Following the Chief Shepherd

What makes someone great? I think often in our culture, we think about first about someone's abilities. Maybe it's their physical athletic prowess. Maybe it's their intellectual superiority. Maybe it's those who just seem to be omni-competent, like those moms who can just do everything. Maybe it's not ability, but it's persevering, it's grit. Those who, despite not having those natural advantages, are able to rise to the top through hard work and determination. Maybe it's not so much those things in and of themselves, but it's achievement. It's what we are able to accomplish, leaving a mark on history. Being a person that could be described as raised up for such a time as this. In some circles, maybe it's as simple as just as being different from the people around you, walking to the beat of your own drum, not conforming to the way of the age. Well, this morning, I want us to think about what is greatness in God's eyes. What is it that impresses God? What is it that he sees as greatness? And I think in Scripture, there is one answer to that question. What God is looking for, what impresses God in His creation is humility. God is not impressed with people who are impressed with themselves. God is for those who are humble, who acknowledge His greatness, who acknowledge their dependence upon Him. Humility really is the natural response of a creation to a creator. We see in our own Savior, Jesus Himself, coming to model humility for us, giving up His life, giving Himself for the service of submission to God and in service to His people. specifically for our study this morning through 1 Peter. We see that humility is the only way we can actually endure the trials and the sufferings of this life that we've been hearing about for several weeks. We're going to be concluding, Lord willing, our study of 1 Peter this morning. And through the whole book, we've seen that God has created a new people. He's given them a new identity. He's given them His name through Jesus' death and resurrection. He's given them a hope Eternal glory awaits all of those who are in Jesus Christ. It is secured for them, kept by God in heaven. As people with God's name, they are commissioned to go out into the world, to be witnesses, to tell the world and to show the world what King Jesus is like. But the world is hostile to King Jesus. And as a result, there is suffering in this world. And as God's people, we experience suffering in our lives. We're called to endure that suffering, to resist, to endure the persecution, and to glorify God in the midst of it. We're called to follow Christ's example, suffering for Him as He has suffered for us. And as we thought about last week, we see that in God's providence and in his wisdom and majesty, he actually uses that suffering for his own glory to refine us, to purify us as his people for his worship. Well, this morning we've made it to chapter five, to the conclusion of the letter. And I think what we see this morning is that Peter is stressing the need for humility, the one quality that will allow us to endure all of the sufferings that are in store for us as God's people. So let's listen as I read to you 1 Peter 5. Listen, it's on page 1016 of your pew Bibles. And if you don't have a Bible, you're welcome to take that one home as our gift to you. So 1 Peter chapter 5. So I exhort the elders among you. As a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ. As well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you. Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 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 at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. Be sober minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him. Firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends your greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. I want us to look at what I think holds this verse together. We just read in 5 and 6, holds this whole section together. 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 at the proper time He may exalt you. Ultimately, there are two kinds of people in the world in this room. There are the proud and the humble. The proud are those who refuse God, who go their own way, who exalt themselves. Pride is contending with God for supremacy. The humble, on the other hand, are those who listen to God, those who submit to God's ways, who trust and follow God. Humility, as I said before, is acknowledging my proper place before a holy God as a sinful creature. And this text could not be more clear. God opposes the proud. None of his promises are for the proud. He is against the proud in this life and in the life to come. But he gives grace to the humble. God is eager and willing to give abundant grace to all of those who acknowledge their need for him, who live in humility before him, who entrust themselves to his care. I don't know about you, but for me, this is a terrifying verse. Because at every intersection in my life, I find pride. Even my best efforts, even the things that I would seek to do for God are often tainted with pride. For Christians, the gospel is the constant reminder that there is nothing for us to boast in. On the cross, we see our sins being blared to the world on a megaphone. The cross says that we have no hope within ourselves. We have nothing we could do before God. So the cross humbles us. Pride is one of the many sins for which Jesus died. And so even as his people, even as Christian people, we must often repent of pride. And as I have learned from another pastor, one of the things that I try to say to myself often is I am not humble. I am a proud man pursuing humility by the grace of God. So there is hope for all of us this morning who pursue humility by God's grace. God's grace is abundant. As we've studied 1 Peter together, humility really is the only right response to everything that's been said. We have to understand that our suffering isn't meaningless, that God is purposefully testing us. He's refining us to be more pure in devotion to Him. That is a difficult thing to do when you are in the midst of trial, when the heat comes upon you to actually believe that God is good and he's doing something good in you. We are constantly tempted to give up, to turn away, to give into hopelessness and despair, to doubt that God is really good, that he's really for us. And yet as his people, we are called to respond with humility, to have a humble dependence upon God, upon his word, and upon his people, and a humble obedience despite whatever adversities come to us. So as we examine the text this morning, I want us to see four things. I want us to see humility in action, humility in heart, an example of humility, and the end of humility. Humility in action, in heart, an example of humility, and finally, the end of humility. So let's look at verses 1 through 5 and see humility in action. I'm going to read it in pieces as we go through it, so I won't read it all again. But what we see in this section is humility takes place in the context of the local church, in relationships between elders in the church, between the church and the elders, and between all of the members together. So Peter starts off in verse one, so I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. So we see first of all, Peter addressing the elders. These are instructions for the elders in their relationship to the church. He starts with the elders, because judgment is beginning with the household of God, as we heard last week. The elders, those in leadership, have a unique role to play in that judgment. As God's heat comes upon His people, the elders are first, are going to be both the front line recipients of that judgment, and they're also called to guide the church through it. Peter addresses his brother elders as a fellow elder. Rather than emphasizing his apostolic authority, he's addressing them on common ground. He too is an elder. He is a witness of Christ's sufferings and a partaker of the glory that is going to be revealed. Notice for Peter and for us this morning, his experience in Christ is disproportionate. So he is a witness of the suffering, but he is a partaker of the glory. Christ's sufferings were unique. We follow Christ's example, we've seen that in 1 Peter, but we appreciate and we acknowledge that Christ's suffering accomplishes something ours never could. And yet for Peter and for us, we are our partakers of his glory. We, we get to participate in, we get to experience the glory that Christ accomplished. And that's just a taste of the amazing news of the gospel. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We rejected God. We rejected him. We didn't want anything to do with him, but he came to us. Christ came to us. We deserve to die because of our rebellion against Him, but Christ died in our place. As creatures, we owed God a perfect life, and yet Christ came and earned that. He gave His perfect life in our place. And so through His life and death and resurrection, He offers His perfection in exchange for our sin. When we understand the gospel and we repent and believe in Jesus Christ, we are united with him in such a way that we get all of the blessings. We get to become partakers in his glory, even though we're mere witnesses of his sufferings. The gospel is amazing news for everyone who believes. We are also reminded in this text that Christ's suffering preceded his glory. And so we should expect the same thing to be true for our lives, that suffering will precede the glory that is to come. Verse two, he says to the elders, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. And I'm going to cut him off right there and we'll examine that for a moment. As he addresses the elders, we actually see all three of the offices, or all three of the names of the office given in this text. We see elders, shepherd, which is pastor, and then exercise oversight, which is the same thing as bishop, overseer. The three are used interchangeably in the New Testament. There is one office given over the church, and the charge is this, shepherd the flock of God among you. Pastors, elders have a unique responsibility of shepherding the church, of acting as shepherds in the church. We've already heard a lot this morning about shepherding from Psalm, from Ezekiel, from John. We see shepherding really from the beginning of Scripture with Cain and Abel, right? There's a picture of shepherding there. It carries through throughout Genesis. We see Jacob as a shepherd, others in the story as it unfolds. We see David, who introduces us to the concept of the shepherd king. Here he is, both shepherd and king. We heard it from Ezekiel, God rebuking the leaders of Israel for their faithlessness and promising that he himself would come and be the shepherd of Israel. And then we saw John, Jesus in the Gospel of John saying, I am the good shepherd, I have come to you. But then in the New Testament it's also clear that Jesus commissions his disciples and then they appoint others and then the churches start to acknowledge shepherds in the local church. And we see that even highlighted here, the fact that this is the flock of God among you. Elders are given a specific charge over a specific group of sheep. It's a relationship between two parties, elders and flock. It only works if we're talking about local churches. This assumes that the sheep recognize their shepherd and the shepherds recognize their sheep. We describe that in our local church as membership, where we commit to one another for specific duties and responsibilities. Peter says, this is the flock among you. And that to us sounds very vague, but no shepherd thinks that the flock is just among you. Whatever sheep happened to show up today, the shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know their shepherd. As we start to look into this relationship this morning, we're going to see that Peter is addressing directly the elders. And so, at least at the first level, my comments are going to apply specifically to the five men who serve in that role in our church. Myself, Keith, Brian, Ben, and Ron. It'll also apply to those of you who are considering the office of elders. We are in that season as a church. But I hope that for all of us this morning, we'll see the unique role that God has given to elders and learn what the church is supposed to be because of that. A reminder as we begin that this is written to elders to shepherd the flock of God. Right now, we have 182 members at Jefferson Park. And brothers, let us remember these are God's sheep. These are not our sheep. We need the constant reminder that our role is one of stewardship, not ownership. Our role is to exercise our duties faithfully with responsibility because we will give an account to God for how we care for His sheep purchased by the blood of Christ. So again, we see the charge to elders this morning is to shepherd and exercise oversight. Shepherding becomes the prominent image that describes the nature of ministry. So let's think about what it means to shepherd in a church. Shepherding, caring for sheep, one of the primary responsibilities of a shepherd is to make sure the sheep are fed and cared for. Feeding means leading them into pasture. Shepherds in the first century ancient Near East were responsible for the diet of their sheep by keeping them in good pasture and in close proximity to water, often moving them throughout the day to ensure they're eating a balanced diet, getting everything that they need. Now, of course, we know very clearly in the New Testament that feeding corresponds to giving of the word to teaching. Jesus makes this clear to Peter, feed my sheep. So one of the essential aspects of being a pastor is being able to teach and faithfully teaching, understanding God's word and entrusting it to others. Shepherds have to ensure that the sheep have the essential elements, the essential things they need to survive. And for Christians, that is the gospel. Lest we forget, brothers, our charge is to ensure that everything we teach and preach at this church either points toward or works out from the gospel. It is the essential ingredient for the health and the life of the flock. But we are required to teach the gospel in the whole counsel of God. Sheep aren't healthy if they stay in one place all the time. If they eat the exact same thing every day, they need variety, they need to move. And so they need fresh pasture and clean water. overgraze or neglect certain areas. And that's why we as elders give a considerable amount of our time to examining and evaluating and moving in the diet of the church, what we call the diet, making sure we're regularly hearing from different parts of scripture in different ways at different times, making sure the Sunday school classes complement the Wednesday night study in the sermon study. So church, be thankful for that. appreciate studies in Deuteronomy and the minor prophets that may not be what you would choose to look at, but that are actually God's good words for you. Shepherds are also responsible for the care of the sheep. Caring for sheep is personal and intimate business. Shepherds know each individual sheep in their fold. They know it by its appearance, they know the circumstances of its birth, They know the uniqueness of its personality. Most shepherds even call their sheep by name. Shepherds are responsible to make decisions for the whole flock that affects everyone, but also have to consider, as they make those decisions, the weakest, those who are pregnant, those who are young, those who are injured. They have to make decisions for the whole that affect each individual member. So, brother elders, we are responsible to know our sheep. We are to be among them, learning the strengths and weaknesses of each one, knowing the struggles, the needs. That's what it means for us to oversee. Church, this means sometimes we are going to ask you awkward questions. This means that elders are prying often, not like the meddler we looked at last week, who's doing it for his own entertainment, but for your good. So give us the freedom to ask you difficult questions and give us honest answers. Shepherds are also responsible for protecting the sheep. We know that sheep are vulnerable. They are a prey species. Shepherds have to keep the sheep in safe pasture. They have to keep them on right paths. They have to be watchful against predators from the outside and parasites and disease from within. This means that the shepherd will at times have to correct the sheep. He has to apply medication. He has to battle against threats. Sheep wander and shepherds seek. Shepherds have to say, stop going over there. That's not a safe place for you. Come back this way. Don't eat that. That's not good for you. Sheep fight with one another and shepherds have to intervene to bring peace. Sheep resist and kick and bite when the shepherds are trying to provide loving care to them. Brothers, brother elders, our charge is to shepherd the sheep. Remember that this is the charge from the chief shepherd. And don't shrink back from this duty. There is no excuse for laziness or neglect. Whether the opposition is inside or outside, we have no choice but to protect the sheep, to act in their best interest at all times. Even when the sheep are resistant, we must shepherd them nonetheless, as Christ would have us, knowing that we ultimately give an account for the sheep, not to the sheep. Church, understand that elders have this charge from Christ. Good shepherds will correct you. Sheep need shepherds. Sheep need correction and care. And so strive to appreciate the good thing God has given you. And if a brother comes to you with an observation, with a correction, seek to learn that that is for your good, that he is seeking to be faithful to Christ. Shepherds are concerned for the health of the flock, for the perpetuation of the flock, ensuring that everybody is growing in maturity, is multiplying, ensuring the flock is sustainable. Sheep are dynamic and not static. They're growing, they're aging, they're changing. That's the nature of shepherding. Shepherding is a lot of work. It never stops. Shepherds are the first responders. They're always aware of what's happening in the flock. They're involved. They are among the sheep. I love the imagery that one author described. On some high moor, across which at night hyenas howl, when you meet him, sleepless, farsighted, weather beaten, armed, leaning on his staff, looking out over his scattered sheep, every one on his heart. You understand why the shepherd of Judea sprang to the front in his people's history, why they gave him his, why they gave his name to their king and made him the symbol of providence, why Christ took him as a type of self sacrifice. Christ is that perfect shepherd. Beaten by the weather, worn out, looking over his sheep, caring for them deeply. The five of us are not that shepherd. He is perfect and his care is perfect. Ours is not. Peter goes on to describe three particular qualifications for how elders are to exercise their duties. Not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you. Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. So he calls shepherds to have genuine desire. Do this because you want to, not because you have to. Those who serve as shepherds must do so because they have a true desire for the sheep. for their good, for their health and protection. God has no use for reluctant shepherds. The work is simply too demanding. Especially if you think about what Peter has been writing about in the context of persecution, the leaders are the first targets. The shepherds must know their job and stand firm in it. He also says shepherds should have a genuine motivation. Do this because you want to, truly want to, not because of what you're going to get out of it. Elders have to serve the church out of a genuine love for Christ first, and therefore his people, because of that, and nothing else. A desire to profit, a desire to gain from the people, either through status, through financial, whatever that gain would be, that's incompatible with Christ-like shepherding. That's the one like we read about in Ezekiel, who used the sheep for their own pleasure. And Jesus points out in John 10 that the hired hand runs away from the wolf. True shepherds run to the wolf. The hired hands decide in that moment, it's not worth it. It's not worth my life. It's not worth what harm may come to me to protect these sheep. True shepherds go to him. He also calls for exemplary leadership. Following the pattern of Christ, who is the servant leader, the servant king, Jesus showed his greatness by emptying himself and becoming a servant. And so he calls elders to follow in his steps, not to abuse their authority, but to empty themselves for the good of the sheep. Elders are called to advance the cause of Christ and not their own cause. They're called to serve under Christ's authority and not on their own. So a question for those of you who may be considering the office of elder. Is this something you want to do? Is this something from your heart of hearts that you want to do, you desire to do this? So the reason that no one else is doing it and that we need your help and all of those things are not sufficient answers. Scripture is clear. Christ gifts elders to His church. We are confident that God will provide according to our need. So one of the things that you need to ask yourself and one of the ways that we as a church can actually rightly discern that calling is, do you want to do this work? Would you willingly take on this role in service to Christ? We also have to ask, do you want to do it for the right reason? Are you concerned about what you're going to get for being an elder, or are you concerned about how you can be used to advance the cause of Christ and to serve his people? Do you understand as you consider the office that your job, your role is to represent Christ to this body? That is a humbling task, brothers. For the church, I think some things for you to recognize is that elders are good for you. As we've seen this morning, elders are called to be both leaders of the flock and examples to the flock. Faithful elders are seeking to point the church to Christ, both in what we teach and counsel and in how we live. So that's good for you. Just have the humility to acknowledge that that's good. You need that. I need that. I need men to show me what that's like. I need men to tell me what is true and good. As we think about nominating and installing elders over the coming months, please continue to prayerfully consider which men in the body fit the profile described here by Peter. Who teaches you? Who do you learn from? Not just facts about God, but who do you learn, who teaches and you think you know God better because of that man's teaching? Who cares for you? Who asks you hard questions? Who corrects you with the gospel in view? Church faithful elders should be honored. And I am encouraged by many of you who seem to hold this office in high regard. Pastoring is not glamorous work. It is hard work. It is exhausting work. Faithful pastors suffer for you. And I personally am just humbled and challenged by the example set by the four brothers that I serve with and the way that they sacrificially serve for your good, the way that they care for you. Verse four says, And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. So brothers, remember, there is one chief shepherd over the flock of God. He is coming. He will return and he will reward those who serve him faithfully. Eldership is a responsibility given to us and not a privilege. It is temporary. There will come a time when the church needs no elders because the chief shepherd will appear. So serve faithfully, looking to his reward, his reward is worth it. Church. Understand that there is one chief shepherd and it is not Sam Crosby or Keith Goad or Ben Bullard or Brian Davis or Ron Pantuck. It is Jesus. Elders are not perfect. We are sheep too. We're trying to become like the shepherd, just like you are, but we are not the chief shepherd. We will fail you, but Jesus will not. Don't use our failures as an excuse to run away from Him. Use our failures as an opportunity to remind yourself that there is one chief shepherd over this flock and all of your hope, every bit of it is in Him and not in us. In verse 5, we see that Peter actually shifts roles now rather than how the elders relate to the church. Now we think about how the church is to relate to her elders. Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders. So younger are to be subject to submit to their elders. And I don't think Peter is talking about younger with respect to faith. I think that's one way people could read that. I don't think that's what he's referring to. I think it means those who are younger in age. Those who are young, maybe particularly in Peter's day, but I don't think so, had a resistance to authority. Yeah, there is a tendency, I think, that we see among young people, because those of us who are not young anymore were once young. We know there is a tendency to resist authority, to think those who are old are out of touch, that they don't know what they're doing, to think that whatever they're saying was true for then when you rode a horse barefoot in the snow both ways to school. But none of that is true now. Young people, I just want to say, resist that temptation. Heed Peter's counsel here to submit to your elders. Think about how often we hear on Sunday mornings application to young people because we've been there. We've been in your shoes. We know what we wish we would have done when we were your age. Develop a posture, a habit of humility, of listening to those who are older than you, who are instructing you. I don't think this text means to say that it's only the young who are responsible for submitting to their elders. It's clear elsewhere in Scripture, even in 1 Peter, God's good design always includes roles of authority and submission. We see it in government, we see it in work, we see it in the home, even the father and the son. The son submits perfectly to the will of the father. So Peter is warning the younger people about a specific challenge to them, but all of us are responsible to submit to the elders. Even elders are responsible to submit to the other elders. That's why we see much wisdom in having a plurality of elders and not one man in that office. But I think even though that was the biggest challenge for Peter's audience, I don't think that's the biggest challenge for Jefferson Park. Our challenge is that at least some of us are young elders. Many of you have children or even grandchildren that are closer to age than some of us. And so brothers and sisters, let me humbly exhort you this morning that that does not change the call for you to submit to your elders. The elders that we have right now are the elders whom God has appointed to have accountability and responsibility for this body now. So may I ask you as a church to please pray for us. Pray that we would have wisdom beyond our years. Pray that we would not be despised for our youth, but that we would set an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. May I ask you to show grace to us. We will fail you. We will make mistakes. Let that drive you to Christ. And let it make you prepared and eager to forgive us when we do. May I ask your help? We want your input. We want to hear from you. We need you. The maturity of this body is not dependent upon the five of us. It's dependent upon all of you. We need your help. And finally, may I ask that you submit to us as we lead you to Christ. Encourage us when you see us being faithful to the task, when we teach the Word of God faithfully, when we do the right thing. Encourage us, come alongside of us, joyfully, gladly affirm. Bonus points, so I said finally. The other thing is, as we seek to add elders, pray that God would raise up more men to join us in this work. Believe me, no one wants more wisdom and more experience than we do. So pray that God will raise those men up to serve this body. The focus now shifts to all of you. So all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. So elders, members, everyone must alike clothe themselves with humility toward one another. And again, we see that this is following the example of Christ who humbled himself for us. Because of that, we are called to humble ourselves to each other. It is the humble and only the humble who are recipients of God's grace. Now, I find the language of clothing so helpful. Because clothing is something that we do every day. It's not something that happens naturally. It's something that we have to do consciously. We have to clothe ourselves every day. It takes effort, more for some of us than for others. But for each one of us, it's something we have to do consciously every single day. And brothers and sisters, remember that nothing humbles us more than the gospel. The gospel declares to the world that we are sinful. We are guilty. We are shameful that nothing less than the death of the son of God could save us. And yet it also tells us that God is merciful and gracious and forgiving and that he did die for us. So we are loved and purified and accepted in Jesus Christ. And that is humbling news, but it's good news. And it's the news that we need to persevere in this life. It must be our adorning every day as we interact with each other. So practically build reminders into your day that take you and keep you in humility at the foot of the cross. So maybe a start would be to take this verse and tape it to wherever you get dressed in the morning, wherever your clothes are, maybe in your closet or maybe on your sink whenever you're looking at yourself to get ready for the day. Remember that even more than you need physical covering, you need to clothe yourself in spiritual humility. A few other things that we may do together as a church. Let's commit together to acknowledge daily. Acknowledge our dependence upon God. Just try to make it your habit as you start each day. Acknowledge at the beginning of the day you are a dependent creature. Related to that, express thankfulness at the beginning of every day and then as you go about your day. Commit to being thankful. God gives us many, many good things throughout the day. And let's be conscious to acknowledge those and thank him for them together. Let's cultivate that as a culture. And as I said last week, let's remember that there is much about Christianity, about being thankful, but there is no such thing as Christian complaining. Another thing we may do is study God together. in a Bible study, in a book study, get together with other Christians to study God and to hear the vastness of his character as it's revealed in his word and also the experience that we've all had as his people. It will broaden your horizon, make God bigger. Another practical thing to do is just make it a discipline to encourage and serve other people. Take your focus off of yourself to verbalize God's grace as you see it in their lives and then actually practically do things that are good for them. And then another thing, finally, practice biblical reconciliation. Nothing makes the gospel more practical to us than when we actually have to apply it as we relate to other people. So when somebody comes to you with an observation or a correction, have the humility to suspect yourself That person doesn't know your sin even as well as you know your sin. So don't be surprised when somebody sees something in your life that needs to be corrected. Remember, the cross says this is how bad we are. So don't be surprised when other people agree with that. Suspect yourself. When you see sin in others, have the humility to correct it. Have the courage to go after them in the name of Christ for the glory of Christ and to point out that sin to them. And in the context of reconciliation, use the biblical language of reconciliation. I have sinned against you in this way. I did this. It was sin. I acknowledge that. Will you forgive me? Will you forgive me? And then as a church, our response to will you forgive me as always? Yes, I forgive you. Notice in this section, there is an eternal significance to the role of church member. The strength of the flock doesn't rest on the elders, but on the whole church. You see, pride is the great disease that that threatens everyone, threatens every member of the flock, including the shepherds. And so we have to cultivate humility daily in order to immunize ourselves from the damaging effects of pride. Only when we are truly humble can we glorify God together, live as his people and endure the sufferings and the trials of this life. And I think that's what Peter then starts to describe in the second section. So that was humility and action in the church. Secondly, we see humility of heart in verses six through nine. So in verse six, he says, humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. In this section, Peter is encouraging us to actively pursue humility. Because God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble, the business of the Christian is to cultivate humility, to make that a daily discipline. He says humility under the mighty hand of God, and that reminds us of that mighty hand that brought the Israelites out of Egypt, out of slavery, out of bondage, into the promised land. And so God will use that same mighty hand to deliver Christians from suffering. Notice in this text that humility is not the ultimate goal. So God promises that suffering is the pathway to glory. That he will one day exalt all of those who are his. Glory awaits God's people. The question for us is not whether or not we will be exalted, but will we seek exaltation God's way or our way? Christians are guaranteed that our humiliation will end. Once this life is over, God's glory, eternal glory awaits us. At the proper time, he will exalt all of those who are his. So he then goes on to describe the forms that humility will take in this life as we live as his people. Verse seven, he says, casting your anxieties, all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. So we see humility in prayer. Prayer is a practical demonstration of humility. And what this passage also teaches us is that worry, worry is a manifestation of pride. When we worry, we are saying, whether we realize it or not, that we are responsible for the problems of our life, that they are ours and ours alone. We have to solve them ourselves. Ultimately, worry says that I am my own God and the burden is on me. On the other hand, humility acknowledges our limitations, our weakness, and it entrusts the matters of this life to God. So think about it. If you are anxious, if you are a worried person, what worry actually is, is a form of praying to yourself. It's rehearsing things to yourself over and over again as if that somehow helps you to be empowered to do something about it. And sometimes I fear that even Christians think that they're praying then they're actually worrying. Because Jesus tells us there's a kind of prayer that thinks we're heaping up meaningless phrases, we're repeating ourselves over and over to God, as if we are heard by our many words. Christians don't pray like that. Christians cast their anxieties on God. This means that when we are burdened, we identify those burdens, we take them to God. We remind ourselves of what is true about God, we hand them over to Him, and then we leave them alone. That's what it means to cast our burdens on God. Notice here in verse 7, the reason that we cast our anxieties upon God. He cares for you. This is the God who made the universe with a word. The God who even now is sustaining it. The God of all history, who's working all things after the counsel of His will. The one who is blessed and only sovereign, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, the King of Ages, who no one has ever seen or can see, the only wise God cares for you. That, brothers and sisters, is a staggering claim. God cares for you. He is not indifferent to your suffering. He cares. Let that sink in this morning. God cares. He promises that you are his sheep. You are his children. He cares for you. He promises he will sustain you. As we saw last week, your trials are necessarily limited. God only allows to come into your life what he will ultimately use to accomplish his purposes. And so because of that, brothers and sisters, trust God. Think about all of your anxieties in light of what God has revealed about himself. Remind yourself of his character and his faithfulness. Make your requests to him and then trust him. The outcome of Christian prayer is peace and rest because our burdens are in the hands of a sovereign and good God. One of the practical effects of this is going to be that we're actually free, once we've entrusted our burdens to God, we're actually free then to praise Him, to thank Him, to worship Him, and then to serve others. Otherwise, if we don't cast our burdens on Him, we're so consumed with ourselves, we're not free to actually minister to others. So we see here that pride manifests itself in worry, and God's people must not be anxious, but humbly pray. Next, let's look at humility in sobriety. Humility and sobriety are being watchful. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So Peter calls us to be sober and watchful because we are vulnerable. We have an enemy. He's prowling around like a roaring lion and seeking someone to devour. We are sheep. We are naturally afraid of lions and humility simply acknowledges our vulnerability. As I said earlier, sheep are prone to wander. We think that just over the hill, just inside of the woods there is something good. Something may be better for us. We think that we'd be better off without that nagging shepherd watching over us. We think we'd be better off away from the herd and that's pride. For many of us, our natural tendency is to either be overconfident or blissfully unaware that there is real danger out there. But both of those things are forms of lack of self-awareness that is actually pride. Both of them exalt the self over where God has placed us. Overconfidence asserts, I am the center of the universe. But ignorance assumes I am the center of the universe. Humility demands that we acknowledge who we are before God and then act appropriately. So this verse tells us very clearly we are not at the top of the spiritual food chain. Being watchful means that we are aware of this. And so we consciously remain with the shepherd and with the flock on guard for attacks. Third, we see humility in resistance, in standing firm in God's truth. So Peter says, resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. So he calls us to resist, to stand firm in our faith. Christians triumph over Satan as we continue to trust in God. We thought about this earlier when we sang. Satan's power is in his voice, in his roar, as Peter says. He lies to us. So we sang earlier, he tells us we're weak. Our hope is in vain. The good that we seek we ne'er shall obtain. Satan says that our suffering means that God isn't good, that he doesn't actually care about us, that he doesn't know what's best for us. And yet our faith is rooted, brothers and sisters, in the gospel, which tells us definitively that God is good, that he does care, that he is seeking what is best for us. And so suffering finds its meaning in light of Christ's suffering, and therefore our faith propels us to perseverance. Christians are called to resist, but not to passive resistance. We are called to armed resistance. Satan assaults us with lies, and we counter with God's truth. The devil's roars are only roars. For those who stand firm, he may be a roaring lion, but he is a toothless lion. All roar with no bite. And just notice, brothers and sisters, the contrasting images we have in this passage. A lion who is seeking to intimidate and isolate and to destroy the sheep. And a shepherd. who cares for the sheep, who invites their burdens, who promises to feed them and sustain them and care for them. We are safe as long as we are near the shepherd. And so Peter is calling us to humble dependence upon God and his word and a trust in his providence. We need to see this morning that it is not prideful, it is not arrogant to hold on to something that is true. Our culture, our world around us tells us that it's arrogant. How could you make a claim of absolute truth? How can you say anything that's certain spiritually? It is not arrogant to hold fast to the truth. And if God has spoken and God has spoken, then holding fast to the truth is not an expression of pride. It's actually an expression of humble dependence upon him. We see here that Christian humility is not weakness, it is strength. We also see in this passage, Satan's great lie is to isolate, to make us feel isolated at least, to tell us we're alone in our sin, we're alone in our suffering. And yet what Peter says is that suffering is actually evidence that you are not alone, that there is a brotherhood out there. That kind of suffering is being experienced by your brothers and sisters all over the world. We heard last week, that is God's way of confirming us. We are His when we suffer for His name. Third, I want us to look down and see an example of humility, and I can assure you that the weight of the sermon is already behind us. Twelve to fourteen, we see an example of humility in the church. I won't even read it, but we see these different roles given to the church. We see Peter, the elder, exhorting the church to stand firm in the truth. We see Silvanus, maybe a deacon, just practically serving the church by carrying the letter We see this sisterhood that exists between the churches. The church in Babylon or Rome greeting the churches that Peter's writing to in Asia Minor. We see the greetings, the warmth that exists between those brothers and sisters. We see a practical warmth that exists in the churches. Greet one another with a holy kiss. So while that may not mean we kiss one another, I do think we should consider how this instructs us to warmly regard one another with affection. The last thing Peter leaves us with, peace to all of you who are in Christ. In light of everything that he said in the midst of all the trials, we as his people experience peace in the knowledge that we are under the care of the good shepherd. He makes us lie down in green pasture, his rod and his staff comfort us. That's the fruit of humility. And then in verses 10 and 11, we actually see the end of humility. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. I'm told there is a game happening maybe right now. Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that glory in this world is fleeting. The glory of personal accomplishment, the glory of a national championship or a perfect season or whatever it is, is fading and fleeting. And yet there is a glory, an eternal glory in Christ that will never fade away. We see here that Peter reminds us that our suffering will one day end. That this life for all of its trials and struggles is but a little while. compared to the eternal glory that is in Christ. So Peter reminds his readers, he reminds us this morning to keep our focus on Christ, to not lose heart, knowing that the race is nearly over. So brothers and sisters enjoy the game. I hope you DVR it, but don't lose sight of the fact that that glory is fleeting and that Christ's glory is eternal. Christians can suffer with joy and confidence because God finishes what He starts. God called us to His eternal glory in Christ, and He will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Everything that's lost will be returned. Everything that's weak will be strengthened. Everything that's doubted will be confirmed. Everything lost will be firmly settled. All will be well, friends, because God is sovereign and powerful and it rests on His power. So, brothers and sisters, let us live in humble confidence because your lives are in His hands. Let it be our motto, our slogan, as we sang earlier, the Lord will provide. Use that truth to motivate you to action because our victory is sure. All dominion is God's. Nothing, nothing stops him from bringing about his purposes. May it be so now, brothers and sisters, as it will be forever. Amen. Our father in heaven. We acknowledge once again that you are our good shepherd. Give us the grace as your people to be humble, to live in humble dependence upon your care, your provision. And to remember that humility is temporary and that a glory is coming for all of those who are in Christ. We pray this in his name. Amen.