Humble Yourselves

We can resist evil by submitting to God.  He cares for us and will work both in us and through us.

I Peter 5:5-11

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹ To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

I.  Humble Submission

There are two parts to submission listed here.  The first is submission to elders.  This represents the idea of being submissive to those in authority.  This concept is taught to us from the beginning as we are taught to honor our parents, our first authorities in our  lives.  Our attitude towards our parents will influence our attitude towards ours teachers.  Our attitude towards our teachers will influence our attitude towards our employers.  Our attitude towards our employers will influence our attitude towards legal and governmental authority.  Our attitude towards legal and governmental authority will influence our attitude towards God.  They all tie together.  It is important for us to have a good attitude towards those in authority.

The second part of this command to submission is to be submissive to one another.  By this we should recognize that we do not always have to have things go our own way.  We should be considerate of others and be willing to let them have their way, at least some of the time.  By the way, this is good marital advice as well as its application to the church.

II.  He Cares For You

We can give all our cares to Him.  Over the years, I have prayed for many different kinds of prayer requests.  Some of the request that have come from children over the years have seemed pretty insignificant on the surface.  I say on the surface because if it is important to us, then we can bring it to God.  God cares for us.  Our children should learn at an early age to bring their concerns to God.  He cares for us, and we can bring anything to God that is on our hearts.

We should also be willing to accept what God has for us.  Sometimes we get what we wanted, and sometimes we do not.  We should trust God with our hopes, our dreams and our lives.  He does indeed care for us.

III.  Resist Evil

As a motorcyclist, I have learned to watch out for things that could cause an accident.  I try to be constantly alert for potential danger because I recognize the dangerous nature of riding a motorcycle.  As Christians we should be alert for the tricks that the enemy uses to cause us to sin.  If we do fall into sin, we ask God to forgive us and seek to learn what caused us to stumble.  Watch out for the things that lead us into sin, and avoid them like the danger that they are to us.

Many of us have attempted dieting at one time or another.  It can be difficult to resist the urge to break our diet plan.  In order to succeed we must resist the urge to cheat on our diet.  In a similar way, we must resist the temptation to give in to sin.  This ability comes about by a combination of our will, and the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit.  God will give us strength, but we must also exercise our will.

IV.  Purpose in Suffering

God uses the times of suffering in our life to perfect or complete us.  Our faith is strengthened as God brings us safely through the tests and trials of our faith.  God can also use our perseverance in times of difficulty as a witness to others of His strengthening presence in our lives.  In the times of tests, or trials, may His light shine forth.

Conclusion:  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.   (v6)

These are the sermon notes from 3/2/14.  Any advertisements are placed by WordPress.  I have no control over them, nor do I receive any money from them.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, faith, God, Holy Spirit, I Peter, Life, religion, resist evil, Scripture, serving God, spirituality, submission, trust