But notice, after he addresses the Elders in verses 1-4, he immediately addresses two other groups:
(1) THE YOUTH
Look at verse 5, we read, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”
One of the problems in our society is that we make it too easy for the younger generation to get off the hook when it comes to responsibility. That is, we do not hold their feet to fire, and expect them to take responsibility seriously.
We might not, but God’s Word does. Every teenager here today will give account of what they have done with the Word of God, as it was preached by God’s men, as much as the oldest person here will have to give account.
Look at verse 5, we read, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.”
Do you realize how many young lives could have been spared from the sorrows of life, if they had listened to a godly Elder who shared the Word of God with them? But they have rebelled, and they have paid a great price for it, and still have to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ.
But after Peter tells the YOUTH to submit to the teachings of God’s Word. He also addresses-
(2) THE ADULTS
Look at verse 5 again. We read, “Likewise…submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, ALL OF YOU be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”
This matter of SUBMISSION applies to everyone in the church. Why? When God’s man preaches the Word of God, and God’s people are not willing to submit to the Word of God, God cannot do His will through a church like that.
Let me show you several things from this passage.
I. THE CHRISTIAN AND HIS LEARNING
First we discover there is a process to learning. Verses 5-6 teach us that the process of learning is THROUGH SUBMISSION.
Parents and educators are constantly teaching the importance of having goals to their children, but they are not showing young people how to reach those goals.
Illus: How many times have we been to a high school or college graduation exercise, and observed how easy those speakers make it sound to those who are graduating. The impression is given that in a few minutes, these young people with their diplomas in their hands, are going to be thrust out into the world, and like a bird that has been thrust from it nest, they are going to soar into the sky.
But so often, this is not the case. We forget to tell those young people that life is a continuous learning process, and we can only learn, as we are willing to:
* Submit ourselves to someone who knows more than we do
* Humble ourselves, acknowledging we do not know it all
We should constantly be teaching these spiritual truths to the youth, so that they can experience spiritual growth.
Before learning can take place, the student has got to understand some things about-
A. SUBMISSION
Notice the word “submit.” This is a word that we humans do not like. It has two shades of meaning:
1. “To buckle under”, refers to a person who desires to learn something, perhaps about math, science, or English, and he has to be willing to submit himself to someone who knows more than he does. A person can be proud, and pretend he does not need to be taught; but if he wants to learn, he has to buckle under.
2. “Bow”, has a meaning connected with royalty. In the queen's court, a subject recognizes the queen's authority, and acknowledges it by bowing to her. Likewise, for a person to learn, he has to recognize the teacher is over him, and knows things he/she does not know.
Christians today have to get away from the attitude that they KNOW EVERYTHING, and have no need to “submit" to anyone to be taught anything.
* Listen, the reason God gave children parents, is because they need to be taught and lead in the right direction. But when a child has this “know-it-all” attitude, the best parent in this world cannot help them.
* The reason God gave the children of God Pastors is because they need to be taught and lead in the right direction. But when a child of God has this “know-it-all” attitude, the best Pastor in this world cannot help them.
When people pretend to be perfect, no one can help them. NO ONE! And the reason is because they think they are perfect and do not need any help.
Illus: People like this, remind me of the story of the lady who wanted to buy a pair of snakeskin shoes. The woman told the clerk in the crowded shoe store, “See those scratches - these shoes are imperfect!" The clerk saw the tiny scratches, and brought her another pair. The lady examined them carefully, and commented, “These are marred also!” A few minutes later, the clerk returned with six pairs of shoes. The customer found a flaw in each pair. “They are all imperfect!” she said. The salesman wearily said, “Listen lady, I'm not perfect, you're not perfect. How can you expect a snake to be perfect.”
Some Christians go to church for years, and never grow spiritually, because they have made up their minds that they were not going to let anyone teach them anything. Because of this, they go the rest of their lives living in ignorance.
Illus: Those who are unreachable, remind me of the ignorant scientist who was doing research on a centipede, and out of ignorance came to the wrong conclusions. Each day, he would cut legs off the centipede, and demand that the centipede hobble over to his food and eat! Finally, he was down to two legs. He demanded that the centipede walk to his food and eat. The centipede, of course, didn't move. The scientist made this ridiculous observation in his medical journal: “Cutting off the legs of a centipede causes him to become hard of hearing, and to lose his appetite.”
Too many Christians are like that scientist. They never seem to be able to reach the right conclusions. The first step in the process of learning is, "submission." If we are not willing to SUBMIT, we are going to reach the wrong conclusions every time.
The next thing to understand about learning is -
B. HUMILITY
Look at verse 5b-6, "...and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
Peter shows us that submission is the first step in the process of learning spiritual truths, but then he shows us that submission will never come unless we are willing to be “...clothed with humility...”
The word "humility" means, "to think low." It is the opposite of the word, "exalt.”
Peter is not promoting a lack of confidence in ourselves, but he is saying that we have to be willing to put OUR THOUGHTS UNDER GOD'S THOUGHTS, if we are going to achieve the things God would have us to achieve.
Look at verse 6 again, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may EXALT YOU IN DUE TIME." Notice that the exalting comes AFTER we are willing to humble ourselves and submit to the Elder, who is PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD.
Illus: One of the things that disturbed God so greatly with the people of Noah's generation was that they were not willing to submit to His plan.
Look at Genesis 6:5, we read, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
People today do the same thing they did in Noah’s day: they exalt their ways over God's ways. God's Word teaches that if we are not willing to admit that our way of thinking is below His, we never will be exalted.
Illus: Recently, a lost man rejected the Lord. It was not because he did not believe Jesus could save Him, but it was because, as he stated it, he had to get some things straightened out in his life. After he got those things right, then he said he would come to Christ.
In other words, he was not willing to obey God's Word. This is a perfect example of a man saying, “I am going to save myself. After I do all the hard part, then I will come to Christ to do the easy part.”
God's Word teaches that, “Today is the day of salvation,” and we have to come to the Lord just the way we are. Why? Because when we come, thinking we can do something better than he can do, we fail. In verse 5, we read, “…for God resisteth the proud…”
That lost man should have humbled himself, and put God's Word above his way of thinking, then he could have been saved. As it is, God will "Resist'” him until he is humble.
The order of the process is:
* We submit
* We humble ourselves
* Then He exalts us in “due time”
We looked at THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS LEARNING, but let us also look at-
II. THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS TRUST
1 Peter 5:7, " Casting all your care upon him: for he careth for you.” It is unfortunate that we have such a hard time learning how to completely trust the Lord.
Illus: This reminds me of the story of the beggar that appeared at the door of a boy's dormitory. A student opened the door and heard the unfortunate one's plea. The student asked, “Has fortune never knocked on your door?” The beggar said “He did once, but I was out. Ever since then he has sent his daughter.” “His Daughter!” exclaimed the puzzled student. “Who is she?” He said, “She is Miss Fortune!”
It is a misfortune that so many people have never learned to trust the Lord, and to obey what He told us, "Casting all your care upon him.”
This verse reveals two things that some people take a whole lifetime to discover, and sad to say, many of the people never do discover them. For example, look at-
A. OUR CARE
Look at Verse 7a, “Casting all your care upon him...” The word "casting," has to do with "throwing out."
Illus: As a fisherman of Jesus' day tossed his net out into the sea, God's instruction to us is to take "all' our cares and cast them upon Him.
Now He does not mean we are to cast responsibility upon Him. He expects us to take care of the everyday things in life as we are able, but there are many cares we can become burdened down with, that only God can work out. We are to turn these things over to Him. If we do not, then the worry of these things can shorten our lives.
Illus: When we choose to carry them, it is like putting a ten ton load on a three ton truck, it is only a matter of time before major trouble sets in.
Illus: Some of you parents here today may have a rebellious young person in your home. You have done everything you know to do to help that child know the Lord, and be close to you, but nothing you do seems to come close to solving the problem. You need to do something you should have done a long time ago, “cast” that burden upon the Lord. Take the time you would spend worrying about and fussing with that teenager, and spend it in prayer with the Lord - that problem is not too big for Him.
James 4:2 says, "...ye have not, because ye ask not." We keep putting confidence in this flesh, instead of trusting Christ.
B. HIS CARE
Look at verse 7b, He say "... for he carerth for you."
Notice He wants our cares to be His cares. The word "“careth " is different from "care."
* The word "care" has to do with our burdens or anxieties
* The word “careth" has to do with a "fostering care", such as the care a loving father has for his child.
Illus: If we find that something is too heavy for us to carry, we have to find SOMEONE who CAN carry it for us.
But many, at this point, seek out a friend who will try to help them carry their burdens. But, when will we learn that the Bible teaches that we are to “Cast all our “care” (burden), upon the lord”?
Now some people feel that TO DO THIS is IMPOSING ON THE LORD. Oh no! You see we, who know Christ as our Savior, know that OUR PROBLEMS ARE HIS PROBLEMS! Why? BECAUSE WE BELONG TO HIM.
Illus: We parents do not take on our children’s RESPONSIBILITIES. This is something they can do for themselves. But when they come up with a care they cannot take care of, we jump in immediately. Why? Because they are our children.
We are God’s children. And again, He is not going to take care of our responsibilities, but He has commanded us to cast our cares upon Him. We belong to Him, and they are His problems.
Sometimes God has to take harsh measures to teach us to cast our cares upon Him.
Illus: The story is told of an ancient king, who stood at a farmer's door and called upon the farmer to come out. But being busy with something else, the farmer refused to come out, or even to open the door so that the king might come in. And so, to bring the man to his senses, the king lit a firebrand and set the farmer's barn on fire. That brought him out!
Often God does this to us. Do you wonder why certain trials and burdens come your way? Often we are not spending time with the Lord and he uses these things to lead us to Him so we will include Him in our lives.
* How will I ever find out if I can trust the Lord if I am not willing to "cast" my care upon Him.
* How will I know His strength except I trust Him with that which I cannot carry!
He bids all of us to humble ourselves "under the mighty hand of God”, so we can discover this marvelous truth.
We have looked at THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS LEARNING, and THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS TRUST, but last of all let us look at-
III. THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS GOALS
Look at 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
* Some say they have a difficult time believing in a devil. I find it hard to believe that anyone would have a hard time believing that the devil exists, when we are so obviously surrounded by evidence of his presence.
* Everywhere I go, I can see he has already been there.
* Every time I read the newspaper, I read of the evil he has done to and through evil men.
* Every time I watch the news, and other programs on television, I see what he has done and what he is doing.
Peter knew of his existence, and warns us that Satan is our adversary that goes around like a vicious lion on the loose. Peter also shows us how young people and adults alike can defeat him. We are to recognize he exists, and we are to:
A. BE SOBER
Look at verse 8. "Be sober...” When we say a man is “sober", we mean he is not drunk. He is watchful and discreet, not under the control of alcohol. God forbids us to partake of alcoholic beverages for they then control us.
Peter is warning us here to be watchful that Satan does not trick us. We must not be controlled by material things or by any other thing that would hinder our obedience to the Lord. So many today have gotten away from the Lord, and are letting other things control them.
Illus: One Christian lady deals with her problems by going to the malls. If she spent the same amount of time with the Lord, she would find real relief and joy.
We are to BE SOBER, but also we are to -
B. BE WATCHFUL
The Word of God says, "...be vigilant...”
Illus: Suppose I announced to you that we just received a telephone call informing us that a train car loaded with animals for the local zoo had just derailed near the church. They said that all the animals had been recaptured except one large lion that had not eaten anything for three days. Suppose I told you that they believed the lion was still in the vicinity of our church. How would you leave this building? Wisdom would dictate that you be very watchful, not letting your guard down until you were safely locked inside your car, because you would not want that lion to attack you.
Peter warns us, telling us that if we expect to keep from being “devoured” by Satan, we must not let our guard down. We must not go to sleep spiritually and let the world control us.
C. WITHSTAND
“...resist stedfast in the faith...”
How do we resist the devil? We know how to resist each other.
Illus: A salesman comes to our front door and tries to sell us something. We look at him straight in the eye, and with every fiber within us we say, “No!” The salesman then knows he is wasting his time, that he might as well leave and try somewhere else.
Well, you need to know that you can, and must, within yourself, tell Satan, "No!' Only Satan does not give up.
HOW DO WE RESIST HIM?
Here is the secret. In Matthew 4, we read that Satan tempted Jesus. Every time Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus said, “…It is written…” We can resist Satan in our own might and not get anywhere, but when we stand on the Word of God and “resist” him with God's Word, he knows he is defeated.
Look at verses 10-11, we read, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Conclusion:
I. THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS LEARNING
A. SUBMISSION
B. HUMILITY
II. THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS TRUST
A. OUR CARE
B. HIS CARE
III. THE CHRISTIAN IN HIS GOALS
A. BE SOBER
B. BE WATCHFUL
C. BE WITHSTANDING
