1 Peter 5:5,6 Grace to the Humble
A young woman went to her
pastor and said, "Pastor, I have a besetting
sin, and I want your help. I come to church on Sunday and can't help thinking
I'm the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not think that, but
I can't help it. I want you to help me with it."
The pastor replied, "Mary,
don't worry about it. In your case it's not a sin. It's just a horrible
mistake."
Many times we
make the same horrible mistake of not seeing ourselves realistically Much
higher opinion of ourselves
A)And it affects our
relationships w/ other people & our attitude about the Church the body of
Christ
B) If I were to give a theme to
the first 11 verses of Ch. 5 of first Peter Call it Body life
1)
For
We have seen how he begins w/ the Leadership in v.1-4 The Heart of the Shepherd - Love / serve / Be example of Christ
C) Then he speaks to those who are younger exhorting them to submit to the
Elders the Spiritual leaders in the flock
1)The issue of submission has already come up several times in this letter.
D)The apostle asked the church to submit to the govt, slaves to their masters, and he has dealt with the issue of submission in marriage.
1) Then he moves on to relationships within the body of Christ.
E)
Apparently the younger men in the various
churches to whom he was writing were struggling to submit to their
godly, appointed elders,
1) especially in this time of political and
social suffering.
F)
I can understand their feelings.
There was a time in my life younger days full of Pride/ I thought those in
leadership in the Church didnt have a clue
1)
Out
of touch too soft poor decisions -
I remember when our High school
fellowship @ CCCM /was going to lose our Pastor In my mind the group was
going so good
A)I
was a Jr. in High School I went to Pastor Chuck stood in line after a service
asked him that before he picked a new guy come
visit
B)
It is one of those things I look back on now & hope that he has forgotten
C)
Now what me & my friends , failed to realize was that the Chief Shepherd JESUS picked our leaders
1)
To
shepherd HIS flock and WE in turn were to submit to THEM & in doing so we
were really submitting to HIM
D)
God had Chosen Pastor Chuck to lead CCCM & He would show Him who was
supposed to be the High School Pastor
1)
He
did Picked this Fiery little Italian Cimino Best
Ever
So Peter exhorts the younger People in
the Body to respect & to submit to the Elders then he says to the body at
Large
all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with
humility,
A)One
of the distinguishing marks of the body of Christ is there is a mutual
submissiveness that is present ranking ourselves
under others
1) A heart attitude that expresses
it self in actions that says I want to do
what I can to Help my Bro/ Sis- Grow in the Lord Be better people
B)
It is an attitude that is to stand in great contrast
to the Dog eat Dog world that we live in where people Climb right over each
other to Get ahead.
1)
Instead
in the Church we are to be models of those who take the Lower place so that
others may be Exalted / built up / rewarded
C)
At the heart of such a Lifestyle is HUMILITY
1) Which is why Peter exhorts Be clothed w/ Humility
D) In other words Let a
Humble heart & actions be the Garment that covers your life
1)
May
it stand in Stark Contrast to the prideful attitudes that are so Prevalent in
the worlds economy
When Hudson Taylor went into China as a Missionary one of the
things that he required of himself & those who worked w/ him
A)Is
that they would dress like the Chinese commoners off w\ American suits &
they would wear the Chinese dress
B)
This enraged some back here in the states but Taylors heart was to be like
the people he sought to minister to not appear above them
1)
It
was a successful Plan the act of humility brought acceptance among the
Chinese Great & fruitful ministry was the result
C)
Hudson Taylor had a good example to
follow Christ Jesus laid aside the robes of His Glory came clothed
like a common man
1)
That
he might touch men
D)
To cloth ourselves in Humility is to see ourselves in the same place as those
around us put simply Sinners in need of Grace
1) Accept for the grace of God there go I
Then Peter gives us a very good reason
for Living in this way quoting from Prov.3:34 - God resists the
proud, But gives grace to the humble.
A)The
Phrase God resist the Proud is interesting the word resist also translated
opposed is a military term
B)
It depicts a full army ready for
battle !!! So in essence what Peter is suggesting is that God is in full battle
array as it were against the Proud
C)
See Pride is a Sin from which many others spring Pride is the Starting point
1) Example : Pride is often at the Core of
Lying bearing a false witness
D)
If I told the truth / if I
expressed things the way the really are people would think less of me - so I will embellish it a bit .
E)
Many murders & fights are the reaction to someones Pride being wounded
Spurgeon: PRIDE is so
natural to fallen man that it springs up in his heart like weeds in a watered
garden,. It is an all pervading sin, and smothers all things like dust in the
roads, or flour in the mill.
Pride
is hard to get rid of .If killed it
revives, if buried it bursts the tomb.
You
may hunt down this fox, and think you have destroyed it, and lo! your
very
exultation is pride. Pride is a sin with a thousand lives; it seems impossible
to kill it, it flourishes on that which should be its poison, glorying in its
shame. It is a sin with a thousand shapes; by perpetual change it escapes
capture. To die to pride and self, one would need to die himself.
In Prov. 6 it says There are six things the
LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: the first
thing that tops the List is A proud look,
A)Pride was the sin that turned Lucifer into Satan got
him kicked out of Heaven
Conceit is the devil's gift to little
men.
B) Pride was the sin of Adam & Eve eating the
forbidden fruit Be like God Knowing both good
& evil
WW The
pride of life is one of the commodities that the world system offers and most
people will pay anything to acquire it.
Pride, like the magnet,
constantly points to one object: self.
A)A proud person
signals his pride like a flashing red light at an intersection.
He displays how "great"
he is by his walk, his talk, and his mannerisms
B) But Pride is such ugly thing like a snake ugly / but just think if you saw it sticking out of
the stomach of a Friend
1)
That is what
pride is like The head & voice of the serpent protruding
from a persons life
C) I have a dear friend Brilliant young
guy just gifted intelligent sky is the limit nothing that he cant do
many gifts
1)
Problem is
He knows it Pride over
shadows every good trait / all the gifts ( Instead of his life being a
Platform for Gods glory )
D) His Pride
detracts from Gods Glory UGLINESS -
Pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick except
the one who has it.
E) Sad because I know for the Lord to really
use Him I know that He is going to have to strip him & break him of that
pride
1)
And I am not
looking forward to seeing that
F) Said
of Moses 40yrs somebody I can do anything I
put my mind to / 40yrs nobody God called him
I CANT - but God could
1) LAST 40 yrs leading everybody
Spurgeon
rightfully said
I do not believe that God
ever fills a cup which was not empty; or that he ever fills a mans mouth with
his word while that man has his mouth full of his own words.
But the Bible is Clear that Pride Comes before
__________ & a Haughty Spirit before a Fall
A)Jesus said in
Matt 23:12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
B) Seen over
& over in the pages of Scripture those who would seek to prop themselves
up in Pride The Lord Pulls down
1) Those who have a humble opinion of
themselves The Lord pulls up
So God sets His face in Battle array against the
Proud But He gives GRACE to the humble GRACE is what we desperately need
A)Grace = Gods
Undeserved Favor
B) The Word
grace originated from a Hebrew word that meant to bend or stoop and by it came
to include the idea of condescending favor
1)
Unmerited
undeserved Blessing from God
C) Barnhouse
put it well when he said : love that
goes upward is WORSHIP / Love that goes outward
is AFFECTION
1)
But Love that
comes downward is GRACE
D) G.R.A.C.E.
- What are some of those Riches
Here is a Partial list
You are beyond Condemnation
Rom. 8:1
You are delivered from the law Rom. 7:6
You are near to God
Eph.2:13
You are delivered from the power of evil Col.
1:13
You are a member of
his Kingdom Col . 1;13
You are Justified Rom. 5:1
You are Adopted
Rom.8:15
You have access to God Eph.2:18
You are part of His priesthood
1 Pet.2:5
You will never be abandoned Heb.13:5
You have an imperishable inheritance
1 Pet.1;4
You are member of His body / branch in the vine /
stone in the building/ a bride for the groom
P.C. Grace transforms desolate & bleak plains into rich,
green, pastures. It Changes grit your teeth duty into loving, enthusiastic
service. It exchanges the tears & guilt of our own self effort for the
eternal thrill & laughter of freely offered pleasures at the right hand of
God Grace changes everything
We have been given every blessing possible in
Christ- Comes thru the Vehicle of Gods Grace
A)Now when Peter
says that God resist the Proud but gives grace to the Humble doesnt mean that God will not show grace
to the Proud person
B) Because he
does every day
1) Rom. 5:20 Sin abounded grace abounded all the more
C) The very fact
that the Proud sinner isnt immediately done in Consumed by the all consuming
fire of God is an act of Grace
1)
The very fact
that the Proud Boaster & Blasphemer isnt struck by lightning the minute
he opens his mouth is because of grace
D) But the
unbowed proud soul never really gets to enjoy the Grace that God gives
especially in its fullness
DAVID & MEPH. Jonathans crippled son
A)The common
practice was to do away w/ the relatives of any remaining rivals any
potential threats
B) David brings
him in treats him like one of his own sons live in the Palace & eat at the kings table
1)
That is Grace
that is a picture of what God has done for us because of our relationship
w/ Christ
C) But what if
MEPH. Refused what if He protested I am of noble blood
I deserve to be king rallies a small army
1)
David would
have had no other Choice but to oppose
Him
D) God has
extended his hand of Grace to man but there are those who wont accept it Good enough own
merit Insult to Gods
Grace
1) FIND FALL MISERABLY SHORT Judging by the
wrong standard
E) Those who
defiantly say I wont accept the Grace of God I will have no God
reigning over me
1)
God will
oppose them In Grace he will first seek to bring them down that they might be
Humbled & turn to Him
F) If that
doesnt work their fate will be Judgment
It is humility of heart that puts us in the place
to receive of the grace that God has for us we recognize the need
A)And the
Lord has an abundance of Grace to Give
Sam Dunncannan - Ministry pictures to w/ poems or
verses to give to people in his church.
1) Came across a picture of Niagara
falls - couldnt find right thing to match w/ it until heard Ira Sankey sing
this Hymn
Have you on the Lord
believed? Still there is more to follow -
Of his grace have you received? Still there's more to follow
Oh, the grace the Father shows, Still there s more to follow
Freely He His Brace bestows, Still there's more to follow.
More and more and more and more, Always more to follow;
Oh, His matchless, boundless love, Still there's more to follow Always
More to follow
It
is always an unpleasant thing to be reading an article in a Magazine or a
newspaper & where just engrossed in the story
A)And then
you turn the page & read TO BE
CONTINUED
B) Yet those words can be a blessing in our
lives when applied to other areas especially as it relates to the Love &
Grace of God
1)
available to
those who are in CHRIST
C) Never turn the page & read- All used up
/ end of the Story- but it always reads TO BE CONTINUED
It is like an endless Chain a stream that
continues to flow mile after mile thru all types of terrain
A)Spurgeon
put it this way : All the volumes
that record the dealings of Divine Grace are but a part of series that is to be
Continued
B) God is ready
to give grace to those who Know that they need for the situation that for which
it is necessary
1)
Back in Ch.1
Peter spoke of various trials that the believers go thru
C) We noted that
the word various meant many-colored.-
1) The trials that we go thru come in many different colors / Shapes & Sizes
D) But in (1Pet 4:10). Peter uses that word - one other time and it is to describe the grace of God
1) ( Manifold many colored Grace of God)
The Connection presents an awesome truth !!!
Our troubles may be many-colored, but so is the grace of
God; there is no color in the human situation which that grace cannot match.
A)There is a grace to match every trial and there is no trial without its grace.
B)As we go thru the Trial the Lord reveals that His Grace is Sufficient. His power is made perfect in our times of weakness
1) Paul says
therefore I will glory in my infirmity for when I
am weak then I am strong His power working in my weakness
So
having a humble heart puts us in that place of being able to receive &
enjoy the grace of God w/ that in mind Peter says
Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
A) The wording that Peter uses here I think is the key
to having a Humble heart Humble yourself under the
mighty hand of God
A) Humility is birthed in the Heart when I see myself in light God
1) Pretty good baseball player NY Met Scouting team
B) Saw myself in same light as those guys not as good
C) Same is true of the Lord Isa. Woe is you / Woe is me UNDONE
1) Poverty of Spirit
D) So Humility is born when I see myself in light of God /
1)But Pride is birthed & fostered when man sees himself apart from God
The Need that we have to continually be amazed by the
Glory of God
A)Beach - Fri night
- Prov.8:29
He assigned to the sea its
limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command,
B) That is first step toward Humility being captured w/ God
1) NOTE:
God exalts the Humble in DUE TIME
Now
I want to finish this morning w/ this thought although this text is
directly addressed to the Unbeliever there is application
A)See There is an abundance of Grace from God
available to every man & woman here today
B) But in order to receive of that Grace We must Humble ourselves
1) For the unbeliever that means REALIZE sinner
C) Realize only Christ can save You bow the Knee Accept His gracious invitation to come & live at the Palace
1) Not just in the family but fully healed of your crippled state
Moses / Samson / Peter / Paul / Pharaoh