Alright, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. I'd like to
look at verses 6 and 7, but after reading those two verses I'll
go back to the beginning and just come right up to it. 1 Peter
chapter 5 verses 6 and 7. Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting
all your care upon Him for He careth for you. A believer in the Lord Jesus
knows that he's in a world that is not his final home. And he
knows that he's compassed about with trials, fears, fears within,
hatred, resentment without. And he truly desires some peace. He wants to. I hate confrontation. I hate it. I'll do anything I
can to try to avoid it, if I can, if I can. Not to compromise on
the gospel, but if it's possible, live peaceably with all men,
especially those of the household of faith. He knows, a believer
knows, that the only comfort from the trials that he sees,
trials within and out, is going to be found apart from himself.
I can't comfort myself. I try to. You ever wake up in
the middle of the night and think about something? It's always
worse. It's always worse at night. There
just doesn't seem to be any way of settling down. Tell yourself you need to, but
you don't ever listen. Well, this morning, I'd like
for us to consider, for just a few minutes, from the Word
of God, spoken through the means of a man that actually walked
with the Lord. Peter was an apostle of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he heard the Lord speak. He actually watched Him raise
the dead and heal the sick and feed the hungry and quiet the
storms. He saw, he watched Him suffer. on Calvary's tree as the Redeemer
of God's sheep. He actually saw the Lord in resurrected
glory, actually speak to Him. He saw Him on the shore, saw
Him before in the room, and watched Him ascend into heaven. And He knows that the Lord Himself
is God. And he's speaking now to some
elders. That's what Peter's going to
start off speaking. He's going to speak to some elders.
And he says in 1 Peter 5 verse 1, The elders which are among
you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the suffering
of Christ and also a partaker, a recipient of the glory that
shall be revealed. That is at His second coming.
Peter believed himself. He believed. He believed and
believed himself to be a believer. Now here's one that has been
taught. He heard. He saw. He witnessed. He's been taught by the Lord. He was taught something, first
of all, of his frailty. The Lord said to Peter, Luke
22, I'll read this to you, 31, 32, the Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you
as wheat. I said before, making mention
of this verse, when he said Satan has desired to have you, he asked
permission. He's desired to have, asked the
Lord's permission to sift him, sift Peter as wheat. And the
Lord had to give him permission. Because the Lord hedges His people
about. Nothing happens to God's people
apart from His decree and will and purpose. He's desired to
have you sift your wheat. But I've prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not and when thou art converted, when you're turned
back after you fall, after you succumb to what you're going
to succumb to, to deny me. When you're converted, when you're
brought back by power and mercy and grace, you strengthen thy
brethren. I want you to confirm their mind
of my sustaining grace. You be honest about it and you
tell them about what you are in yourself. And then you You
strengthen them. You tell them that I kept you. Oh, Peter said, I'll go to prison. I'll die for you. I would not. I will never. The Lord told him,
I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before
thou shalt deny me thrice that you know me. And obviously you know what happened.
The Lord did. Now, but for the Lord's sustaining
grace, Peter would have fallen. The Lord prayed for him that
his faith fail not. He did stumble. He did fall.
But the Lord kept him. Peter did return. He was brought back. He was kept. And now the Lord
having met him on the seashore, Tiberias. After he had seen what
he is in himself, the Lord told him, Peter, you love me, you
feed my sheep. Now you feed them. Now this is
what I want to do this morning. I want to feed the sheep of the
bread of heaven. I want to tell them again. I want to relate Christ sustaining
Grace of God in Christ. I'm going to tell you about electing
grace. I'm going to tell you about redeeming grace. I'm going
to tell you about regenerating and keeping grace. I want to
tell you the truth. I want to tell us all the truth.
Who we are. I want to feed. That's what he
said. Peter, if you love me, you feed
the sheep. So what does Peter start off
saying? The elders which are among you,
I exhort, I'm going to tell you what the Lord told me. That's
what Peter said. Whom also an elder, a witness of the sufferings,
a partaker. He says in verse 2, feed the
flock of God which is among you. Taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willing, not for filthy lucre, but of
a ready mind. What did the Lord tell him? You
feed my sheep. What's Peter now telling the
elders? He said, I'm an elder. This is what I'm going to tell
you. I'm going to tell you what the Lord told me. Feed the flock
of God. Being an example to them, an
example of love and of kindness and forgiveness and doctrinal
soundness. Be an example to them. And then,
having exhorted them, he speaks of the Lord's reward at His second
coming in verse 4. He says, and when the chief shepherd
shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth
not away. When the chief shepherd, we're
under shepherds. He's the chief shepherd. We're
ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by a preacher,
by us. Be you reconciled to God. We're
spokesmen. All I have the right to say is
what the Lord says. And that's it. So he says, when
the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of
glory. Now, just for a second, let's
just stop. A crown of glory. Now, the only way I know what
that is, is to look it up. I might say, well, my crown,
you know, I know what everybody thinks. It's this thing, it's,
you know, the crown. Here's what the word crown means. A mark. It means a mark. It means a mark, a crown of glory. What did that word mean? What
does glory mean? Here it is. God's opinion. I've told you that before. God's
opinion, God's view, God's judgment, God's judgment for good toward
His people. So this crown of glory is a mark. It's a mark, it's the evidence
of God's opinion to show mercy and compassion to whomsoever
He will. What is that crown of glory?
Well, I certainly don't want to speak out of character, out
of turn, but I can tell you from the Word of God, I can tell you
something about it. And I know in Matthew 25, 34,
Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come,
ye are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. What was the crown
of glory? Well, there was two groups that
were standing there. There were some sheep on the right hand,
some goats on the left. What was the evidence of God's
mercy? What was the evidence of God's opinion toward those
on His right hand? What was that crown of glory
to them? He said, come, here's the evidence of my mercy. Inherit. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you, that was given to you before the foundation of the
world. When the chief shepherd shall appear, and that's where
he was, he was at the judgment. You will receive, you will receive
a crown of glory. So, not only did Peter give instruction
to those elders, he's speaking to elders, but then he speaks
to the group that was listening to him. This is what he said,
likewise, verse 5. Ye younger, that is younger in
the faith. Obviously, the elders were standing
there, taught of the Lord, and they were teaching, God had raised
them up, and they were talking to somebody. Likewise, you younger,
submit yourselves unto the elder. Obey what they say concerning
the Scriptures. If they don't speak according
to the Scriptures, there's no life in them. So submit yourselves
unto the elder as he's preaching Christ. Yea, all of you be subject
one to another and be clothed with humility. For God resisteth
the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Now, clothed with
humility. Do you know that word clothed
right there? It's found one time in the scriptures.
Right here. This is it. Be clothed with humility. Now, again, unless we know what
it's saying, we don't know what it's saying. The word clothed
there refers to a strip of cloth A strip of cloth that was used
by servants when they would put their, called the girdle, they
put on like a coat or something. I've got a button right here
and I can fasten this right here with a button. Well, they didn't
have a button. What they had was some holes
and they'd slip a piece of cloth through there. Close it up. They were clothed. But that word referred to one
thing. It referred to being a mark of
a servant. That word clothed right there. It meant the cloth used by a
servant that distinguished them as being a servant. As being
one who was a servant to another. And so Peter says, Likewise,
ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder, yea, all of you
be subject one to another, and put on the spirit of what you
are. You're a servant. That's what
Paul, Peter, these apostles, Paul, a servant of the Lord Jesus. I thought you were an apostle.
He was an apostle. Paul said, I'm a servant of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is my master, I'm his servant. Put on that clothed with humility. Distinguish yourself as being
what you are. Try to elevate yourself. He says,
Verse 5, All of you be subject one another, clothed with humility,
for God resisteth the proud, giveth grace to the humble. God Almighty resists those that
lift themselves up above others, and He gives grace to the humble,
sets Himself against and opposes the haughty and presumptuous,
and He gives grace, graciously blesses those that have been
made by the Spirit of God to see themselves as what they are.
By the grace of God, I am what I am. That Almighty God from
before the foundation of the world would choose me. Why? Corey,
why? I know just enough about myself. I know just enough. I don't know
the depth of my rebellion, but that Almighty God would choose
out of every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue to show mercy
to this sinner. that would choose to show mercy
to me. Why? Here's the reason. Because it
pleased Him to do so. Wasn't anything in me. He didn't
look down at time and see that I was going to be, you know,
a mighty warrior and a prayer warrior. I'm embarrassed to even
think of my prayer. The wanderings of my mind. that
he would choose, they would send his son, lay down his life for
me. God resisted the proud, thinking
that you're something when you're nothing. Oh, but he giveth grace. Already has and shall to the
humble. I know, I know, we all struggle.
God's people struggle with pride. But let me ask you this. the
evidence of being found to be humble, to be clothed with humility,
and just say, I am a servant. I am a servant of the Lord. Wherever
and whatever He's put me in, whatever position I'm in, that
I'd be standing here, I'm only standing here by the grace of
God. That you're sitting here listening, we're hearing the
word of the Lord and submitting. But what is the spirit of one
who is clothed with humility? Just hold your place and turn
to Ephesians 4. Look at this precious passage. Ephesians chapter
4. Listen. Listen to this evidence. Ephesians 4, 1-3. I therefore
the prisoner of the Lord, We beseech you that you walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called. Oh, that God has
called us to this vocation, to this walk, to be servants of
the Lord, to be the recipients of His mercy, the vessels of
His mercy. Walk worthy. How is that? How is that, Paul? Walk worthy. With all lowliness and meekness,
long-suffering, for bearing one another in love, being understanding,
being patient, kind, considerate. And listen to this, endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I don't
want to do anything that's going to be disruptive to the Lord's
body. I don't want to do that. God
forbid that I do anything that would cause unrest. I don't want to do that. Be endeavoring. Be clothed with humility. There's not a believer that doesn't
want to do that. So, what instruction does the
Lord have through the mouth of this man that learned something?
That was taught something of himself? That was taught while
he watched the Lord and walked with the Lord and saw himself
for what he was And the Lord kept him. I prayed for you, Peter.
I prayed for you. That your faith fail not. Allowed
Satan to sift him his wheat. I prayed for you. That just amazes
me. The Lord would say, the Lord
of glory, Neil, that the Lord himself would say, I prayed for
you. I called your name, Peter, before my father. And I besought
my father on your behalf. Lord, pray for me. Pray for me. Lord, keep me. Lord, what do
we do? Verse 6, Humble yourself therefore
unto the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Humble yourself. Take the low
place concerning God's providential dealings with you. Remember,
Peter knew something. of himself. I'll never forsake
you. No way I'll do that. He said
you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. The Lord
allowed Satan to sift me. That's what he said. You humble
yourself under the mighty hand of God. He allowed that. He sent
that trial. He sent it for his glory and
my good. That's what Peter was saying.
He knew, as all God's people, he knew he was proud. I'll never,
I'll never, I'll never do that. I'd never do that. Yeah, I know you won't. Yeah. Here's the exhortation. Bear
with patience every affliction of his correction. Acknowledge
your unworthiness. Mourn over indwelling sin. Humble
yourself. Remember, it's His mighty hand
that has taught us. Humble yourself unto the mighty
hand of God that rules in heaven and earth. That hand that nobody
stays. Nobody. I wrote an article here,
I think I did, or I thought it if I didn't, about people that
God was dealing with him and he said, I held on to the pew
and my knuckles were all white. See that? I resisted God. No you didn't. No you didn't. Whenever God called, whenever
He said to Matthew, follow me. Zacchaeus, when the Lord called unto the
mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time according
to His purpose. You humble yourself. That Syro-Phoenician
woman came to him and said, Lord, my daughter. He said, it's not
fit me to give children bread to dogs. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'm a dog and I'll
admit it. I'm a dog. Lord, have mercy on
me. Have mercy. Humble yourselves.
The Lord led her to that place and the Lord leads us to the
place where we are. Humble yourselves. Be admitting. I am what I am
by God's good pleasure. Humble yourself. Under the mighty
hand that He may exalt you, casting all your care upon Him. For He
careth for you. How I read that scripture. And I want to do that. I have
the hardest time casting all my care upon the Lord and then
leaving it there. Do you? You that believe. Is it not so with you? Casting
all your care. Oh, I want to do that. All these
things that burden me. Casting all your care. In closing,
I want you to just turn to Matthew 6 for a minute. Years and years
and years ago, the Lord began to deal with me. This passage
of scripture was so precious, made precious to my heart. Matthew
chapter 6, verse 28 to 34. I was going through a tremendous,
tremendous time in my life. I was in business and it was
back in the mid-seventies and going through a tough economic
time. It was just a recession. And
I was in business and I didn't have any work. I had two employees. And I had to let them go. I gave
them two months severance pay that I didn't have. Because they
didn't have anything either. And I just struggled. Oh, I struggled. Desperate. I didn't have anything.
And this passage of scripture was made dear to my heart. Matthew chapter 6, verse 28. Why take your thought
for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field.
They grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. Yet I say unto
you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one
of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed
the grass of the field, which today is, tomorrow is cast into
the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Wherefore, take no thought, saying,
oh, and I'd read that, and I thought, Lord, help me to do that. Help. I don't want to worry, and I'm
worrying. Take them, what shall we eat?
Or where shall we drink? What shall we drink? Or where
withal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do
the heathens seek, the Gentiles. For your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things, but seek ye first the
kingdom of God, His righteousness. All these things shall be added
unto you. Take therefore no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall
take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day
is the evil thereof. Casting all your care upon him. Now let me ask you something. Do we not think that he who has
everlastingly loved us, his people, his elect, his church, his bride,
who has chosen his sheep, His bride in Christ and sent His
only begotten Son into this world to save His people from their
sins. The One who is the surety, who
has eternally stood for His people, made flesh, came here, lived
for us, died for us, sent the gospel to us, sent us a preacher.
regenerated us by grace and power, prepared a place for us in glory
in His Father's house, and promised to come back. Do we really think
that He'll fail to give us something to eat? Or give us something
to wear, or something to hang our hat? Do you think so? Do
you think He'll cast all your care upon Him? Why? For He careth
for you. He knows every object of His
mercy, every vessel of His kindness, everyone found to be the recipients
of His love and grace. He cares. He cares for you. Oh, may the Lord be pleased as
He keeps us. Keep us from dishonoring you. Keep us, Lord. from being disrespectful
to you by not believing you. Humble yourself. Humble yourself. Here's a word for an oppressed
sinner. Humble yourself under the mighty
hand of the Lord. Why? That He may lift you, exalt
you in due season, casting all your care upon Him. Why? He cares for you. I've said before, for my children or for you that
have children, if they were truly in need, what would you do for
them? Everything you could. Everything
you could. You'd do whatever you could.
Why? Because you care for them. They're my kids. I've got four
kids in Tennessee and two right here in West Virginia. I'd do
whatever I could for them. What about our Heavenly Father?
Casting all your care, because He cares for you. He's not going
to let us perish. He said, I'm not going to leave
you. I'm not going to forsake you.
Lord, teach me that afresh. I need to learn it afresh, for
Christ's sake and my good. Amen. OK.