I Peter 5:7-11
Introduction: As every one will testify, life can sometimes be difficult.
As it has been said, if we had no mountains, we would not learn to climb. Also, if we had no problems, we would not learn to depend upon the Lord.
Peter was well aware of problems and conflicts in life. He had faced many of them himself.
In this passage, Peter wants us to understand that God cares and that God will help you. It all comes down to one thing, will you let Him?
What do we need to understand to see God as a dependable Friend and God?
1. We Need To Understand God Cares. (vs. 7).
A. Peter becomes the example for us to understand that God cares. Notice he clearly tells us that God cares, therefore, He gives us instruction on how to see His care and concern for us. He wants us to give Him our problems.
B. God wants us to give Him all of cares, concerns, issues, and problems because God understands our weaknesses, but God also wants to demonstrate to us His strength and power.
C. When traveling, the people would take the heavy supplies and place them upon a beast of burden. While traveling through life, God wants us to understand that just as the beast of burden carried the heavy load for the people, He can carry the heavy load of our life's cares.
D. In order for us to understand God's care, Peter will now tell us about someone else who does not care for us, but an individual who wants to see us crumble under the weight of our burdens, Satan.
2. We Need To Understand God Can Deliver Us From Our Enemy. (vs. 8).
A. We now come to find out why we should not try to shoulder our burdens and problems. Because our adversary the devil is trying to destroy lives and testimonies.
B. In order for us to overcome the attacks of our enemy, we must have faith enough to trust that God can carry our burdens, lift our load, and even carry us if necessary through the battles of life.
C. We come to learn something about our adversary, he is like a roaring lion. What is so significant about this? Understand that a lion in the wild, quietly stalks his prey, lies in wait to attack. Only after he attacks and kills his prey does the lion roar. Why? Because he wants everyone to see what he has done, but also so everyone will see his power and fear him.
D. Satan is still today trying to convince people that he is stronger than God, but you and I know better. Because we know that God is stronger, we must listen to His instruction, and trust in His power to overcome Satan. Whenever we try to overcome the enemy alone or in our wisdom, we fail. Trust in the Lord, follow His instruction, and you can overcome the enemy every day.
3. We Need To Understand God Can Strengthen Our Faith. (verse. 9).
A. Peter continues giving us pointers on how to resist our adversary. Notice he tells us to resist the devil by demonstrating your faith in God. As we grow in our faith, we must become an example for others.
B. As our faith grows, so we will become an influence on those about us who are weak in faith. Sadly, the disciples who followed Jesus each day became weak in faith at times, they had to come to trust in Jesus for all things. By reading about their issues and how Jesus helped them to overcome the problems of life, we all have become better servants for the Lord.
C. Peter learned first hand that sometimes we are weak in our faith, but when we trust in the Lord our faith will grow. In Matthew 14:25-31, remember that Jesus came to the disciples walking upon the sea. It was Peter who said to the Lord, if it was Him, bid me to come to you walking upon the water. Jesus told Peter to come to Him, Peter did, but then he took his eyes off of Jesus, and he began to sink. Crying out to Jesus, Jesus saved him, but then questioned his lack of faith. Later, in Acts 4:12, Peter would demonstrate how his faith had grown, when he proclaimed to everyone that only in the name of Jesus can one be saved.
D. What about your faith? Do we demonstrate a strong faith in God or are we weak and show little faith in Him? As Jesus defeated Satan, so we can also become a conqueror through Him (Romans 8:37).
4. We Need To Understand God Can Make Us A Vessel He Can Use. (vs. 10).
A. Peter once again focuses our attention on God and he proclaims that God is a God of grace. God loves us when we are obedient, and He loves us when we are not. We cannot merit God's attention by works (Ephesians 2:8-9), but after accepting Christ as Lord, we must allow Him to mold us into the person He needs us to be (Ephesians 2:10).
B. Just as Peter is telling us to allow God to make us what He needs us to be, so Paul also told the Romans to present themselves to God and let Him work in their lives (Romans 12:1-2). He would tell us that we should die to the flesh, but be living unto Him. We should let God mold both our bodies and mind.
C. ILL: There was once a Sculptor and a friend of his visited him in his shop, there in the middle of the floor was a large stone just sitting there. A week later the friend came by to visit and in the middle of the floor was a beautiful sculpted image of a man. The friend spoke to the Sculptor and said, "My, what a beautiful sculpture you made." To which the Sculptor replied, "No, I did not make the image, it was always there, I just had to chip away the rough edges." Just like with us, God knows what you are, we just need to let Him chip away our rough edges till we become the image He wants us to reveal.
D. Peter continues now sharing with us who are born-again, reminding us of the relationship that we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We will suffer or be persecuted for our stand, but remember this, remain faithful and God will make us spiritually mature, He will help our faith grow, He will give us endurance, and He will give us security.
5. We Need To Understand God Should Be Praised. (vs. 11).
A. As a result of God's care and concern, we should always be prepared to give God the glory. We must come to understand that in comparison to His strength, we are very weak.
B. In praising God we also come to understand that although things in our world seem out of hand, God is still in sovereign control of the universe. Because God never changes, and His power will sustain us eternally, we can call upon Him and know that deliverance is on the way.
C. Since we know this to be true, we can say it is established, it is so, or as we usually end our prayers or petition, Amen.
Conclusion: When you have troubles, remember God cares for you and He wants to help you overcome them. It is not a question of God's power, strength, authority, or willingness, but it is a question of will you allow God to demonstrate His care and concern for you?
