November 9, 2022
Author: Pastor Gordon Cook
November 09, 2022
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at
the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him,
because he cares for you. Be sober- minded; be watchful. Your adversary
the devil prowls around like roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering
are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And
after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has
called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore,
confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
I Peter 5:6-10
Turn your bibles to first Peter chapter 5 pick up the reading at
verse 6. When you read this section you’ll notice that he picks up that
suffering word twice here in first Peter 5. If you read first Peter or
second Peter both epistles have a strong motif of suffering. He’s
writing to a suffering people. I don’t think he’s writing to any
particular church, but he’s writing to people who have been scattered
abroad because of persecution and suffering. So that’s good to remember
when we read first Peter and second Peter. I think we all would
have to admit or concur with the fact that as Christians we suffer,
sometimes we suffer even more than the world suffers. But every day we
face a struggle of some kind or another, some challenge, obstacle, hurt
or pain. One of Job’s friends got it right when he said, “Sparks fly
upward, man is born to trouble.” If you have ever stood in front of a
large bonfire or campfire it’s easy to see where those sparks go, they
go upward- hundreds of them can go upward in a matter of seconds. Well
that that’s the picture of the life of a Christian, all of us- sparks
fly upward.
Every day we experience some kind of spark,
but the Bible also talks about trials using a different analogy- sparks
that sort of little trials you could say, everyday trials but there is
also the picture of a storm, a fire. Even Peter uses that language a
fiery trial, a furnace-that’s another image and then trials are also put
under another picture or another image. Paul uses the image of a thorn,
which would really refer to a long term trial-month after month, year
after year. Sort of like an unwanted intruder comes into your home or
homeless person moves into your living room and he unpacks his bags and
he stays there, he won’t leave. There are those thorny trials and it’s
possible Paul’s thorny trial whatever it was, he took it to his grave.
But when trials or afflictions intrude into our lives that’s when a
battle takes place.
Dr. Paul Tripp puts it this way
“Suffering tends to kidnap our thoughts and in so doing has a powerful
effect upon our emotions and responses. The dynamic is clear, the more
you meditate on a problem the bigger, scarier and more unsolvable it
appears.” It could be a financial problem, a relational problem, a
physical problem or a sin problem. And brethren, suffering times are
also opportune times for the devil, and that’s what Peter wants to tell
us here. Remember the devil came after Jesus at the back end, not the
front end, but at the back end of that 40 day wilderness fast, when he
was suffering hunger pains. Peter is again writing to suffering
Christians. And Peter knows the devil is on the prowl in times of
suffering, he likens him to a lion stalking his prey. Peter gives
us-notice what he does- he gives us wartime strategy. Verse 8-Be sober
minded, be watchful and he follows that with more council and commands
in terms of strategy, to fight, resist. Verse nine-Resist him, be firm
in your faith. In times of suffering we must be firm or strong in our
faith. Remember Christ’s disciples in the boat? Fear got in the driver’s
seat and after Jesus silenced the storm that was raging, quieted the
wind and the waves, He rebuked them for their little faith. “Oh you of
little faith.” Little faith allows fear and doubt to get into the
drivers seat, that’s what little faith does. When things go south, when
storms come fear and doubt can get the best of us. The devil loves to
sow seeds of fear and doubt. Someone has said this, I think it’s
accurate-“Fear and doubt are some of the enemies most powerful tools.”
Lots
of things can make us afraid, the prospect of death, the results of an
election, sky rocketing inflation, sudden diagnosis of cancer, a
floundering marriage, increased violence in our streets, threat of
persecution, etcetera, etcetera. How do you stay calm? When doubts like
waves and fears like wind begin to beat upon our hearts and our minds
like those disciples in that boat. The best place, the safest place to
run is the high tower, the God who is our refuge. I do think the
disciples did it right in the boat they ran to Jesus, they did have a
sense of running to the right place. But faith makes good use of
theology, you could say faith makes good use of our God.
There
are three central truths that we must cling to by faith when trials
come. I’ve called it the three legged stool of theology. 1. God is
completely sovereign. Nothing happens outside of his will. That’s the
first leg of the stool. If you’re gonna stay balanced, calm in the midst
of trials -God is completely sovereign, 100% sovereign. The second leg
of the three legged stool-2. God is infinite in wisdom. He knows what
he’s doing. He makes no mistakes, never gets it wrong, perfect in
wisdom. He always knows what’s best for you and for anybody else- he
always knows what’s best. The third leg of the three legged stool in
terms of staying calm and balanced in the midst of the storms of life-3.
God is perfect in love. He never stops loving us even in the worst of
trials. He will use those trials for our good because he loves us.
Someone has said this “These three truths relate to us in this way- God
in his love always wills what is best for us. In his wisdom he always
knows what is best and in his sovereignty has the power to bring it
about.” That’s a wonderful comfort, that’s what we have to take hold of
brethren, those divine truths. We have to sit on that three legged stool
and exercise faith. And a Christian can remain calm by faith, remember
the apostle Paul sitting in a jail cell, not a very nice place, he
remained calm. He could say I have learned to be content in whatever
state that I am in and he talks about the peace of God that passes all
understanding. So we too can remain calm In the midst of our trials and
our difficulties. That’s something we should pray for, I don’t know if
we pray enough for those graces to grow and mature. Greater faith,
stronger faith. Life might get a lot more unpredictable, more dangerous,
more scary. So what do you do? You go to God- he’s always gonna be
there brethren we have to trust him.
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