May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the first epistle
of Peter, chapter 5, and we'll read verses 6, 7, 8, and 9. So the epistle of Peter, first
epistle of Peter, chapter 5, and reading the four verses from
verse 6. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God, that he may exhort you in due
time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the
same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in
the world. it's sometimes just worth pausing
and recognising that God in his sovereign love and mercy ordained
that men should write the scriptures and those men who wrote the scriptures
often were able to include their own experience and testimony
in the writings that God ordained them to do. So they weren't writing
about things that they didn't know themselves. We can think
especially perhaps about the psalms, how the psalmists so
often explain exactly what they were walking through, or had
walked through, and were able to record therefore under the
blessed influence of the Holy Spirit, that which is encouraging
for you and me today. Well, none less of course than
the Apostle Peter. We know that Peter was a bit
of an extrovert and would speak just what he felt and also sometimes
spoke things inadvisedly, but we see very much the natural
nature of Peter and it's good that we have therefore not only
a record of Peter's life, but also the writings in those two
epistles that he has written under the influence of the Holy
Spirit. Well, the verses that we've read
this morning are very relevant to all of us they're relevant
to Peter and it's good to realise that they commence with these
words humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God
that he may exhort you in due time to humble ourselves is perhaps
one of the most difficult things because naturally we are proud. That's one of the significant
things of fallen nature is to be proud. And therefore it's
very relevant that the Apostle should make such a statement
and tell us to humble ourselves therefore under the mighty hand
of God. What that really means is that
what God does and speaks to us and influences us in is that
under his mighty hand. And it's his grace, his mercy
and his favour. Perhaps you, especially younger
people, may wonder why we read those verses in the second of
Chronicles about Manasseh. Well, Manasseh's life is recorded
in two places, in the Kings and also in the Chronicles. And if
you read the account in the Kings, you would conclude that he was
a very wicked man, He did everything wrong against God and that there
was no desire to depart from those ways and you would come
to the conclusion he died a wicked man. There's no repentance in
the account in the Kings. But we come to the Chronicles,
and we're thankful there that it's a repetition. And in those
first verses in that chapter, that 33rd chapter we read, again
it reiterates how really wicked and terrible he was. And yet
we then read in the 12th and 13th verses, the wonderful grace of God which
entered into his heart and created a complete change. And in reality,
that's the same in every true believer. We are at enmity to
God until the time when God comes and brings
things into our life which causes us to pray unto him. Those two verses, 12th and 13th
in that 33rd chapter, are short but so evident of God's mercy
to him. And I'll just read them again.
So 2 Chronicles 33, 12 and 13. It tells us, and when he was
in affliction, you see, God brought him into affliction. And God brings us sometimes into
affliction to teach us, perhaps just like
it was, in Manasseh's case, to humble him. And we're told, and
when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord, his God, and
humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. Now clearly, up to this time,
there'd be no repentance. He was no doubt proud of the
things that he'd done, erecting idols in so many places and walking
so contrary to that which his godly father, Hezekiah, had set
a glorious example. And yet, you see, Manasseh was
only 12 when he came to the throne. Obviously he was only 12 when
his father died, but he ignored those things that his father
had done. But God brought him into this place of affliction. And we're told he besought the
Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his
fathers. What a wonderful example that
is. What a wonderful example for
us today. Because he goes on and he says
this. And he prayed unto him, a God
who he despised, A God who he turned against. That God had looked upon him and brought
affliction upon him so that he was then brought into a time
of need. A time of spiritual need. And what a blessing it is to
be able to read that he prayed unto this God and God didn't
turn him away. God didn't say, Manasseh, you're
just too bad. Manasseh, you've turned your
back upon God. Manasseh, you've done all that
is possibly you could do against God. No, we're told that God
was entreated of him and heard his supplication. We see very clearly the mercy
and the love of God to Manasseh. And it's good to realise that God today is the same. He is a merciful God. He is a compassionate God. And we need to recognise that. and thank him for it and praise
him for it. And it's a wonderful thing if
you and I can look into our lives and see that we were against
God. We walked contrary to him. Perhaps
we said in our hearts, we will not have this man to reign over
us. And yet that God has brought
into our hearts that grace to humble ourselves. And it's produced
an amazing change. It's changed us from opposition
to God, to seek God, to seek for his mercy, to seek for his
compassion. And as we read here about Manasseh,
he was entreated of him. You see, really, the Lord in
his sovereign mercy, in the Word of God, has recorded
such accounts so that no one can say, well, I'm just too bad. I've sinned against light and
knowledge. They couldn't have been really
a worse character than Manasseh. He did everything possible against
God and against the things that he knew was wrong. But God had
mercy. And God brought him into a time
of affliction. God knew what Manasseh was thinking. He knew his heart and God came
to him personally, personally. And what a blessing it is to
realise if God has looked upon us personally, come to us, come
to us and caused us to truly seek God. Well, what a mercy that is, because
if it is so, you see, God has humbled us, proud as we were,
against God as we were, an enemy of God. God in his love to our
souls has caused us to seek the Lord. It's a wonderful blessing. because naturally we would not
seek God. What a blessing when we seek
God's mercy and his grace toward us, which has caused us to seek
unto God. Well, Manasseh sought the Lord,
prayed unto him, and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication,
and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom yes he'd been
cast out God brought him back and we read these wonderful words
then at the end of that on the 13th verse then Manasseh knew
that the Lord he was God and that was true in the life of
Manasseh and I believe it's true in every true believer we come
to a time when by His grace we know that
the Lord indeed is our God. And that indeed is a very humbling
experience and a very humbling situation. And it's amazing to
realise that God has ever looked upon us has ever had mercy upon
us, has ever blessed us with his grace. And it's good, you
see, to be able to trace out these examples or this particular
example in the Word of God. And again, just an encouraging
word to you young people. Sometimes you may read something
in the Word of God and come to a conclusion. If you read the
account of Manasseh in the Book of the Kings, you would conclude
that he was not a believer. And therefore, it's good, therefore,
to not make a rash decision, but to read on in the Word of
God, because you may find that there are other passages which
explain a certain situation. And if you hadn't carried on
reading, you would have come to the wrong conclusion. It's
easy to come sometimes to a wrong conclusion. You know you are,
I am, we are, to take the whole counsel of God, the whole word
of God, from Genesis to Revelation. And there we see the whole picture. We're not to therefore take a
little bit and conclude, well, that's what it says. Because
if we'd taken a little bit on the life of Manasseh, we would
have come to a wrong conclusion. But wonderful it is that God
shows us his mercy and his grace. So be encouraged. and therefore
study the word of God. Don't just read a little bit
and think that's what it says and therefore that's it. You
need to compare scripture with scripture. It's a good exercise
and you won't find it's in vain. You'll find you'll be strengthened
in your faith to be able to understand therefore why the Lord in his
grace has written the word of God as he has. Well, what a mercy
then. To come to this conclusion, like
Manasseh did, then Manasseh knew that the Lord, He was God. Well, it's a good question for
each one of us. Look into our hearts and to see
whether you and I know that the Lord, He is God. Because of the
personal work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Now, if you come
to that right conclusion, God-given conclusion, how strengthening
that will be to your faith. Yes, it won't be in vain. You'll
be encouraged and you'll be humbled. You'll be humbled to think that
God has looked upon you. That's really what Manasseh concluded
And we're told he humbled himself greatly before the God of his
fathers. What a mercy when God humbles
us. And if God humbles us, what it
does is this. It makes us come to God with
confession. Confession how bad we've been,
how wrong we've been. When we walk contrary to God's
word, when we walked and pleased ourselves just like Manasseh
did how glorious it is to know of God's grace well let's
come back then to our text humble yourselves therefore under the
mighty hand of God my friends the work of grace in our lives
is a mighty work of God. Because it brings a rebel against
God to one who's willing to bow down and serve the Lord. It produces a change in our lives. What a favour to know that you
and I are under the mighty hand of God. Oh, it's very, very humbling,
isn't it? And Peter here tells us the reason
for this. It's easy to pass over reasons. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due
time. That means to show us his great
love and mercy and to realise that we are a sinner saved by
grace. We have reason to praise and
glorify our God for his favour toward us, especially as we've
come this journey and realised how utterly unworthy we were
of any notice any notice and God has come to us like he came
to Manasseh like he came to Manasseh you see God came to him when
he was in affliction and he caused him to pray to God pray to the
Lord what a mercy if that's so in your case in my case The Lord
has caused us to pray to God from our heart. From our heart. It's not just a mere form of words. In one
sense, nothing wrong in a form of words. But it's when prayer
emanates from our heart, And it's a cry of our soul. Manasseh was in great need. My friends, God's people are
in great need. We need God to hear us. We need God to show to us that
we are indeed worshipping the Lord God Almighty. We're not
coming to a God who does not hear and answer prayer. We're
not coming to a God who doesn't exist. We're coming to the Almighty
God, the ruler of the universe, the eternal God, don't lose sight
of that, the God who ever was and the God who ever will be.
And that puts us in our place to realise that to see how great
God is. Well, that He may exhort you
in due time. You see, the Lord causes His
people to live on this earth, not to please themselves, but
to do the will of Almighty God. And that is a humbling experience
to make us willing in the day of God's power to do His will,
to serve Him. That means we have to sometimes
change our ideas, change our ambitions, change our life sometimes. But what a blessing it is to
realise The great God has looked upon
us and it is for this great reason that he may exalt us in due time. God has a time in your life and
my life. Sometimes we have to come to
that conclusion and recognise those words, your time is always,
but my time is not yet. Never give up. Sometimes we are
impatient. Sometimes we want God to work
now. God has a time. And God works in his time. And again, to just help us realise
that, you and I are just one very small cog in the whole plan
of God's work. And many things have to occur,
perhaps around our life, which all fit together. And therefore
we must never be impatient. Pray on, pray on earnestly that
God will hear. And so he comes and tells us,
casting all your care upon him. God knows about us. He tells
us, for he cares for you. God knows about you and me. He
knows what he's doing with us. He's no how He's instructing us, how
He's teaching us, and it's a great blessing, therefore, to recognise
that you and I can come to God and we can cast all our care
upon Him. The things which seem impossible,
the things which we can't understand, come to God, casting all our
care upon Him. What a blessing. to be in that
position because, and this again is very humbling, for He cares
for us. He knows about you. He knows
what is planned for you. You and I don't know, do we?
God knows what is planned for you. And He cares for you. And He's leading you in the right
way. He's leading you in the good way. in a good way where
he will be gracious and use you as he sees fit and prepare you
for your eternal home. It's all in his hands, but to
be humbled for he cares for you. Again, let's recognize as I often
say, real religion is personal between you and God. No one else
can walk in your path. No one else can understand exactly
what you're being told, what you're being taught. It's a secret
path between your soul and God. And we do read in the Psalms,
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will
show them his covenant. He will show them his great plan
in due time. Sometimes we are impatient. We
want that plan to be worked out now. My friends, we have much
to learn. We may think we're ready for
something to be revealed. God has a plan. Remember, he
cares for us. Casting all your care upon him,
not a little bit, all of it. You see, you and I can come to
God and we can make a clean breast, a clean confession of everything
because God knows all about us, which no one else does. for he
careth for you. And then Peter gives us some
advice, instruction. Be sober, be vigilant. Sober, that means not to be careless. Not to think, well, I can just
carry on as I want to. No, we should be sober and careful
to discern what God's path is for us, what his will is for
us. We should therefore be sober
in that and we should be vigilant in our prayers. Not just praying
and then giving up and No, we should be vigilant in our prayers. And vigilant means that we should
be constant in our prayers. So they're simple words, aren't
they? Sober and vigilant. But they are very relevant for
us today in our life. As we journey on, we should realise
that we have an important part to play in this world. We're not in this... God should. And we're not here just for a
time of no benefit to the work of God. We're here for a purpose.
And therefore we should be vigilant and sober. And then he tells
us, because your adversary the devil My friends, we have a great
adversary. The devil is always at our elbow,
always trying to distract us from the things of God, always
trying to turn us away from the right way, always turning us
to that way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof
are the ways of death. My friends, don't go in that
way which seems right, probably the way that pleases our flesh.
You can be fairly sure that that's the wrong way. Your adversary, the devil, he's
adversary to all of God's people. And my friends, we're thankful
that our God never sleeps, never rests. The devil never sleeps
and never rests. And he never gives up, and he
will never give up this side of the grave. Never give up this
side of the grave. Sometimes, and I've told you,
I know before, but I'll just repeat it again in case you didn't
hear it. When we came down to Red Hill many years ago now,
there was an old lady in Bethesda, and she said to me on one occasion,
I think very soon after I was baptized, she said, now come
here, I want to tell you something. Sat down and she said let me
tell you this she said you must realize that when we get older
the devil Realizes that his time is short and therefore he tempts
us more Well, she was a gracious lady and I never forget I the words that she said and don't
you forget them either and therefore realize perhaps you may look
at an old person well I don't really understand why they're
operating like that or remember perhaps the devil's trying them
greatly and the great adversary realizes that his time's short
and trying to turn them away from the things of God the devil
doesn't give up this side of the grave and it describes him
as we read on as he goes about as a roaring lion tries to distract
you with his noise a roaring lion And he walks about, he knows
exactly where you are. And he walks around seeking whom
he may devour. Oh my friends, don't underestimate
the skill of the devil. You only have to read through
the word of God to recognize how many people there are who
were tempted and the devil overcame them. Right from Adam and Eve
in the Garden of Eden. You see how simply he was taken
in by the subtlety of Satan. He's very subtle in his attacks
upon us. And my friends, don't think that
you and I can withstand his subtlety. He knows what is your weakness
and my weakness and he'll tackle that. And he'll pressurize you
in that way. Don't therefore think that you're
strong enough. You're never strong enough. But remember what the
Apostle Paul said, they're lovely words. I can do all things through
Christ that strengtheneth me. Now when the devil tempts you,
my friends, you can quote that scripture. You can quote it.
It's in the Philippians. You can quote it to the devil
and tell him You see, he can't gainsay the truth of the Word
of God. Just a word of encouragement. You might remember when Jesus
was baptised and he was led into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil. And how did he answer the devil?
He answered by quoting scripture. My friends, may God establish
us in The great truth of God's Word
is that you and I, when we're tempted, which we will be, don't
think you and I will be somehow managed to escape, somehow there's
a back staircase we can disappear down. No. You and I are caused
to walk in the path set before us in the Word of God. and to
be found in this time of need, looking unto Jesus, and realizing
that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. So therefore, remember, the devil
is an adversary, a great adversary, and he goes about as a roaring
lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour. And it's because
of that, that's why the We read to be sober and to be vigilant. Don't think that the devil will
think, oh, well, he needn't worry about you. He will. He will. And perhaps, if he's not worrying
about you, if you're not being tempted, perhaps you have to
question the reality of your religion. If you don't have any
real religion, you don't have to worry about the devil, because
he won't worry. But if you have real religion, the devil will
endeavour to turn you away from the truth of God, whom he may
devour. That's what he wants to do. But,
oh, my friends, always resist the devil by pointing to the
Saviour. Tell the devil that Jesus died,
yea, rather, is risen again. Can't speak against that. What
a great blessing it is that we have the gospel. You know, if
you're not familiar with these great truths, the devil will
ride over you. But quote scripture to the devil. Tell him what God has done, what
the Saviour's done, what he's doing. And so that's why we come
down to these words, whom resist steadfast in the faith, the faith
of God. The faith that God has given
you and me to believe the truth of God. Faith of God. To be steadfast in the faith. Again, he will endeavour to turn
us away from it. To be steadfast means to stand
firm. Now, you won't stand firm unless
you're standing on the rock. the Lord Jesus Christ. What a
blessing if you and I have that sure foundation, the Saviour,
be able to come and say with a hymn writer, my hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. That's a firm
foundation. The devil hates to be told that. My friends often come to him
and tell him, That's where your hope is. Yes, your confidence
is in what Christ has done. It's not what you've done. It's
what Christ has done. There's your hope. And it's a
solid hope. And it's a good hope. And may
you then therefore be able to steadfastly resist the devil
in the faith which God has given. Faith to believe. How wonderful
it is in our lives today if God has given us faith to believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the gift of God. It's the
gift of God. You and I can't produce it ourselves. It's the sovereign grace of God
that brings it about. It is infinite mercy to unworthy
sinners. to be a believer oh how humbling
it is another reason to humble ourselves to think that God has
given me grace to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to believe
His great work of salvation to come to Him praying that He will
indeed show to me that He has redeemed my soul Whom resist
steadfast in the faith. It's wonderful, isn't it, that
the Apostle gives us such clear words to encourage us in the
day and age in which we live. He gave these words quite clearly
in a different form, no doubt, to Manasseh all those years ago,
and to every true believer. We walk in the same path. We
can join hands with true believers in this path. Because all tread
this path, all walk this way, the way which brings us to glory
at last. And therefore be sober, be vigilant,
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about
seeking whom he may devour. He may sometimes roar in your
ear. It's all rubbish. Don't believe. My friends, don't
be surprised if you and I are tempted. That's what the devil
does. But my friends, if your hope
is in Christ, casting all your care upon him, that's where we
need to be. Whom resists steadfast in the
faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren that are in the world. Sometimes we may think,
well no one else understands my path. No one else has walked
this path. Read the Word of God. You'll
find in the Word of God there are those gracious and glorious
examples of the saints of God who have walked the path that
you're walking in now today. And therefore it's not an unknown
way. It's a tried and tested way which
the Lord uses to bring us safe to glory. He uses these things
to burn up That which is of the flesh. Sometimes we can find
ourselves with a fleshly religion. Naturally speaking, we want an
easy path. Well, don't forget, the law of
Jesus tells us very clearly, it is through much tribulation
we shall enter the kingdom, but be of good joy. I have overcome
the world. Another reason you can tell the
devil your hope is in Christ because he's overcome. He paid the price to take away
your sin and my sin. Yes, he paid that great price
of his shed blood. What a great blessing it is.
Oh, the devil hates such things being pointed to him. But my
friends, you come to God and you tell the devil when you're
in a time of perhaps darkness and perhaps hardness of heart
and perhaps rebellion to come and tell the devil Christ has
died a rather is risen again yes and you trust his word and
believe that by the grace of God you are redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ. Oh, my friends, what a blow that
is to the old devil. Yes, he was hoping you would
never say that. He would hope you would never believe it. But
what a blessing if God's given you that grace, God-given grace,
to understand the great truths that we have here in these few
verses. and to be strengthened by them,
as you may realise, the direction that God gives us. These words
are written for your and my direction, for your and my encouragement. And so let us not pass them over,
but recognise the glory of them. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God. A lovely statement, isn't it?
We sang the other day that hymn, Mighty to Save. The mighty hand
of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your
care upon him, for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant,
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour. whom resist steadfast in the
faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren that are in the world.