I invite you to turn with me this morning to Psalm 91 and to 1 Peter chapter 5. The text for our consideration, 1 Peter chapter 5 verses 5b, starting in the second part of verse 5 through verse 7. And for those of you who are visiting with us, we have been considering 1 Peter sometimes more regularly than at other times. But for quite a while now, we are coming to the end of our consideration. And as we now come to the last part of Peter's first epistle, we in a sense come to what we might call the PS part of the letter. Boys and girls, when one person writes a letter to another person, that person writing might fill that letter with all kinds of news and all kinds of details. But then gets to the very end of that letter and writes, P.S., as if to say, oh yes, and there's one more thing. One more thing. Peter, we know, just to recap his entire letter, he has gone into detail about who his readers are. He's filled his letter with these things. They are God's people. Saints redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Saints who own, already in this life, they own as their very own possession that living hope of eternal life. And as well, they are assured of heavenly glory in the next life. And as God's people, Peter in detail then we know, has given them instruction about holy living before the face of God and as well in their relationships with one another. And we know that Peter has spent quite a bit of time instructing and encouraging his readers as to how they are to live in the midst of suffering for Jesus' sake at the hands of those who reject Jesus. And then now as we come to chapter 5, and we're not going to consider the entire chapter together, I'm starting, as I've said, in the second part of verse 5, but Peter gives some final instructions to the church with regard to living out our time, we might say, on this earth with each other. to the leadership, to the elders. He reminds them of their great responsibility in ruling and caring for God's people. And he explains in the first couple of verses what the proper motive is to be for ruling as an elder and how this work is to be carried out. As we will read, he says, serving as overseers not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be. Not greedy for money, but eager to serve. Not lording it over those entrusted to you, but... And then he goes on to mention in one phrase the awesome task of being an example of Christ. An example of Christ to the flock. And then in a phrase he turns his attention in the beginning of verse 5 to the young men. And he says to the young men that they are called to submit to the authority of the elders who have much to teach those, the elders have much to teach to those who are younger and who have much to learn. And we ought to be encouraged by that, those of us who are younger, that we are not to neglect the wisdom and the experiences that God has given to those who are older. We must tap into that. That's why God has given them to us. And then with this text for this morning, Peter, as it were, gives the final P.S. to all of us as believers in Christ's church with regard to living out life under the mighty hand of God. Living out life. Living out the rest of our days here on this earth. We're pilgrims, remember? Passing through. Living them out under the mighty hand of God. In a sense, all of Peter's instruction throughout this letter is talking about this. Living under the mighty hand of God. But specifically, with this text this morning, he teaches how we are to live under God's mighty hand. that hand that demands constant humility and that hand that promises everlasting care. Turn with me, then again, first of all, to Psalm 91. Psalm 91. Hear now the Word of God. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the Lord who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra, you will trample the great lion and the serpent. Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him with a long life. Will I satisfy him and show him my salvation? 1 Peter 5, reading the first 11 verses, again the text, the second part of verse 5 through 7. To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings, and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed, be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers, not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be. Not greedy for money, but eager to serve. Not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Young men, in the same way, be submissive to those who are older. Now our text begins, All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him. because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen. Shall we bow together in prayer? Father, we thank You for Your most holy Word. We thank You for all that You have to teach us from Your Word. We thank You for Your gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, full and free, which is not only told to us, but shown to us throughout the pages of Scripture. And we pray that in this morning hour You would indeed open our hearts, illumine us by Your Holy Spirit, that we might be receivers of that which You have to give. Bless us, O Lord. Strengthen Your people in the most holy faith. Help us, Father, that we might walk in a more godly, humble way before You and before each other. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen. Living out life under God's mighty hand. Beloved, just hearing about God's mighty hand as believers is to be comforting to us. Indeed, many people we know find comfort or look for comfort in lots of different places. Temporary comfort, false comfort, but they look in many different places. Many people find comfort under the care of our national government, which sends them their monthly social security check and provides for all kinds of social programs, especially for health care, in order to care for her citizens. Many find comfort in the security of their own homes, their own little pieces of the pie, which we call this earth. But there is no greater comfort than to live under God's mighty hand. And that's because God's hand, beloved, is not oppressive for those who belong to Him. Instead, for those who belong to Him, for those who belong to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ, God's mighty hand is a hand of care. No doubt these words were comforting to Peter's original audience, especially as they suffered for their faith economically, physically, emotionally, socially, even to the point of death. Thoughts of God's mighty hand ought to bring God's people the comfort of Psalm 91 and the refuge His wings provide. And as the psalmist says, if you make the Most High your dwelling, even the Lord who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you. No disaster will come near your tent. I will be with Him in trouble. I will deliver Him and honor Him with a long life. I will satisfy Him and show Him my salvation. You see, when we think of the mighty hand of God, congregation, we are to recognize who God is simply by His hand. We are to recognize who God is and who we are in relation to Him. You see, the Bible gives amazing description of the truth of God by simply talking about His hand. David exalts the omnipotence of God. Boys and girls, that means God is all-powerful, all strength and power belong to Him. And David exalts that omnipotence of God when he prayed in 1 Chronicles 29, In your hands are strength and power to exalt and to give strength to all. Psalm 95, verses 3, 4, and 5 speak of God the Creator. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Psalm 37, verses 23 and 24 speak of his hand of preservation. If the Lord delights in a man's ways, he makes his steps firm. Though he stumbles, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 104, verse 28 speaks of God's provision of all of the creatures of the earth. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up. When you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. That's the creatures of the earth. And we know that Jesus said that if God cares for the sparrow, and if He clothes the lilies of the field, then we can be sure, we can be confident that His care and provision for His people is even greater. And then Psalm 73, verse 23, there speaks of the protection of God over His people. Yet the psalmist says, I am always with you, you hold me by my right hand. Speaks of the psalmist's hand, but how does God hold us by the right hand? With His hand. Peter, in essence, calls for believers to recognize their complete dependence upon God and to put their total confidence in Him alone. He has demonstrated over and over again that He alone is strong to provide, to protect, and preserve. His mighty hand led Israel out of Egypt and cared for her, provided for her, preserved her throughout the long years in the wilderness. As well, the mighty hand of God delivered many Old Testament saints out of times of distress. His hand alone, we know, controls His enemies. For example, as He demonstrated with King Cyrus of Persia. Mary, the mother of Jesus, sang of God's mighty hand that scattered the proud, but lifted up the humble. And, beloved, His hand exalted His own Son to the highest place of glory. And as we recognize the mighty hand of God, we are also to recognize then, beloved, that this hand is for us. This hand is on our side. And it's for that reason that His mighty hand demands constant humility. Again, beginning of the text, all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under God's mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time. Humility is to characterize God's people before Him to be sure, but also before each other. Why humility? Well, very simply, as Peter quotes from the Septuagint again, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, Proverbs 3, verse 34 says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Beloved, humility recognizes the truth about one's self and demonstrates that truth. Humility reminds us that we are not invincible, that we are not worthy, that we are helpless and dependent. Peter's original audience was being humbled through suffering, but Peter reminds them that God gives grace to the humble. They enjoy the grace of God's favor. They enjoy the grace of being conscious of God's forgiveness of their sins and being liberated from sin and death. And they enjoy the grace of eternal glory and the living hope of that eternal glory. True humility recognizes that all is hopeless apart from God's mighty hand. In humility, one recognizes that because of his sin, he deserves nothing from the hand of God. That he is absolutely dependent upon God for everything. The humble believer knows that God has provided for him everything he needs. He possesses nothing that he has not first received from the hand of God. And he is nothing but for the grace of God and apart from Christ. He can do nothing. The humble believer recognizes that his very existence is a gift of God's grace. And with Abraham, he must confess that in and of himself, he is nothing but dust and ashes. In 1 Corinthians 4, verses 6 and 7, Paul, in essence, reminds us that man is nothing but a beggar. Whose hands are empty until God's divine benevolence fills them. But the world of wickedness, the world of those who reject Jesus Christ, that world doesn't think like this. You see, that world equates humility with weakness and being spineless. The world says that we are to be proud of and confident about ourselves. And we know that it's possible to be confident and to be humble about it. There's nothing sinful about being properly confident. But the world says that we are to be proud and confident in the sense of exalting ourselves over others. Praising ourselves above others. Putting ourselves over others. How else do you get ahead in life? How else do you sell yourself and climb the corporate ladder and get what you want out of life? That's the problem, isn't it? In sin, man is selfish, not selfless. In sin, man is proud. He thinks more highly of himself than he ought to. He doesn't have a proper view of himself, but that's what God calls for us to have. A proper view of ourselves before Him and before each other. And that proper view, beloved, comes with humility. And again, He gives us great reason to resist pride and to desire humility. God hates pride. God sets Himself against. He stands against the proud person. Boys and girls, you remember Nebuchadnezzar? How he was walking out on his patio and he was looking out over his kingdom. He was exalting himself for his great kingdom. And what happened? It seems like within seconds, according to Scripture, he was out in the pasture, eating the grass like an animal. And when did God restore him? When he humbled himself. You see, one who is proud will not know God's grace. And as the writer of Proverbs says, pride goes before destruction. and a haughty spirit before a fall. Pride is the root of sin. Satan's goal, which we know he accomplished, was that Eve become proud in her own eyes and think more of herself than she ought. Why, she could be like God. And, you know, that looked pretty good to her. Pride attacks the ego, which then breeds much offspring to self, Such as self-centeredness, self-exaltation, self-will, self-sufficiency, self-confidence, self-righteousness, self-glorying, and ultimately self-delusion, which will in the end bear the fruit of self-frustration and self-despair. Beloved, pride takes advantage of others for one's own personal gain. And ultimately, pride sets itself up against God and believes, among other things, believes that one is doing God a favor by believing in Him. Well, God ought to be grateful to me for that because I believe in Him. But the believer who recognizes God's grace upon Him is called to be humble and will be humble. And God calls us, beloved, to practice this towards one another as fellow believers. You see, in pride, we think that we deserve to be served by each other. We think that we deserve to be exalted by one another. We think we deserve to be patted on the back and catered to by one another. But you see, in humility, we are called to serve one another. Peter said in chapter 4, verse 10, each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. And humility comes to expression when we demonstrate Paul's command in Philippians 2. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, that make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on the cross. Beloved, our supreme example of humility is our Lord Jesus Christ. Now when Peter says, clothe yourselves with humility, The idea is that of putting on the apron of service which a slave wore. That apron identified the slave. And that's what our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated when He washed His disciples' feet, clothed, as it were, with a towel. And the ultimate demonstration of His humility was the cross, where He took our sin upon Himself, the sinless one, and became a curse for us. But now we need to also understand, beloved, that we're not talking here about a false humility, which is really kind of a conceit that disguises itself as lowliness. We're talking about an honest self-appraisal, not, for example, on the one hand, minimizing one's achievements. Minimizing one's achievements. For example, if you save a drowning person, I'm using kind of an extreme example, but if you save a drowning person and people praise you for that, you say, well, it wasn't that big of a deal. Or if you sing a song or do some wonderful thing and people tell you how wonderful that was, and you say, oh, it really wasn't that good. You see, that's minimizing one's achievement. Just say thank you with humility. On the other hand, it's possible to exaggerate one's failures or weaknesses. I'm such a terrible musician. I'm such a terrible athlete. I'm so lousy at this, that, and the other thing when it really isn't that true. It might be in your mind. But both of these, minimizing one's achievements and exaggerating one's weaknesses or failures are false humility. And the truth is they are meant to draw attention to one's self. True godly humility is a spiritual virtue rooted in regeneration, in being born again. True godly humility recognizes one's sinfulness and loves God above all and my neighbor as myself. True godly humility is a gracious spirit. And beloved, only when we are humbled before God, recognizing His undeserved grace in our lives, will we be truly more courteous and kind to our fellow believers? You see, true humility transforms the other virtues that Paul says we are to be clothed in in Colossians 3. Compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, and love. In other words, humble compassion, humble kindness, humble gentleness, humble patience, humble love. Humility makes these things genuine and real, not fake. And I think you all know what we're talking about here. It's easy to see right through compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, and love demonstrated from selfish, what can I get out of it, motives. It's easy to pick that out, isn't it? When pride is the foundation of these things, they're nothing more than, as Paul says, like a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal, difficult on the ears and really hard on the stomach. But humility, you see, beloved, makes these things most acceptable and praiseworthy. Humble compassion. Humble kindness. Humble encouragement. Beloved, God has blessed us with so much. And the greatest blessing, as we sang with How Great Thou Art, is the blessing of eternal life in Christ Jesus. But even our temporal, physical blessings every day, we must name them one by one. And we are called to serve Him by humbly serving each other, considering others' interests before our own. Considering them and their needs as more important than our own. How difficult this is. Who of us would deny that, huh? How difficult this is, but may this be our desire and goal to serve each other generously with our time, with our talents, with our gifts. Humility gives without expecting anything in return. But not only does God's mighty hand demand constant humility, His hand promises everlasting care. Verse 6 again, Humble yourselves therefore under God's mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time. You see, even as Peter's original audience was suffering for Jesus' sake, and maybe this was even unspeakable persecution of various kinds, he comforts them with a hope that no one can snatch them out of the hand of God. That's what Jesus said in John's Gospel. And even though they are called upon to suffer in this life, God's hand would protect them now and restore them, lift them up one day. See, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead, His people, every last one for whom He died, will be exalted with Him, raised on high. And all that day, all the wicked will see that indeed the cause for which we live and the cause for which many have died, the cause of Jesus was indeed true. and the only hope. And God, our Lord Jesus Christ, will vindicate His people before the eyes of the wicked world. But again, none of this is new to us, is it? Because Peter began, we know, talking about that living hope. We look forward to that day. We have that comfort and assurance. But that hope is also for today, for this life. And we know that too. But you see, beloved, we must constantly be reminded and remind ourselves that that hope is true, that comfort is true even for today. Verse 7, Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Because God's hand is mighty, He is also powerful to carry our burdens. No doubt, beloved, that was exciting news. That was an exciting thing to hear, detail, an exciting P.S. for Peter's original audience to hear given the suffering they were experiencing. But Peter is talking here about perpetual, ongoing worry and anxiety that will not let up, that will never let one be released. The Greek for anxiety means to be drawn in different directions. And this anxiety, we know, can have debilitating effect on our lives. Sometimes one will say, well, I just don't know which way to turn. Because that anxiety is drawing them in different directions. This anxiety, as someone has said, is the habitual attitude, the habitual attitude of the unsaved heart toward the problems and difficulties of life. That finds no hope. That cannot find a way out. Dr. Nelson Klosterman in his Bible study writes, the Lord summons suffering believers to place the unbearable burden of all those anxieties and uncertainties that accompany suffering. How long will it last? How much will it cost? How much will it hurt? Place them in His mighty hand. You see, beloved, this doesn't mean the troubles and sorrows of life will be taken away. God never promises that. When you go through the fire, when you go through the water, I will be with you. We must still face these things, but the burden of them, that which would drag us down, that which would destroy us, that which would keep us in despair. God takes that. And He replaces that. So in the midst of these difficulties and sufferings, He gives us contentment and comfort. And this is the promise of Jesus who said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. You see, even as we face difficulties and troubles of life, we can be rested. Yes, at times we are anxious. At times we worry, how will I make the mortgage payment this month? How can I possibly finish my homework? There's so much. How can I even think about facing another chemotherapy treatment? But God says, give them up to Me. Give the burden of those things up to Me. Let Me assume the responsibility for your welfare in that matter. And you see, beloved, our welfare is God's concern because He made it His concern when He brought us through salvation into His family. The moment He says, you are My child, God has taken the responsibility of caring for your welfare. We don't have to worry. And even in the midst of pain and turmoil and suffering, we can sing with confidence, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well. Beloved, we are to actively, actively cast or commit our anxieties upon Him, which means no longer worrying about them. That doesn't mean that we, in an irresponsible way, let go and let God and close our eyes. We still are called upon to face the challenges of life with our eyes wide open, as it were, and to deal with them in the appropriate way. We face them with confidence, trusting in the promises of God. God's hand is omnipotent, all-powerful and strong to deliver and save. We believe the Bible's teaching of the perseverance of the saints, not because we are strong to persevere in and of ourselves, but because God promises in His Word to preserve us and bring us into the joy of that inheritance. Remember, that can never perish, spoil, or fade, but is kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Beloved, what confidence this is to give to us for life. So that we might not be afraid to stand up for Jesus, worrying about what others might say. May we not worry about our well-being, not that we become negligent in caring for ourselves or our families, but that we might willingly give ourselves in service for each other. And as we serve one another in humility, beloved, But know, know that we imitate our Lord Jesus Christ and in doing that, we are used by God to point others to Him who humbled Himself so far that we might have salvation. Apart from Jesus Christ and true faith in Him, one can only be sinfully anxious with no peace and not able to see any hope. But because our God is not a God who is far away but loves His people intimately. Through His Son, He has taken the eternal anxiety of our sin upon Himself and in Christ Jesus so that in Christ Jesus we might have life and have it abundantly. And therefore, beloved, rest. Rest. Rest peacefully under the mighty hand of God who draws us near to His heart. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, indeed we must confess that we are weak. But we praise You that You are strong. That You are strong to save, to preserve, to protect, to provide for. and that your strong, all-powerful hand is for us, on our side. And may that give to us, O Lord, confidence for this life, and assurance as we look forward to the next. Father, give to each one of us servants' hearts. Hearts of humility. Hearts that love you, and love each other, and desire to demonstrate that by serving one another in love. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen.