the Spirit of Christ to live in us and enable us to forget about ourselves and our needs and our wants and likes and dislikes.
4. This is Peter’s great command: humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
A. It means you are not fighting God like everyone else who resists God. They say, “Who knows what God would do to me if I surrendered to Him? What does God know about life? What does He know about satisfaction? What does God know about how to live right in the 21st Century? What right does He have over me? I’m not handing myself over to Him. Freedom! Liberty!”
B. When you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God you remember, you don’t have a leg to stand on. You live at God’s pleasure. It’s a miracle that He loved you to provide a sinless substitute for you so that you can be free from eternal punishment. You can’t say, well, if I don’t get this or that, I’m not cooperating. You can’t negotiate with God. You are not an equal with God. He doesn’t have to deal with you. It’s total surrender or nothing.
C. So you respond by surrendering yourself to Him for anything that He wants. His mighty hand means His plan, what He wants to accomplish, and His power to do it, which is almighty.
D. I think the most concise way to express it is in Matthew 6.
1. First Jesus says, Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
2. Then He says, Matthew 6:31-33 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
3. You humble yourself by seeking God’s things first in your life. Your highest priority will be God’s will. You are freed from having to worry about food, drink, and clothing, because God has said that’s His responsibility. Your job is to put God first in your life. You take care of God’s business first, and He will take care of your business for you.
4. The opposite to God’s will first is my will first. What happens then is I worry about what I will eat and drink, what I will wear. I will devote my energy to meeting those needs. That’s my full time job. If I ever get those things satisfied and if there is any time left over, then I will pay attention to what God wants. Will I ever get there? No. It’s impossible. No man can serve two masters. Full stop. One or the other, but not both.
5. You have to put God’s business first. This is humbling yourself under the mighty hand of God.
5. Here are some ways of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
A. You give priority to knowing God and His will for your life.
1. That’s the reason for having a daily time of reading the Bible, meditating, and praying. You are presenting yourself before the Lord and saying, “Here I am. Teach me, mould me, use me.” Learning Christ is all preparation for doing the will of God.
2. If you don’t have a priority of learning Christ, you’ll never get there. You won’t trust Him. You’ve already got too much to do.
B. You give priority to coming to church.
1. God has arranged one day in seven that you hold to be sacred time. You cease from your labour, you rest and be refreshed in Him. It is holy time.
2. If this is not a priority then you don’t get rest. You are doomed to work seven days a week until you drop. We can say, if I don’t do this I will die. God knows how to provide for you. Israel. In Exodus 35, as Israel was about to build the Tabernacle for God to dwell among His people He warned them. Exodus 35:1-3 Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, “These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do: “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day.”
3. It’s true that the day has been changed over the years because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. That day is the day of worship and rest. Do you seek first the kingdom of God by taking that day of rest and coming to church?
C. You seek first the kingdom of God in your finances.
1. I was teaching the men on Thursday night on this verse, and as I was preparing I realised this is why I tithe. This is seeking God’s priority first as far as how I use my money.
2. One scripture that convinced me of this is Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. This isn’t some legal technicality, it is honouring to the Lord to give back a tenth as a token that it all came from Him. He takes that 90% that is left and stretches it like the widow’s sack of flour and jar of oil. Elijah said, make me a cake first. She had to trust him. That sack of flour always had a little more in it until the famine was over.
3. Is God first in your finances? Or are your finances messed up because God is the last priority?
4. In the beginning I remember being scared to tithe. What if it doesn’t work? Can I really afford to do this? Finally I decided, if I die, I die. At least I’m dying under the mighty hand of God. You will notice that I’m not dead yet. I have done this for about 45 years. God is faithful to provide for me. I wish I could say I’ve never worried, but that’s not true. I didn’t have to worry, but I did anyway because I didn’t trust God. It’s been a long process of learning that God means what He says, and He means the best for me. So He has to come first in my finances. That’s my testimony.
D. You seek God first in what you do for your job.
1. I’ve seen people worry about what they will do, what will be their profession.
2. Ask God, what do You want? What do You have for me? And be open to whatever He wants. You humble yourself, say, whatever You want, You lead me, You guide me. I’m open. See what God will do.
6. So what?
A. I would say the main requirement of humbling yourself under the mighty hand of God is to know Him. As I’ve already said, you can’t submit to someone you don’t trust. You can’t trust someone you don’t know. To the extent that you don’t humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, you don’t trust God.
B. You can trust God because He cares for you.
1. Yes, He’s mighty, yes, you can’t bargain with Him. You can’t dictate to Him. But He cares for you.
2. You humble yourself and cast your cares upon Him. He will be your strength. When you feel like it’s too much, cast that upon Him. That’s humbling yourself.
3. Remember when Paul had that thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him? He cast his care upon the Lord three times and said, please take it away. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
C. Can you trust God and submit to Him? That’s what Jesus did. He humbled Himself and was obedient to death, even death of the cross. And God raised Him from the dead and has highly exalted Him. You trust and submit unto death with Christ, and you also will be exalted with Christ.
Let’s pray.