In the meantime…In the meantime means, until something expected happens, or while something else is happening: “Your computer won't arrive until Thursday. In the meantime, you can use the one at the volunteer desk” or “Meanwhile back at the ranch…”. Meanwhile and meantime can both be nouns or adverbs and are interchangeable. "Meantime" is more frequently seen as a noun: "in the meantime" or "for the meantime." "Meanwhile" is usually seen as an adverb, "meanwhile, back at the ranch.” Don’t confuse it with, “for the time being”. That phrase means “for a limited period”: “Leave the ironing for the time being - I'll do it later.” Meantime, is extended expectation! That is exactly what Peter is discussing in our text this morning.
On July 18, 64 A.D., the city of Rome ignited in flames and burned for six days while the emperor Nero supposedly played his fiddle. Historians tell us that it’s likely that Nero started the fire but when it blazed out of control, the citizens became hostile, so he blamed the Christians for starting it. This unleashed a fire of persecution against believers that spread to other parts of the Roman Empire. Nero was nasty to Christians! History records that he covered Christ followers in tar and set them ablaze while they were still alive, using them as torches to provide light for his garden parties. He also covered Christians in the skins of wild animals and sent out his hunting dogs to track them down and tear them to pieces. He nailed some to crosses, lacerated others with hot knives, and even fed some to lions for sport. Christian groups under Nero weren’t losing their status; they were losing their lives. It was into this hostile culture that Peter wrote the letters we know as 1st and 2nd Peter. They are filled with hope and instruction on how to live, in the meantime!
TEXT
“…GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (6) Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, (7) casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (8) Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (9) But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. (10) After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
(1 Peter 5:5-10)
Peter’s epistle is addressed to believers going through hardships; the meantime between their conversion and being present with the Lord! For many of them, it was a VERY mean-time! They didn’t know what to do!
On December 31, 2019, the government of China confirmed that health authorities were treating dozens of cases of pneumonia of an unknown cause. By January 20, 2020, the first confirmed cases outside mainland China occurred in Japan, South Korea and Thailand. The next day, a U.S. citizen in Washington state, developed symptoms after returning from a trip to China. On February 11, the W.H.O. proposed an official name for the disease, Covid-19, an acronym that stands for coronavirus disease 2019. By the next day, the death toll in China reached 1,113 and the total number of confirmed cases rose to 44,653. There were 393 cases outside of China, in 24 countries. On February 29, authorities announced a patient near Seattle had died from the coronavirus. On March 13, President Trump officially declared a national emergency, two days later, the C.D.C. advised no gatherings of 50 or more people in the United States over the following eight weeks; including weddings, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events conferences and churches. The following day, President Trump advised limits of 10 or less. Schools closed. People were told to stay at home. By April 2, the pandemic had infected more than one million people in 171 countries, across six continents, killing at least 51,000 and in just a few weeks, the pandemic put nearly 10 million Americans out of work, including the staggering 6.6 million people who applied for unemployment benefits in the last week of March. It’s July 12, 2020 and experts warn that we are still “knee-deep in the first wave” of this pandemic. U.S. deaths have exceeded 130,000 from nearly 3 MILLION confirmed cases, at times reporting 50,000 new cases in a single day. It’s a serious situation that fills our evening news, occupies our thoughts and alters our daily norm. What do we do while we wait? What should we do in the meantime? While Peter’s exhortation was for different circumstances, I believe it fits us today.
He says in verse 5, “…GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (6) Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” The first thing he mentions is
I. Be Patient (6)
He quotes the essence of Proverbs 3:34, Though He scoffs at the scoffers, yet He gives grace to the afflicted. Patience is a by-product of humility and humility is the great preserver of peace. Pride on the other hand is the great disturber of peace. It leads to irrational decisions and impatience! Pride causes dissension and there is mutual opposition between God and the proud, GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. So, the apostle adds: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” Humble yourselves, not only to each another, but to our great God, who is Sovereign. He can easily pull down the proud or exalt the humble. Considering the power behind the omnipotent hand of God is humbling. It should lead us to submission. He is ALL POWERFUL. There are no boundaries, no limit to His ability to restore, reverse, exalt, bring down, create or destroy! Humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God leads to exaltation. James 4:10 says, Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. And Jesus said in Luke 14:11 "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Faith requires patience. If we truly trust Him, we must humble ourselves and wait for Him to move. We often get ahead of God or ask Him to perform, all the while making decisions that obstruct what God is doing. Impatience often leads to rash decisions and detrimental actions that later bring regret and disappointment. Why not instead allow patience to have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:4)
God intends for believers to endure troubles and trials. Listen to Romans 5:3-5, “…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance [patience, endurance]; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.(Romans 5:3-5) James wrote in chapter 1:3, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance; [patience]” it is the exact same word. While we are waiting on God, exercise patience!
II. Be Prayerful (7) casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Peter is quoting, with some slight alteration, Psalm 55:22, Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. We cast our anxiety on Him when we fulfill Jesus’s command, Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' Our heavenly Father knows that we have those needs and God cares more for us than the lilies of the field or birds in the sky! God cares for us; therefore, don’t be over-anxious, instead trust in Him. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Don’t only pray as a last resort. Make prayer a daily part of your life. Pray for guidance as well as deliverance. If we prayed first, we might avoid many of things we pray for deliverance from later. The greatest enemies of our faith and peace are impatience and prayerlessness! When it comes to making good decisions “in the meantime”, we need to pray and follow some biblical principles:
A. Ask God (Pray)
B. Listen to God (Prayer & His Word)
C. Obey God
D. Wait on God (patience, faith)
1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs, “pray without ceasing”. So, while you’re in the meantime, pray!
III. Be Positive (8) Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. The Greek word sober (nay'-fo) means to abstain from wine. And the word for alert means “keep awake; watch; or be on guard!” It could properly be translated, “Be on guard spiritually! Abstain from anything that lulls you to sleep or inhibits your vigilance!” Wine isn’t the only thing that numbs our senses and hinders our attentiveness. Complacency, comfort, and self-assuredness can also make us vulnerable. Don’t spend the meantime self-medicating. Instead BE ALERT; be watchful. Why? Because your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Satan is a formidable foe. As a believer, he is your enemy. He obstructs your efforts to do right, your attempts to return to God, and he obscures the truth of God's salvation. His nature is to battle your every effort to obey God and to secure salvation. He is subtle in his approach, and shrewd in his presentation of half-truth. He entices your senses, perverts your judgment, and teases your imagination. Often, he comes as an angel of light, deceiving us with false views of spiritual things, half-truths about the truth of God. He often takes advantage of our circumstances and our desires to tempt us. He denies the faithfulness of God and tempts you to do the same. He attempts to confound us in our confidence. As a roaring lion, he comes to wear us down, and destroy us or at least render us ineffective. His lies discourage us, slander the truth, and leave us hopeless. Times of trial often foster feelings of discouragement, hopelessness, and self-pity. We should maintain a positive outlook. God is still on His throne. He is still capable of salvation, restoration and reclamation. Paul wrote in these instructions for the Philippians meantime, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8). Be Positive!
IV. Be Proactive (9a) But resist him [the devil], firm in your faith,
James 4:7 says, Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. This is the one enemy we are told to fight. The key word for surviving the Internal Foe, the flesh, is flight. The key word for overcoming the Eternal Foe, the world, is faith. In surviving war with the Infernal Foe, we are told to fight. We are to yield to God in all things (6) and yield to the devil in none (9). We are to resist and oppose him anywhere, anytime, and in whatever way he approaches you. We are to battle his allurements, his flattering promises, his fascinations of this world, his temptations, and his threats of destruction. As strong as he is, God never permits him to conquer a believer who continues to resist him. Satan cannot force the human will. Those who are in Christ are safe. To them he is a toothless, menacing, liar, who, using the weapons in their arsenal can stand against him, with victory assured. Revelation 12:11 explains our ultimate victory over this threatening accuser, "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” How do we overcome him:
A. Calvary - "By the blood of the Lamb"- The blood of Christ covers our sin. Un-repented sin gives Satan an edge. We are saved by the blood of Lamb! Hebrews 2:14-15 explains it, “…since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus] likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
B. Confession – “word of their testimony" Give Satan a testimony. When he comes, remind him of God's faithfulness. Give the devil a testimony!
C. Commitment - "they did not love their life even when faced with death"- Just say, "I'm following Him, live or die, sink or swim".
These weapons will effectively resist the devil and will bring blessing on your life. Be proactive!
V. Be Productive (9b) firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
You are NOT ALONE! There are others facing your circumstances and even if there isn’t,
God promises to never desert or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). "The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8) Jesus said to His disciples, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (MT 28:20) You are NOT alone.
We should be patient, but we should NOT be idle. Someone once said, “The secret of patience is doing something else in the meantime”. Be proactive and be productive! “Preacher, how can I be productive when I am quarantined?” Pick up the phone. Encourage someone else. Share this message with them. Tell them what God showed you this morning during your quiet time. Don’t simply endure, explode; not at your circumstances, not in anger, not in frustration; leverage the time, redeem the time to help others…and in the process, you’ll help yourself! Be productive!
VI. Be Prompted (10)
Do you know what prompted means? It means encouraged! After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. I see two encouraging things here,
A. This Will Pass - After you have suffered for a little while. The heat of trial feels like it will never end, but your trial WILL pass. One of my favorite passages is Psalms 30:5, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” The life of a Christian is filled with interchanges of sickness and health, weakness and strength, want and wealth, disgrace and honor, crosses and comforts, miseries and mercies, pleasures and sorrows, success and failure, and joy and mourning. A life of all roses would weaken us; of all thorns would crush us. It takes both to keep us healthy in our perspective and walk with God. Thomas Brooks, England’s nonconformist preacher said, “It is best and most for the health of the soul that the south wind of mercy, and the north wind of adversity, do both blow upon it; and though every wind that blows shall blow good to the saints, yet certainly their sins die most, and their graces thrive best, when they are under the drying, nipping north wind of calamity, as well as under the warm, cherishing south wind of mercy and prosperity”. - Thomas Brooks. 457 verses in the Bible say, “it came to pass”. Jesus said something recorded in 3 of the 4 Gospels, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” If heaven and earth will pass, your circumstances will certainly pass. Be encouraged, your trial WILL PASS; this virus WILL pass. Weeping may last for a night, but JOY WILL COME; this will pass!
B. God Will Perfect - will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you
The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Philippians, For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6) Our salvation AND sanctification was begun by God. Paul & Peter based their firm conviction that it was permanent; that God would carry it out, finish it. It would not be began and then abandoned. This “good work” would be “performed” or “finished” only:
(1) by keeping them from falling from grace, salvation
(2) by their ultimate entire perfection, sanctification
Their firm belief is something like the following:
It is in God alone. No reliance is placed on us keeping ourselves. We are too weak; too changeable; too fickle; too predisposed to yield to temptation. The reliance is on God. God began the work. He had a design in it. It was deliberate, and intentional. It wasn’t hit-or-miss or by chance. It was because of His great love for us. There is no reason why God would begin such a work and then abandon it. It couldn’t be because He lacked the power to complete it, or because there were more enemies to overcome than He had expected; or because difficulties arose, He didn’t foresee; or because it was no longer needed or wanted. God abandons nothing that He begins! There are no unfinished worlds or systems; no half-done and forsaken works of His hands. There is no evidence in any of His works of a change of plan, or of having forsaken what He began from disgust, disappointment, or lack of power to complete them. God promised to keep us. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 10:27-29, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.” The idea that God will finish what He started in us caused Paul to write, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30) Causing him to say in verse 35, Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39) Be encouraged! What God began in you HE WILL finish and there is no power on earth, under the earth, above the earth and beyond the earth that can dissuade Him from His faithful task!
Conclusion
We don’t have God’s perspective. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we do know Who holds tomorrow! God is at work! Your trial and circumstances are not a surprise to Him. You’re not yet who you will be. You’re not home yet! So, in the meantime, be Patient, be Prayerful, be Positive, be Proactive, be Productive, and be Prompted. He has you safely within the palm of His hand!
