Welcome Suffering as a Part of Life: The Suffering and Glory of Practical Humility - 1 Peter 5:5-7

0:54Be humble. There it is. There it is, right there in the front. He wants us to be humble, and he says it several times, doesn't he? He gives a threefold exhortation for us to be humble. It's important to understand that Peter's exhortation for us is not just a whimsical piece of good advice, but the very foundation of the Christian life. Humility. The very foundation of your relationship with God. Without it, there will not be a relationship with God.

1:36And so it's not just a whimsical piece of advice, but the very foundation of the Christian life. And I want to jump right into the text. He gives three commands to be humble, two reasons to be humble, and one way to be humble. Straightforward. And my hope is that you will endeavor to be more humble after hearing this message this morning. And I'm just going to follow the outline going down the three commands, the three exhortations. So we'll look at the first one: subject yourselves. Verse 5.

2:11You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders. Peter is addressing you, younger men. Now, if you have an ESV, it says you who are younger. If you have a King James, it says, ye younger. And if you have a new King James, it's you younger people. In other words, there isn't the gender distinction there. You younger men, it's masculine, but it could just be a reference generally to everybody else, everybody who's not included in the category of elders. Everyone, be subject to your elders. Or it could refer to a group of young men who may be anxious to react very differently to the direction of the leadership of. Of the church, especially in light of the persecution that's coming against you. You know how some of these young guns get a little more excited and a little more reactive and may be wanting the elders to go a different route and maybe react in a way that would look bad for the church. And honestly, I can't tell which way it's going to go, but I can tell you this: the general principle is clear. Peter wants the members to defer to the authority of the leadership of the church. Look at the term likewise. He continues the previous thought that he has just laid out about the leaders. The leaders are to submit themselves to the will of God by leading, you remember from last week, voluntarily. They are to lead eagerly, and they are to lead by example. That is the qualifications of any good leader, and especially in the church. This is what God wants for leadership. And God, having raised up leaders who will lead voluntarily, eagerly, and by example, He wants the congregation to follow their leadership.

4:12Look at the command: be subject. Now, this is a command you've already seen before in this book, chapter 2 and chapter 3. There is subjection, submission in the area of politics and governing authorities. There is submission. In the realm of the workplace, subjection in the home and submission in the home. You're very familiar with this by now, by this part in Peter. The word for subject yourselves is to arrange under, like a military formation under a commanding officer. You'll remember my illustration of the Aggie band under its bandmaster, watching 400 cadets march in cadence. It's just the worth the price of a football ticket alone. Just watching them march in cadence under the band director. Well, that is also a very good illustration of biblical submission. Aligning the affairs of your lives under the direction, under the cues of another.

5:27Notice in verse 5, you're to be subject to your elders. You see, God's plan for the church throughout the ages is for it to arrange its corporate life under the leadership of those that God calls to shepherd the church. And I say this not because I'm an elder, but because it's in the word. This is Peter's exhortation. And I want you to know that I too have elders that I must arrange the affairs of my church. Life under, which in my case is a whole lot of my life. You know, this church has four elders, and I can tell you, my whole time at Emmanuel has been arranged under the personalities and the passions and the direction of these men. Clyde, his passion for the Emmanuel Lighthouse mission, something that started as a Vietnamese refugee shelter, and his passion for that has impacted my life and how I am to arrange the affairs of my life here.

6:49Pat, ever since I've known Pat, my life has been arranged under his, to a certain degree, with the passion for the Friday Night Children's Program. And then our other elder Herardo, who is in the back translating this as I speak, last year, Nancy and I at this time were in Mexico City teaching at a seminary largely because of his passion and his burden for the El Salvadorian people. And so much of a personality of a church is shaped.

7:30By those passions and desires and personalities of those who lead. And now we've got this prospect of a seminary, Shepherd's Theological Seminary, being on here. Well, that's getting into my personal passion. You see, we all, all the elders here, have a high view of Scripture. We want this building, this facility to be used. We want to help the homeschooling movement. You can just go down and you start seeing the corporate identity of Emmanuel being played out through much of the personalities, preferences, and passions of the elders.

8:14And elders will come and elders will go. Ministries will come and ministries will go. But the church, throughout time, will be marching in cadence with its great shepherd. And it's not my confidence in them. My hope for Emmanuel is not in them or in me or in others who lead, but the God who has set up his church to function this way. You see, the ultimate conductor is Jesus Christ. And therefore, subject yourselves. To your elders. That is the commands. First command to be humble. The second command, look back, is clothe yourselves. Look in verse 5. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. Notice the addressees now are all of you. Everyone, including leadership, including elders, younger, older, and everyone in between.

9:31Clothe yourself with humility toward one another. And this word is a very rare word. And it refers to a slave putting on an apron before he serves. In fact, the idea is that slaves used to tie a knot in a white scarf so that publicly you would see that they are slaves. And then the like manner, a Christian is to tie humility upon him, to clothe himself in humility and have humility so much part of their conduct that everybody is able to recognize us because of our humility.

10:14You see, the point that Peter is making, a servant should be identified at a distance. And this was Jesus' example, wasn't it? No doubt this is in Peter's mind as, let me read to you John 13, portions of it. Jesus knows. Knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand, and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper and laid aside his garments, and taking a towel, he girded himself that way. That's the word. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. And then in verse 12, he goes on to explain what he did. So when he had finished washing their feet and taken his garments and reclined at the table again, he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you should also do as I did. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who is sent. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. You see what the virtue that Jesus embodied was a willingness to take any place, play any role, and perform any office, however menial and lowly, to serve and benefit others. That is our Lord. And this is what Peter commands us to do ourselves. And it's the one thing that goes against the very grain of our being. And it takes a spirit.

12:01Reality in our life to make it happen. Look back. You're to clothe yourself with humility toward one another. Another very interesting word. It speaks of a lowliness of mind. John Wesley observed that neither the Romans nor the Greeks had a word for humility because to them humility was a lamentable weakness. In fact, the word may very well have been coined with among Christian circles. But what humility is not is important to understand. Humility is not overestimating oneself. I think we understand that. Humility is not insisting others know how important you are.

12:49I think we understand that. Humility, though, is not pretending to be blind to one's strong points either. It's not pretending to be blind to your talents or your gifts or your successes. That's not humility. If you can run a five-minute mile, you're fast. Period. If you can run a four-minute mile, you're world class. And don't tell anybody, if you can run a four-minute mile, don't go around saying, well, I'm not very fast. That's not true. And if you can run a three-minute mile, you're probably a cheetah. You're not human. For sure. But humility doesn't pretend.

13:37But what humility does do is it knows where its strengths come from. Humility is knowing what a little thing your strengths are in the grand scheme of eternity. And humility is knowing that you will give an account of how you used what God has given you. You see, humility is having a mind focus on the claims that others may have on your life, not insisting that others honor and pay you what you think they owe. In other words, pick up the tab in life. You ever been at a restaurant? And that comes that awkward time when you're starting to pick up the tab at the end, and you'll see some people like to pay the very minimum and almost kind of pay the less. And that's not humility. Humility is: let me pick up this and some. Humility is more concerned about people's claims on your life than having claims on other people's life.

14:43And this applies to husbands. You know, it's more important as a husband to be concerned about: am I being the kind of husband that I am supposed to be before you get concerned about your wife being the kind of wife that she should be? Vice versa, as a father. A humble father is one who's more concerned about fulfilling his duties as a father than trying to make sure he gets what is owed from his kids. And whether you apply this in whatever relationship you're in, humility is more focused on paying your part of the tab in life rather than others paying their fair share.

15:28It's paying what you owe, not exacting what you think you are owed. That's what humility is about. And there's a two-step process here in this text that's implied. First of all, clothing yourself in humility towards one another. First, you've got to prepare for humility. First part of the process is preparing, preparing the mind. Philippians 2:3 says, Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself. That is the preparation for humility, having a right mind that thinks more highly of others than yourself.

16:15And that's like putting on the clothing. But see, we as Christians understand the value of humility, at least in theory, right? Because we see the example of our Lord, we see the commands over and over in Scripture. He was a humble of. He was humble, servant, Christ was. But humility is much easier in theory than it is in practice. And what Peter wants us to do is to move from being just having humility in theory, but to be a practitioner of humility. And you can only do that through Christ honoring service to others.

16:53This is what talking the talk and walking the walk is about. Don't just value humility, but be a servant. I love to work in my garden. In fact, Saturday morning, I like to get up. I put my boots on. I put my work clothes on, put my raggy old jeans on. I sometimes put on a hat, put the gloves on, and I'm ready to go into the garden. But I don't just strut around the house going, look, I'm ready to go into the garden. Isn't this cool? I look like a gardener, right? I think that's where a lot of us get our Christianity all messed up. Don't just think lowly of yourself, but it's for service, preparation, and practice. And this is what Peter is talking about here: visible humility. Don't just dress for humility, but serve. It ought to be seen from a distance. You see, the point is that a servant should be identified at a distance by their attitude, by their disposition, by their energy. Interest in others and by their deeds of service. So, what does a person that's clothed in humility look like? Well, make a few suggestions.

18:13First of all, a humble person is a thankful person. A humble person is a praying person. A humble person is an honest person. They are quick to confess their faults to one another, as James 5:16 says. A humble person has hopes of mercy and shows this hope of mercy by extending mercy to others. A humble person does not look scornfully upon the people of God. A humble person does more than just flee temptation, but a humble person uproots the pathways of sin in his life. Why? Because he doesn't trust himself in temptation.

19:08A humble person has a greater desire to serve than to be served. A humble person has a peace in being last rather than being first. A humble person has a contentment in living low instead of living high. A humble person is more satisfied in giving than receiving. A humble person possesses an inner compulsion to forgive rather than to punish. A humble person has a desire for exaltation only by the hand of God. He does not look for the exaltation of men. That is what a humble person is about. And these are the qualities that marked our Lord as he walked through this earth. Let us be like him.

20:17So why? Why clothe yourselves in humility towards one another? Well, there's a reason. Look back at verse 5. And this is the first of two reasons that he gives. For God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Now he quotes Proverbs 3.34, and the sense is very profound. You see, God, the proud, let me just read Proverbs 3.34. Though he scoffs at the scoffers, yet he gives grace to the humble or to the afflicted. The scoffers are the proud and the arrogant. And God scoffs at the scoffers.

21:00The mockers by favoring the afflicted. That's what's going on. He favors the ones who are bended low. That's what the word afflicted means. One who bends himself. It's translated humble in the New Testament. And Peter uses the same sense here. For God is opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. That is, he scoffs and mocks and is at adversary with the proud by giving grace and elevating and exalting the humble. God opposes the proud by favoring the humble. If you spend any time in the book of Esther, you will see this principle played out incredibly. Esther is about two people, really.

22:00One, the proud. His name is Haman. He exalts in a high position and he wants recognition and he wants to be exalted. There's a second player in the book of Esther, and his name is Mordecai, the humble exile Jew who was doing everything in his power to keep his people from Holocaust. And the whole book is about. How God exalts the humble and puts the proud down. So you get to the end of the book and you see that Haman had prepared the gallows for Mordecai and Haman himself is hanged upon him. Because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And as believers, we ought to know that God has provided all that we have and will provide that all that we will ever need.

23:08We possess nothing that we have not received, whether it's looks, whether it's ability, whether it's intellect, or whether it's who you know, or whether it's the opportunities that have been given to you. They have all been given to you by God. They are not something that generated within you. And as believers, we are to know that apart from him, we can do nothing. And we should remember that if we attribute anything to ourselves, that we not only rob God, but we will meet him as our adversary.

23:46Because God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. This is the history of earth. This will be the final scene in glory. Just how committed God is. To exalting the humble and putting down the proud. Therefore, how should you live? Look at verse 6. Humble yourselves. It takes us to the third command. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. And then he gives a second reason. You see that in verse 6? That he may exalt you at the proper time. Now, the text does not say when or what kind of exaltation he's going to give you, but it does say it will occur at the right time, at the proper time. So you don't have to worry about exaltation or being exalted. If you're truly humble, the only exaltation that matters is God's exaltation of you. So you don't need to pine away because it will happen at the proper time, whenever God deems it appropriate. And God's timing is always proper and it is always perfect.

25:05But it will also be in the proper manner. This text doesn't say how he will exalt you whatever way he chooses. It may be in this life, it may be in the life to come, it may be with public honor, it may be with private joy, it may be by giving you a greater capacity to serve or serve Or it may be in personal fellowship with Him, or it may be all of the above. But one thing's for certain: in whatever ways He chooses to exalt individuals, it is certain that at the revelation of Jesus Christ, all of His people will be exalted before all of the nations as His own and the recipients of His kingdom.

26:00You see, when Christ's name is magnified, ours will also be magnified because we are in Him. One thing I learned in corporate America: that as my clients that I served with in the trenches in certain projects and places around the nation, as they grew and were promoted, I received the benefit. How much more that our Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God? Will He not properly exalt His people in due time?

26:44Then the question: How does one, look at verse 6, humble himself under the mighty hand of God? We're to subject ourselves, clothe ourselves, humble ourselves. We've got two very good reasons to do so now. How? Well, let me give you some advice. First of all, take an honest look at yourself. Dredge into the very depths of your being, and I am sure that if you are honest, you will pull up all kinds of squirmy and icky things that come from out of your being that if they were given their full expression would reveal monstrosities of epic proportions. If you will be honest, you will not be able to have a very flattering view of yourself. Take a deep look at yourself. Know your heart. In fact, you want me to tell you where the beginning of Peter's spiritual greatness was? Let me read to you. Luke 22:61, right after he had denied Christ, the Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the words of the Lord, how he had told him, Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. There was the beginning of a man that God could use. When you've taken to the end of yourself and you know the failings of your own humanity, then take an honest look at yourself and it will devastate any high views that you have. Have of yourself. You'll be cured of your pride. But the second thing is take an honest look at God. Not only look at yourself, but look at God. He is the giver of all that is good within us. Everything good you have comes from Him. It's not of your own. So if you will take a long look at God, you will not find a shred of anything within you devoted. Also, take a look at Jesus Christ, His Christ, His life, His example, His sacrifice, His love, His restraint.

29:02Take a long look at Christ, and it'll annihilate any visions of grandeur that you have about yourself. But a third piece of advice I'd give you is to take an honest look at others. Steep your minds in the faith and efforts and accomplishments of great people, and you will see your dwarfed stature in their light. No matter who you are, no matter what your stature, your profession, your abilities. I'm going to tell you something. You're not the finest that's ever lived.

29:36You're not the finest that the world has ever seen. In fact, I would venture to say that the best of us among here are probably just mediocre. So if you will fix your thoughts on your superiors rather than your inferiors, you will obliterate any vestige of pride that you carry around. Three pieces of biblical advice. But that's not the reason that Peter gives in this text. Although I think they will get you a long way to being humble. Take an honest look at yourself. Take an honest look at God. Take an honest look at others. But there is one way expressly stated right here that I want you to see how you are to become humble.

30:25Look back. Casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. How does one humble himself? How does one humble himself under the mighty hand of God? By casting all your anxiety upon him. And the word means to heap upon, heap our cares, heap our concerns, keep the things that worry us, heap these anxieties upon him. The picture, it's the same word used in Luke 19:35 to when they were bringing Christ into Jerusalem, that celebratory entry, and they brought to Jesus in verse 35 a colt, and they threw their coats upon the colt as a saddle. They put Jesus on it. That's the picture, throwing their coats upon this donkey so that Jesus would ride in it. That's the Picture of what heaping, what throwing, casting your anxieties upon Christ.

31:38Notice the word all. And I love this. You've heard this joke a lot if you've ever been in the pulpit. What does all mean in the Greek? All, right? What does all mean in the Greek? All. And that's what he's saying. Oh, all y'all's anxieties. That's how you humble yourself. Whether it deals with provision, whether it's food, whether it's clothing, whether it's the health of the body. What is your anxiety? Whether it's the fears of various kinds, whether it's your reputation, whether it's a concern about jobs or any relationship you may have in life, maybe it's a concern about your life direction, or maybe it's concerns about your sin and the sin burdens or the sin consequences or the shame or the guilt. You cast those on him. Or the sorrows or ministry concerns or your future or your significance, whatever. What is it? And probably at some times, it's all of them.

33:02But holding on to them is a form of pride. Holding on to your anxieties is prideful. It is saying to God, You cannot be trusted with this one anxiety or with this concern, I'm going to hold on to it because I don't trust you to handle it right. And the very thing we are to do is to cast all our cares on. That's how you become humble. Trust him. And the reason, he gives us a really good reason. Look back. Because he cares for you.

33:52He is caring. It's a present verb. Why can you cast your cares on him? Because he is caring for you. Remember in Mark 4:38, the disciples are in this storm on the sea. And the disciples ask him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And here comes the resounding answer: Yes. He cares. In fact, he can even say it like this. We can cast all our anxieties upon him because he is anxious for us. Us.

34:32Not in a sinful way, of course. But you can cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you. As your mind is all wrapped around the axle over certain cares and issues and concerns in life, his is wrapped around the axle for you. And because of that, you can cast your cares on him. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that soul enlightening? The God of the universe tells you, throw your cares on me. And anything short of that is pride.

35:12Don't you love how he puts this in a way? Well, okay, I can't say no. If I don't, it's sin. And what a joy, what a joy it is to cast all your cares on him. So he gives us Peter's threefold exhortations very clear there. Subject yourselves, clothe yourselves, and humble yourselves. I'm going to read to you a quote from Charles Spurgeon about humility. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards. For the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls and by them alone. God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven with all its riches and treasures. The whole treasury of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure of extremity of what is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one. If our Heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in His holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and meeting with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim, so that you are kept low for your own safety. When a man is sincerely humble and never ventures to touch so much as a grain of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace and fits us to deal efficiently and properly with our fellow men. True humility is a flower which will adorn any garden. This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you will find an improvement in every case, whether it be prayer or praise, or whether it be work or suffering. The genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.

37:31And this is Peter's exhortation to a suffering church. Put on visible humility. Another thing about humility is: I can't say all that needs to be said about humility in 45 minutes. So I'm going to have to end. But I do not think we scarcely realize God's deep commitment to the humble or his sure delight in raising them up and exalting them. God is deeply committed to the humble and deeply delights in raising them up and exalting them. If you do not know Christ today, you are rejecting his salvation. If you have erred and refused to repent, refuse to believe in the gospel, you need to humble yourselves and receive his salvation.

38:31I also say that those of you who have and have not gone through the waters of baptism, you need to submit yourself to being publicly identified with him through a believer's baptism. And if you walk with Christ, I pray today you will grow in your humility by casting all your cares on him. Maybe the final word needs to be Micah 6:8. He has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, how it cuts to the heart, and yet it heals.

39:24And Father, we thank you for its truth. Father, forgive us where we have not trusted you. Help us to be a more humble people in Jesus' name.