in our service when we release those who are participating in the children's portion of our service so if that is you and you're doing that you are released to follow miss Jenny and whoever else for the rest of us we'll be turning our attention once again to first Peter first Peter Chapter five, believe it or not, it is the homestretch of at least 1 Peter. We'll be looking at a section of scripture that highlights the need for humility in church. Follow along as I read 1 Peter 5 5-7. Likewise, You who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you. Let's pray as we unpack this section of scripture together. Father, we thank you. We thank you for your word. Thank you for just this high call for those who belong to you to walk in humility, really modeled supremely in our Savior. We pray, Lord, for the spirit to lead, to illumine your word, to do exactly what your word intends to do, to mold us and shape us into the very image of Christ in particular. Challenge us in those areas where pride still rules and it needs to be brought down and humility needs to reign in our hearts, in our homes, in our church, and in those areas of life that you call us to represent you well. So Lord, we look to you with great expectation now in Christ's name. Amen. Well, at the outset, I just want to say this, that, you know, it's been said before by pastors who are studying God's word, you know, you get this for 40 or 45 minutes, I've gotten it all week. And sometimes, you know, you get kind of beat up in particular with sections of scripture that you're just like, wow, this is, I am not doing this. I need to shore these things up. And there is no subject matter that raises to the surface on just attacking sin and highlighting those shortcomings that we all have as individuals in the subject of humility. It has been a interesting week. This week in studying God's word and preparing to preach a sermon on humility. I can't go into the details, but in the workplace, I opened thy mouth and inserted thy foot. And it was one of those things where, you know, it's kind of like, You know that rule that you learn, sometimes you learn the hard way, that you, when do you ask if a lady is pregnant? Never. Right, that's the rule. Never, right? It wasn't that, but it was like that. You know, and it was just like, how does that shoe taste? Yummy. And so it has just been, It's been interesting. One more example. Just this week, I got an email requesting to spend some time with me. Hey, can we visit? That kind of thing. And I'm like, oh man, I've got so much going on. This is not the week for this. I'm so busy. And I responded, well, let's push it off. And that's an eight. A, that mean, because the underlying issue was pride. Was pride. In a week that I'm studying pride, the underlying issue was, well, I'm too busy. Too busy to do that this week. I'm sorry. You'll have to take a number. And in God's kindness, Just out of the blue, I'm driving, I'm driving the truck delivering lumber and listening to commentaries. It was just like, thank you, Lord may have another. And, and I rectified that and it was good. And I trust that if, and Lord willing, when the Lord in a very particular way challenges you with the pride that resides in your heart. And I know it does, cause you're no different than me. You just don't have to share those things in front of people. That you will be blessed at the Lord's working to root that pride out in you and to exchange it with humility. It's interesting, this section of scripture, he has just been challenging the pastors and shepherds. to lead, to shepherd. And the emphasis there is to be humble, to be servants, to not lord your position over those that you are called to shepherd, but actually take this lowly position and to be a servant. And then he starts off, Addressing those younger in the church, he says, likewise, you who are younger be subject to your elders and not to continue to pound current and future shepherds and elders. But it's interesting that Peter actually says, hey, you youngers, Look at the example that you see in your shepherds as they are being humble, as they are submitting themselves to the chief shepherd, you also live a life of subjection and submission. Be humble. And it ought to be modeled by church leadership. Likewise, in the same manner that elder pastors in the church have modeled what it looks like to submit to King Jesus, live a submitted life to the chief shepherd, who are younger, who probably have the highest probability of resenting and pushing back on the command to submit to authority, he gives this challenge. You who are younger, we're reminded that Peter gives the challenge to shepherds in verse three, be examples to the flock. Examples of submission, primarily to King Jesus, to the chief shepherd, to one another, to the congregation, to the wee littlest one in the church. To serve them, to be an example. Aiming at those younger in the church, to be subject. You who are younger be subject to the elders. Now, he certainly has in his sites the office of elder, pastor elder. Those who are younger submit to those who are in that office of pastor elder. But also within sort of the scope of reference is also just generally speaking, it refers to those who are older. Which, you know, if you're older and you're going, yeah, finally, wrong I did, right? But it speaks to the responsibility that the older and elders, pastors, have to lead the younger. Leviticus 19.32 says this, you shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an older man, and you shall fear your God, I am the Lord. Years ago, I went on a short-term mission trip, and these folks knew that I had years of experience in student ministry, and they wanted to start a student ministries program. And they're like, in some mission fields, if you're a pastor, be ready to preach at any moment, right? In some settings, if you're a man, and you profess to be a follower of Christ, be ready to preach at any moment. It's like, you're up, you know? And so they said, hey, tomorrow, would you come, and we're gonna do a conference for a little church, and they're wanting to start a student program. Would you just teach two messages on how to do that? And they tell him, no, I'm gonna do that tomorrow. Oh my word, okay. And one of the texts that I used for that first session was Titus 2. Titus 2. And this verse, Leviticus. That if you look at your youth group, and there's no gray hair, you're doing it wrong. You're doing it wrong. And most youth groups out there, right, it's just, it's the young, super cool, right, You know, like that's who you want to be in the youth group. No, you need some wisdom. You need some gray hair. You need some ability to actually flesh out what the Bible says to do in Titus 2. Titus 2, verse two through six, we read this. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Notice, first it starts with what the older are supposed to model in their lives. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, slaves to much lying. They are to teach what is good, and so train the younger women to love their husbands and children. to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled." We can only handle one type, right? Not a list, just, you know, pay attention, fellas. Self-control, right? But there is a teaching, there is a responsibility that the older have to model these things, to pursue holiness, to teach the younger generation and a call for the younger generation to find those that are pursuing Christ, who are growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to seek out discipleship and be taught and humbly submit to that teaching. It's a high call for not just the younger to be submissive, but also for the older to live lives that are modeling what it looks like to follow Christ. to be those that the youngers would look to and say, I want to learn from this man or woman. Well, it also, certainly in the context, involves the office of elder, not just all older people in the church, older believers in the church, but also those who hold that office of elder slash pastor. But we would see those terms as synonymous here. If you're an elder, you're a pastor. If you're a pastor, you're an elder. Hebrews 13 verse seven, this is what we read. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Right? Every elder pastor is an under shepherd. What Peter says in the beginning portions of chapter five is that we are looking to the chief shepherd. Goes on in Hebrews 13, 17, let them do this with joy and not groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. You remember the context. 1st Peter is challenging this church who is suffering as Christians they're suffering as Christians and one of the tools one of the aids one of the benefits of those Christians who are suffering as Christians is a the leaders that King Jesus has given them to equip them, to care for them, so that they can endure the trial in a Christ-like way and grow from it, and as we see, as we continue this section, submit themselves ultimately under the mighty hand of God. Peter goes on in our section. He's challenging the younger to subject themselves to the elders, He then sort of cast the net wide and he makes sure that everyone understands this is a responsibility that all of us have to clothe ourselves, all of you, he says, with humility toward one another. That's the Southern all y'all. So that none of us miss, he's talking to me and you. I've invited many, many, many people to church over the years, I'm sure as you have as well. And an oft asked question by that individual that you're inviting to church, maybe that they're not familiar with your church or how things work, is what? What should I wear? What should I wear, right? And you know, every church is different. I think kind of what we're going for here is, you know, anything from shorts to suits, good to go. Clothes, that'd be good. You know, yes, please. But I think sort of the universal thing that Paul, no, Peter is drawing our attention to here. Haven't done that for a while. The thing that Peter is drawing our attention to is that there is a universal uniform in the church. And it's not suits, it's not a particular dress outwardly. The uniform, the clothing of choice for believers that is absolutely a necessity is humility. What's the attire? Humble. Be humble. Come as a humble follower of Christ. Clothe yourself in humility. And I think much of what we struggle with in our lives as believers, and in particular, our lives lived out as Christians amongst other Christians, sinners bumping into other sinners, is we forgot to put on our humility that morning. We forgot it. And Paul's section in Ephesians 5 is launching into instructing husbands and wives. And he calls the wife to submit herself to her husband, which is a protection for the wife that she knows that she's not responsible to submit to every man in the same way that she submits to her husband. But uniquely, she's supposed to submit to her husband. And that's in verse 22. What's interesting is verse 21, which sadly is not often read in wedding ceremonies. I like to read it because this is what it says. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, that there is this overarching submission to one another that is seen in the life of every single follower of Christ. We desire to submit ourself to one another, to die to self, to consider others as more important. Why? Because our Lord did that. He modeled that. He demonstrated that. One of the things I love to talk to husbands about, and don't get us wrong here, We call men to lead in the home. One of the things I love to ask husbands is, when's the last time that you submitted to your wife? Considered her a weaker vessel and served her and allowed her preferences to take the lead over your preferences. What is submitting to your family and your family's need look like for you? Submission. Humility ought to be that which marks individual believers. We're told by Paul in Ephesians 6, that we need to put on the armor of God in order to stand against the schemes of the devil. Peter would add to this list of armor, the clothing of humility, without which we would be chewed up and spit out by one another in the church. long before we encounter the enemy in the battlefield of the world. But what are some reasons to be humble? Well, we certainly do not have time to be exhaustive, but here's a few reasons to be humble. Believer, if you have, by God's grace, been born again, made alive in Christ, this is who you were before God did that supernatural work in your heart. This is who we all were before God saved us. Ephesians 2, 1 through 3. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, basically obeying Satan, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But lest we forget that we don't bring some wonderful offering in ourself to the Lord, and he's so lucky to have us. No, no, he extended mercy and grace to you, believer, because that's who you were. We all once were, Paul puts himself and you and I and every single believer you've ever met into that category. That's who we are. Lest we boast and brag about who we are and what we've received in Christ. Paul goes on in verse eight and nine of Ephesians two, he says, for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast, so that no one may brag, so that no one may be standing in a place of pride when they think about themselves and the salvation that they have in Christ, but they would be standing in humility, recognizing who they were and what amazing grace was extended to you individually, believer. That's who we were. Jesus puts it this way in John chapter 1, 12 through 13. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, So it's not because of your heritage and the family that you were a part of, nor the will of the flesh, not something that you did, nor the will of man, but of God. So if you're a believer, it came about by God's immeasurable grace, grace. Someone might say, well, yeah, I mean, that's my salvation, but he may know that I'm a Christian. I'm a force to be reckoned with. I mean, you know, I bring a lot to the kingdom. 1 Corinthians 4, 7, for who sees anything different in you, what do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, what do you boast? Why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Anything we have, any gifting that we have as believers has been given to us as a gift. It wasn't ours. We receive it to be stewards over, which is what Peter already covered with us in 1 Peter 4, verse 10. He says, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. There's no occasion to boast or be prideful in our salvation or in the gifts that God has given us. to be leveraged for his glory and his kingdom, to be a steward over for the good of the body. Peter goes on, he says, verse five, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, and gives grace to the humble. I'm thinking of humility. I often go in my mind to Philippians 2, verse three, this is what we read. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but to the interests of others. This is what Peter is talking about when he's saying, be humble, clothe yourself in humility toward one another. And he gives the further reason for that. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Jesus in Matthew 23 verse 11 and 12 reminds us of what it means to be great. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. So how do you be great in the kingdom of God? become a servant, become a servant of all. When not only are we called to pursue humility toward one another, but we are to humble ourself under the mighty hand of God. Verse six, humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you. Ultimately, humbling yourself and considering others is more important is ultimately humbling ourself and submitting ourself to who? To God. To God. Humbling ourself to God. And here's the reality. If we buy The proposal, we need to be humble. You need to humble yourself toward others and toward God. We go, awesome, sign me up. Yes, I need to be humble. But if we're honest, we control the dial on how much humility comes in, don't we? But you know, it's a little bit. It's not gonna get crazy. A little humility is good, but you know, like, no more than this. The Lord has an interesting way of reminding us that he's in charge of the level of our humility. Just recently, I came and it was our week to help clean the church. And so I was here doing things, and one of the final things you do is you dump all of the trash in the big, black trash bag downstairs. And then we don't have a dumpster here on the property. So you take it and you dump it elsewhere. I have secret locations. I might tell you if you want to know. The mayor's a personal friend. Anyway, is this recorded? Oh my. But so, you know, as my habit, I threw it in the back of the truck. And then I went home. Yes, I'm already seeing faces. Oh, boy. I know where this is going. Left it in the back of my truck. And then the raccoons had a party that night. I don't know if there was alcohol involved, but it was crazy. And it was a mess. It was a mess. And the reason I thought about this is I went from really I'm patting myself on the back, you know, good job, pastor. Alvin, you went and you cleaned the church. Good boy. That's not, you know, exalting yourself over it. That's taking a humble, good job. And the Lord goes, you know what you need to do actually? You need to sift through old coffee grounds and diapers and bathroom trash, scoop it out of the back of your truck. And then you might get a teeny little blips and how humble you need to realize you need to be. That was awesome. It was very fun. But often it's like that for us, isn't it? Where, you know, I'll be humble this much, but we feel like this is too much. This is too much. And what is that? Pride. I would love to tell you that I cleaned that nasty mess in the back of my truck with just a godly, there was a halo going. I would love to say that, it just would not be true. I was humbled. Remember, whenever we are going through something that God brings about to humble us, God's bringing it about. Remember, we even wrestled with this reality that Peter talks about in this book, that the suffering that Christians suffer aligns with God's will. 1 Peter 3, 17, for it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. It's like, wait, God brings about suffering? Yes. There's not a rogue molecule in the world. God is sovereign over all. To include those things that come in your life that bring about suffering, that challenge your faith to endure and trust yourself and trusting yourself to a faithful God. Romans 8, 28, Paul says this, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. Proverbs 15, 33, the fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor. Humility comes before honor. Humbling ourself before and under the mighty hand of God is trusting God in all things to include those really, really uncomfortable things that pale in comparison to the things that Peter is talking about to these believers who are suffering persecution. As Peter's writing this, remember, we've already talked about this, looming in the back of his mind is the words of Jesus to him specifically. that he was going to be martyred and die for his faith, die for his profession of faith and following Jesus Christ. He says, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, who is sovereign in all things and wills those things for our good and his glory. He goes on, In verse six, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. Who's in charge of that? The timing. God's in charge of that. God's in charge of that. And to wanna fast forward the timing is pride. It's pride. Jesus has this very interesting illustration about being exalted at the proper time and God's sovereignty in that. Luke 14, verse seven through 11, we read this. Now he told a parable to those who were invited. When he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, when you were invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor. lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him. And he who invited you both will come and say to you, give your place to this person. Wow, that'd be embarrassing, right? Oh, I'm sorry. You're too close. You need to move out and go into the overflow room. Yikes. Give your place to this person and then you will begin with shame to take the lower place. Can you imagine that walk? Talk about junior high dorkville again. Apologies to any junior highers. I love you. Verse 10. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, friend, move higher. Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Take the lowly position, trust God in that, and you'll be exalted at the proper time. Romans 12, three. Paul says this for, by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Later on in that text in Philippians 2, speaking of Jesus, you read this, verse eight and nine, Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. He's trustworthy. God is trustworthy to submit yourself to the mighty hand of God. and if and when he sees fit to exalt you, you'll be exalted even in the next life. As Pope, I did it again. As Peter rightly understood that he would be crucified. He'd be crucified and he would die for his faith but he woke up exalted with the Savior. So then, if we really truly are submitting ourself, submitting ourself to God, under the mighty hand of God, waiting on Him for the exaltation that comes either in this life or the next, And it's an easy thing to obey verse seven, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. And I wanna speak to this really quickly. The kind of Christianity that is presented this way, just no anxiety, just no worries. The New Testament knows nothing of that. Nothing of that. Certainly the recipients of this letter knew nothing of that. They were going through it. Anxieties were all around them. It's not the absence of anxieties that define Christians. It's what you do with them. Anxieties come. Anxieties come. You feel the pressure in your own life, in your own heart. connection with relationships in your home, at the workplace, whatever it is, anxieties are there, they're going to come. There's a difference between the way the world deals with anxiety and the way believers deal with anxiety. Those who are genuinely seeking to submit themselves under the mighty hand of God, knowing that he is trustworthy, they cast those anxieties that they do have on the Lord, because he is strong and he is mighty. 1 Peter 4, 19, just a few verses before, Peter says, therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. Entrust yourself to a faithful creator. Do you know that he's faithful? Believer, if you're a believer, you know he's faithful. He saved you. He's faithful. And if he can handle your eternal soul, he can handle your blip of a life. Blip of a life. He can handle that. Jesus says this in Matthew 6, 25 through 30. Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on? Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? And which of you, being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, and they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon, in all hip his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? But we do struggle with anxiety, don't we? And the way is that. We're not submitting ourself under the mighty hand of God. Trusting him in his faithfulness. We're wanting things that are not ours. And we're willing to fight and quarrel to get them. James four, verse one through four, James says this, what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war with you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covenant cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask, and you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy with God. Being anxious about all of these things is lusting after and vying after what God has not saw fit to give you. Giving into anxiety leads to sinning against one another and hatred and murder and quarrels. It's an outworking of that anxiety. And I tell you what, that gets ramped up, ramped up. when you go through persecution and suffering. Go and try and pet an injured dog out on the street. Right? And so the temptation to be anxious and worried is just elevated in this context that Peter's speaking to. And he says, Don't do that. Cast your anxieties on him. Why? Because he cares for you. Demonstrated in what? His life, death, burial, and resurrection. Drawing you out of darkness into his glorious light. Hebrews 4.16, the author says, with confidence drawn near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. Do you believer know that God cares for you? Do you know that? If you're not sure, then we need to go back to the ABCs of the gospel. If you're not sure that God loves you, there is no better description and display of that love than Christ on the cross. Romans 5, 8. God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were sinners, Christ died for us. You doubt God's love for you, believer? You're forgetting Christ on the cross. You're forgetting God's love demonstrated in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ for you. We have so many temptations, even as believers, even as believers to not cast our cares on the Lord, but we have anxieties and we cast those cares on things that promise to alleviate those anxieties. Later on in Hebrews chapter 13 verse five, the author says this, keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. We have the privilege, I think probably every one of us here, to not be in a situation where everything has been taken away from us and the only thing we have to hope in is our salvation and our relationship with Jesus Christ. And it is a blessing, certainly. It also can be a distraction and a temptation to trust in those things and forget that the one thing that can never be taken away from us by our persecutors, by Satan, and even our own failings, is Christ. If you're a believer, I will never leave you nor forsake you. I looked at that word in the original never, it means never. He cares for you, believer. cares for you, cast your anxieties on Him. And this may sound strange, but I pray, I pray that for you, believer, as you live an intentional Christian life, that anxieties do come. That sounds weird. We're promised they'll come. as we live for him. They persecuted our Lord, they're gonna persecute us. When we stand for what's right and true and honorable, when we stand for Christ, when we stand for the gospel, when we stand for God's word, we stand in opposition to a world that calls evil good and good evil. And we will necessarily suffer persecution. We will suffer. and that will bring anxiety. That's not always a bad thing. That anxiety is a reminder that you have a loving Lord who laid down his life for you, who cares for you, and who will never leave you nor forsake you. As we pursue him and his glory, may we be those who when anxieties come. We cast them on Him, enjoying the truth and the reality as believers, that indeed He cares for us, and He demonstrated that for us on the cross. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. Lord, thank you for Christ. Thank you for the reality that indeed you have demonstrated your love for us, that you care for us. You died for us. when we pray that as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we pursue to live separated lives, standing for the truth and calling sin, sin with grace and love, that when opposition comes, when suffering comes, when persecution comes, and the anxieties associated with that come, We'll remember that you will never leave us nor forsake us, that you care for us, and that you will grant to us the grace necessary to endure that trial and be those who are poised and ready to answer the question, what is the reason for the hope that is in you? We celebrate the opportunity to say, let me tell you about Jesus. The reason for the hope that is in me, even though there are anxieties that are coming, even though there are pressures and suffering and struggles, my hope is in nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Give us those opportunities, even if and when they come through our suffering, It's worth it. Your glory is worth it. The souls of those that you give opportunities to us in and through our suffering and our witness for Christ is worth it. Pray for open doors to that end, even through our suffering, that you would be exalted through us as we submit ourselves under the mighty hand of God, for you are worthy in Jesus' name. Amen.