Instruction for the Church (2) 04/03/2022

First Baptist Church Leominster

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:34

And today's New Testament reading is

00:39

Ephesians 3, Paul writing to this church at Ephesus, here indicates that a mystery had been revealed to him through him to the church, and that is that the

01:00

Gentiles would be fellow heirs of the same body that is of the Jews, partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel.

01:10

There is no longer a distinction between Jews and Gentiles for all are one in Jesus Christ. And so this was a mystery, it wasn't understood in the

01:21

Old Testament that this was in the purpose of God, but it is in this gospel age.

01:29

And then he describes the purpose of this mystery is ultimately to encourage us and to glorify

01:35

God, and then he closes this chapter with an expression of appreciation for this mystery.

01:42

Ephesians 3, for this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you

01:49

Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which was given to me for you, how that by revelation he made known to me the mystery.

02:02

As I have briefly written already, by which when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed by the

02:13

Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel, of which

02:27

I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.

02:34

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given that I should preach among the

02:41

Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ, to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose for which he accomplished in Jesus Christ, our

03:11

Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. And therefore

03:17

I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this reason,

03:25

I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

03:59

And now to him who's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, amen.

04:18

Let's pray. We thank you, our father, for your kindness toward us through Jesus Christ, for having brought us, our

04:29

Lord, to be participants and ones who can enjoy this glorious, blessed relationship with you and with all the saints, all true believers throughout history, our

04:40

God, and that although most of us, being Gentiles at one time, were excluded and alienated from the covenants of promise, from the household of faith, we thank you, our

04:55

God, that you have caused us to be brought near to you, our God, and near to one another through Jesus Christ.

05:03

We thank you, our God, that you have loved us with an everlasting love, and we thank you, our

05:09

God, for the privilege and opportunity we have to proclaim in this world today the unsearchable riches of Christ.

05:17

May you enable us to do so and help us to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, even until this present church age, that we are all one in Christ Jesus.

05:35

Help us, our God, to have a comprehension and appreciation of your love for us in Jesus Christ.

05:43

We pray that you would fill us, our God, with a sense of glory, with a sense of strength in the spirit, in the inner man, that we would be rooted and grounded in love, that we may be able to comprehend,

05:58

Lord, with all the other saints, what is the width, length, depth, height, to know the love of God, our

06:04

God, that you have for us in Christ, a love that passes knowledge, that we would be filled with all the fullness of God.

06:13

Forgive us, our God, of our strains, our ignorance, our error, hardness of heart, and just remove everything, our

06:21

God, that would hinder you from revealing yourself clearly and fully to us through Christ.

06:27

And even now, our God, as Pastor Jason comes to open your word before us, give us understanding, our

06:34

God, we pray. May the blessed Holy Spirit instruct us, our Lord, illuminate our minds to the truth that's in Jesus Christ.

06:43

And so help, Pastor Jason, our God, as he comes forward and speaks on your behalf and represents you.

06:51

And to the degree, our God, he's true to the scriptures, help us to see as it is in truth, you speaking to us, your people.

06:59

We pray these things, our Father, in Jesus' name, amen. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked are sin.

07:41

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

07:49

Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Be assured, he will not go unpunished.

08:00

Pride is a sin that is common to all men. Pride is the epidemic vice, it is everywhere.

08:07

And it can be seen in many different areas of our lives. Pride is most often manifest in our attitudes and our actions regarding our own abilities, our accomplishments, our achievements, our knowledge, our position in society, our possessions, even in our righteousness and our good works.

08:32

The flesh has a very powerful pull and a significant bent towards the sin of pride.

08:40

The sin of pride lifts up the heart of man and exalts it over and above the

08:46

Lord God. Pride is really nothing more than the exaltation of self over and above our

08:53

Father God. Pride is being competitive with the Lord God.

08:58

Pride is being competitive with others. It is the sin of pride that wreaks havoc in all of our relationships.

09:07

It's the sin of pride that contributes to our weakened marriages. It is the sin of pride that contributes to our weakened families.

09:15

It is the sin of pride that afflicts and weakens the church and utterly destroys our unity.

09:23

The sin of pride is a particularly violent and destructive sin.

09:31

J .C. Ryle remarked, pride is the oldest sin in the world.

09:36

Indeed, it was before the world. Satan and his angels fell by pride. They were not satisfied with their first estate.

09:45

Thus, pride stocked hell with its first inhabitants. Pride cast

09:51

Adam out of paradise. He was not content with the place God assigned him. He tried to raise himself and fell.

09:58

Thus, sin, sorrow, and death entered by pride.

10:05

The sin of pride quite naturally and quite comfortably resides within our heart.

10:12

Each and every one of us are born as proud individuals. We are born with a high and lofty view of our own self -worth and importance.

10:21

We are born with haughty eyes and a proud heart. Pride, if left alone, if left to its own devices, will most assuredly permeate and spread throughout the entirety of your heart.

10:36

The sin of pride will push everything else out until it alone remains. Beloved, in your life, the sin of pride is fighting for preeminence.

10:48

The sin of pride is fighting for your highest honors. It's fighting for supremacy. It is seeking to usurp and to dethrone the

10:57

Lord God and to replace him with another, and that another is you. Pride is seeking your worship.

11:06

Pride is seeking your glory. Pride is seeking to conform all things to your will.

11:15

Pride stands in opposition and defiance to the Lord God and with a raised fist, it boldly proclaims, my will be done.

11:25

Thomas Watson was right on the money when he stated that pride is spiritual drunkenness.

11:33

It flies up like wine into the brain and intoxicates it. Pride is idolatry.

11:38

A proud man is a self -worshipper. Pride seeks to un -God

11:44

God. Beloved, a church that is filled with prideful people, a church that is filled with those who seek to accomplish their own will, who seek to accomplish their own desires, will never be able to fulfill or to accomplish the purposes of the

12:01

Lord God. Please join with me to the book of 1 Peter. This morning we continue our study of 1

12:09

Peter chapter five, verses five through seven. And in this passage, there are three commands to the church.

12:18

The church is to be adorned with three attitudes and these three attitudes are the antithesis of pride.

12:27

For the church to fulfill and accomplish the purposes of the Lord God, we must be adorned with these three essential attitudes.

12:36

Let's read the text together. 1 Peter five, verses five to seven. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.

12:48

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

12:56

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.

13:08

If our church is to fulfill and accomplish the purposes of the Lord God, then we must be adorned with three essential attitudes.

13:17

The attitude of submission, verse five. Humility, verses five and six.

13:24

And trust, verse seven. Last month, we looked at the first essential attitude which was submission.

13:32

1 Peter five, five. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.

13:39

Just as the elders of the church are to be subject to the chief shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, so is the body of Christ to be subject to their elders.

13:49

This means that the church should strive to obey their leaders. The church should strive to submit to their leaders.

13:57

The church should respect and seek to know their leaders. As a church, we must appreciate our leaders and we must esteem them very highly.

14:08

Not because of their talents or their personalities or their disposition, but because of their work.

14:16

An elder's work is the Lord's work. And if our leaders should fall into error and sin, then we as a church must be ready to diligently pursue them by following the principles of Matthew 18 and 1

14:32

Timothy five. In the church, we must submit to our elders and we must lovingly rebuke those elders who continue in sin.

14:43

In the presence of the Lord God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, our church has been charged to keep these rules.

14:52

Elders who persist in sin must be rebuked in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear.

15:02

Both of these commands to submit and rebuke can be very difficult to follow through with.

15:08

But both commands are absolutely necessary for the health and wellbeing of our church.

15:15

The first essential attitude that we must adorn is submission. The second essential attitude that we must adorn is humility.

15:25

First Peter five, five to seven. Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders.

15:32

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

15:41

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.

15:48

To those who are within the church, we are commanded to demonstrate a humility toward one another as well as a humility towards the

15:58

Lord God. Peter's first exhortation is to clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.

16:06

The phrase clothe yourselves is used to describe the atmosphere of humility, which should characterize those who belong to the

16:14

Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek, this phrase clothe yourselves literally meant to tie something on yourselves with a knot or with a bow.

16:23

It was a term that was used to describe a slave putting on an apron in order to perform their duties.

16:30

This term often referred to the apron itself. You see, the apron was something that set the slave apart from those who were free.

16:40

The apron of a slave was a constant visual reminder of their status as a slave.

16:48

The idea behind this phrase is that all believers, regardless of age, race, class, economic standing, or gender, we must all put on humility as one would put on an apron.

17:02

The attitude of humility must be tied on. It must be fastened with a knot. It must be secured with a bow.

17:12

Beloved, humility must be permanently fixed to our lives, so much so that it is easily recognizable in our lives so that we are distinguished and recognized as slaves who belong to the

17:27

Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord God desires all Christians to be adorned with the grace of humility.

17:37

What is humility and what does it mean to be humble? The Greek translation of the word humility is a combination of two words, low and to think.

17:49

Humility literally means to think or to judge with lowliness. It refers to lowliness of mind or to lowly thinking.

18:00

It refers to those who are without high -mindedness, to those who are arrogant, pretentious, or self -regard.

18:09

Now, there are several terms in the scriptures that can be translated as humility or humble, and most of these terms imply a bowing down or a stooping down or a yielding to another.

18:22

The term implies gentleness and meekness and modesty, which are all actions or attitudes which pertain to a slave.

18:33

The term humility is best defined by the Apostle Paul in the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter two, verses three and four.

18:40

He writes, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

18:49

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

18:57

To act in humility is to act without selfish ambition. Selfish ambition describes those who seek personal advantage or personal gain, regardless of their effect on those around them.

19:12

The picture is of a person who builds themself up by tearing everyone else down. Those who are selfishly ambitious strive for personal advantage by using flattery or deception or theft or any other means that will advance and further their own personal goals.

19:31

The eye of the selfishly ambition is fixed on the prize, and it doesn't matter who gets offended or trampled or hurt along the way, so long as the prize is acquired, so long as the goal is achieved.

19:49

To act in humility is to also act without conceit. The Greek word translated conceit is based on the compound word kenodoxia, which appears only here in the

20:00

New Testament. It's a formation of two words, the adjective kenos meaning empty, and the noun doxa meaning glory.

20:10

The literal translation of conceit is empty glory or vain glory, as it's translated in the

20:18

King James. Those who are conceited have a highly exaggerated view of self, a highly exaggerated view of their own self -worth and their own importance.

20:30

Conceit greatly swells the head, and it over inflates your sense of self.

20:37

A person which sets conceit is in constant pursuit of their own acclaim, their own approval, and their own applause.

20:46

If selfish ambition is the pursuit of personal advantage at whatever the cost, then conceit is the pursuit of glory and honor at whatever the cost.

20:58

These two attitudes stand in stark opposition to humility, for it is humility that counts others more significant than yourselves.

21:08

It is humility that sacrificially looks to the interest of others, putting other people's needs and desires and wants even before your own.

21:20

To act in humility is to not to think too highly of yourself, but to regard others as more important and to act upon this truth.

21:31

Beloved, the Lord God is calling each one of us to put on the apron of humility.

21:37

The Lord God is calling each one of us to clothe ourselves with humility and to strive to meet the needs of others.

21:45

This mandate is crystal clear. In life, we must live with an others -centered focus rather than a self -centered focus.

21:56

A great example of this type of humility was demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ in the book of John. John chapter 13, verses one to five.

22:06

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the

22:13

Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

22:19

During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,

22:27

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper, he laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

22:42

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

22:52

Here against the backdrop of Judas Iscariot's betrayal in verse two, we have one of the most beautiful examples of the love and humility of Christ Jesus in all of the scriptures.

23:05

In these verses, we see the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the humiliation of the

23:11

Lord Jesus Christ as he stoops down and washes the feet of the disciples. In these verses, we go from the height of glory, the

23:20

Lord Jesus Christ knowing that God the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come forth from God and that he was going back to God to the depths of humility.

23:33

He rose from supper, laid aside his outer garments, he took a towel, he wrapped the towel around his waist, he poured water into the basin and he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

23:48

Is there anyone higher? Is there anyone greater? Is there anyone more glorious than he whom

23:56

God the Father has given all things? The Lord Jesus Christ is supreme.

24:02

The Lord Jesus Christ is the highest. He came from the highest. He was returning to the highest and everything that exists belongs to him.

24:12

And in the full consciousness of these spectacular and magnificent truths,

24:19

Jesus Christ, the Lord God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the creator of the heavens and the earth humbles himself before the disciples.

24:29

He wraps himself in a towel and he washes the dirty feet of his disciples.

24:36

The reason that Jesus Christ is so highly exalted in verse three is to make the contrast of verses four and five even that much greater.

24:47

The highest, the greatest, the most majestic, the most glorious, he who is the possessor of all things stoops to the greatest depths of humility and he washes the dirty feet of sinful men.

25:01

A job that was fit only for the lowliest of slaves. One commentator describes it like this.

25:09

The God of the universe, majestic, glory filled comes to the earth. That is humility.

25:18

But then he kneels down to wash the feet of sinful men. That is indescribable humility.

25:29

Let me paint a picture for you. It's Thursday night. Preparations for the

25:34

Passover supper have been made. The room is ready. The food is prepared. The disciples have arrived.

25:41

And as they enter the upper room, they see the wash basin. They see the pitcher of water.

25:47

They see the towel. But there is no slave to attend to their dirty feet. You see at this time, everyone wore sandals and most of the roads and walkways were dirt.

25:59

So in your day to day travels, you would either get very muddy or very dusty depending on the weather.

26:06

So in every Jewish home, at the entrance of the home, there would have been large pots for water because everyone that came into the house needed to wash their feet.

26:15

This job was a slave's most menial task. But not just any slave washed the feet of the guests.

26:22

This task was assigned to the slave at the very bottom of the rung, the lowest of all the slaves.

26:31

So the disciples arrive and there is no one to wash their feet. Now, this should not have been a problem.

26:40

One of the disciples should have just knelt down and done it. One of them should have lowered themselves and served the others by washing their feet.

26:50

Now understandably, this is not a pleasant task, but it is a necessary task. It needed to be done.

26:57

Standing at the entrance of the house, each disciple was waiting for someone to attend and to wash their feet.

27:04

But none of the disciples were willing to stoop to this level. It was too far beneath them. In fact, they weren't even willing to wash their own feet, let alone someone else's feet.

27:15

The reason being the disciples were at odds with one another. According to the Gospel of Luke, prior to the

27:21

Passover supper, there was a disagreement and conflict among them. Luke 22, 24, a dispute also rose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

27:35

So prior to the Passover supper, we see again the disciples bickering about which one of them is the greatest.

27:43

Now in that kind of an argument, an argument on which who is greater than everyone else, no one is gonna humble themselves and wash the other person's feet, especially if that person is saying that they should be regarded as more important than you.

28:00

Now they could have washed their own feet, but the disciples were so concerned with their rank in the kingdom, they were so filled with pride and selfishness and strife that they wouldn't even attend to their own dirty feet.

28:13

Either someone else was going to wash their feet or nobody was gonna wash their feet. The lines were drawn, the disciples were dug in, so which one of them would be the first to bend?

28:27

Now imagine the horror, imagine the shock when the prideful disciples see the

28:34

Lord Jesus Christ quietly getting up from his table, laying aside his garments, taking a towel, wrapping the towel around his waist.

28:44

Now the Lord Jesus Christ looks like a slave. He begins to pour water into the basin and then he goes around to each one of the disciples and he washes and wipes their feet.

28:57

Remember, just moments before, the disciples were squawking about which one of them was the greatest.

29:04

Which one of them was the greatest? They were so concerned about their position and rank that none of them would humble themselves to wash another's feet.

29:15

So the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished what they were unwilling to do. Imagine their sorrow and shame when in silence, the

29:24

Lord Jesus Christ went around the table from disciple to disciple, washing and wiping their feet.

29:33

Imagine what was going on in their minds, especially Judas Iscariot. He was about to betray him.

29:39

He was about to hand him over to the Sanhedrin for 30 pieces of silver and here at his feet, to the creator of the universe, washing, humbly serving, the one whom he was about to betray.

29:59

The Lord Jesus Christ was teaching his disciples that they needed to operate on the basis of humility.

30:05

The Lord Jesus Christ was simply showing the disciples how to love one another, how to serve one another and how to give preference to one another in a very real and practical way.

30:19

John 13, 14, if I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet for I have given you an example that you also should do as I have done for you.

30:34

Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

30:42

Beloved, if the only begotten Son of God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords did not think it beneath him to do the lowest, most menial task, then there is nothing that we should think is too low or too menial for us to do for the kingdom of God, for the glory of God.

31:04

As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to imitate the example that he has given to us.

31:09

We must clothe ourselves in humility. In the book,

31:17

The Incomparable Christ, J. Oswald Sanders writes this, had Jesus never spoken a word about humility, his daily life and circumstances would have been a constant unspoken rebuke to the pride and self -exaltation of the men and women with whom he associated.

31:36

He was not only a standing rebuke to pride, but also a living example of humility.

31:44

As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be diligent to follow his example.

31:50

The manner of our daily lives, our walk through this world must be an unspoken rebuke to the pride and self -exaltation of those around us.

32:01

As his disciples, we must follow his example of love, his example of service, his example of humility.

32:09

As servants, we are not greater than our master, and thus we must follow in all of his steps.

32:19

To reinforce this exhortation, Peter gives us another very compelling reason to pursue humility.

32:27

First Peter 5 .5, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

32:40

One of the greatest motivations for believers to be clothed in the apron of humility is the fact that the

32:46

Lord God is opposed to the proud. Peter uses extremely strong and picturesque language to get his point across.

32:56

God is opposed to the proud. The Greek word translated opposed is antitaso, which means to arrange in battle against.

33:08

It means to set oneself against. And the term paints a picture of two opposing armies, standing toe to toe and sword to sword and shield to shield, ready to begin battle, ready to fight to the death.

33:25

Who is it that opposes the proud? Who is it that stands toe to toe and sword to sword and shield to shield against the proud?

33:35

God. God opposes the proud. God resists the proud.

33:42

God wars against the proud. God is in direct opposition to the proud.

33:48

Beloved, our pride provokes the Lord God Almighty. Our pride calls out and antagonizes the

33:56

Lord God Almighty who positions himself against us. God lines up against the proud.

34:03

God stands in opposition against the proud. God ranges in battle against the proud.

34:11

It's no wonder that pride goes before the fall. It's no wonder that a haughty spirit goes before the fall.

34:19

For it is the Lord God, our sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient God, who is himself a consuming fire who stands opposed and against the proud.

34:32

First Peter 5 .5 is actually a quote from the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 3 .34. Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.

34:43

Now you may notice that these two passages are not completely identical. This is because Peter is not quoting from the

34:50

Hebrew Old Testament, but from the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the

34:56

Old Testament. This proverb is also quoted in the book of James, James 4 .6. But he gives more grace.

35:04

Therefore it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Charles Bridges, in his commentary on Proverbs 3 .34,

35:13

which is the source of the quote by both Peter and James, states this.

35:19

Two apostles, speaking of Peter and James, have combined with the wise man to set out this rule of divine government.

35:28

On no point is the mind of God more fully declared than against pride.

35:34

The spirit of scorning. It displaces man, and would have possible displaced

35:40

God himself. Jealous therefore of his own glory, he sets himself in battle array as against the usurper of the prerogative, the rebel against dominion.

35:55

Witness the Babel builders, Pharaoh, Sennacherib, the proud opposers of his gospel, all the subjects of his scorn.

36:03

But the most hateful to him is the sinner that will not submit to his righteousness, that scorns the cornerstone of salvation.

36:13

How fearfully does it then become a rock of offense, of eternal ruin. Surely without doubt, without way of escape from his frown, he scorneth the scorners.

36:27

Beloved, it is very advantageous for you to be clothed with humility toward one another.

36:33

Because if you are not, then the Lord God will war against you. He will set himself up against you.

36:40

For the Lord God is opposed to the proud. On the other hand, it is also advantageous for you to be clothed with humility because if you do, then the

36:52

Lord God will give you grace. God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.

37:01

The prophet Isaiah stated this principle well. Isaiah 57, 15. For thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy.

37:11

I dwell in the high and holy place. And also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

37:23

Who is it that dwells with the Lord God in the high and holy place? It's not the high and lifted up.

37:30

It's not the proud. It's not the conceited. It is not those who are selfishly ambition. It is he who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.

37:42

Isaiah 66, one and two. Thus says the Lord. Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

37:48

What is the house that you would build for me? And what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand have made.

37:55

And so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom

38:00

I will look. He who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

38:08

To whom will the Lord God look? To him who is humble. To him who is contrite of spirit, who trembles at his word.

38:18

God gives grace to the humble. God pours out his blessings upon the humble. God bestows his love and favor upon the humble.

38:26

On those who acknowledge their great need for him. God delivers, God redeems and God saves those who are humble.

38:35

So in light of this truth, in light of the Lord God being opposed to the proud, but giving grace to the humble, what then is to be our response?

38:45

First Peter five, six and seven. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you.

38:55

Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. Here Peter gives two very clear and straightforward commands.

39:04

Not only are we to be clothed with humility towards one another, but we are also to be humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

39:13

And we are to cast all our anxiety on him. Well, how do we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God?

39:24

Beloved in each one of our lives, there must be an initial humbling of oneself before the

39:31

Lord God. This is a recognition that I am not God. This is a recognition that I don't have all the answers.

39:38

This is a recognition that I cannot save myself. I am lost, I am helpless and I am without hope apart from the saving grace of the

39:49

Lord Jesus Christ. James four, six to 10. But he gives more grace.

39:55

Therefore it says God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.

40:01

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

40:08

Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double -minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep.

40:14

Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the

40:20

Lord and he will exalt you. Humility is the starting point of salvation.

40:27

From a human perspective. Without humility there would be no salvation because man would not see his great need for salvation.

40:37

And pride would continue to reign supreme in the heart. And man would continue to live according to his selfish desires.

40:44

Without direction, without purpose, without hope and without God. This is no way to live.

40:54

Humble yourselves before the Lord God. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will lift you up.

41:01

He will exalt you. The mighty hand of God is a reference to the active present and power of the

41:09

Lord God working through his providential care. In other words it is God's hand of providence that is divinely orchestrating every situation, every circumstance and every trial that enters into our lives.

41:24

Right on down to the most seemingly insignificant detail. The Lord God is over all things.

41:32

Ordaining all things, allowing all things. The Lord God is calling all the shots.

41:39

Peter's inference is that we must not fight against the sovereign and providential hand of God. As believers we must not resist the sovereign and providential hand of God.

41:49

We must not contest the sovereign and providential hand of God. Even in the most dark and difficult circumstances whatever the sovereign and providential hand of God may lay upon us we must accept it with an attitude of humility.

42:07

Whatever trials may come our way we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and place our entire trust in him.

42:19

This is the third essential attitude. Trust. The Lord God wants us to trust in him.

42:26

The Lord God wants us to trust in his providence. We are to trust in his mighty hand.

42:34

First Peter 5, seven. Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.

42:41

Beloved do you realize that casting all your anxieties on him is an expression and a manifestation of humility.

42:49

And conversely to be anxious and to worry and to hold on to our anxieties is an expression and a manifestation of pride.

43:01

Look again at our passage. First Peter 5, six and seven. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.

43:13

Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. Humble yourselves by casting your anxieties on him.

43:26

One of the ways to practice and to exercise humility is to cast your anxieties onto the

43:32

Lord. The word casting is used of throwing something onto something else.

43:39

For example throwing a blanket over a horse or a colt. And a literal picture of this is seen in the book of Luke in the passage describing the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, Luke 19 .35.

43:53

And they brought it, being a donkey, to Jesus and throwing their cloaks on the colt they set

44:01

Jesus on it. Now here's a question for you. How much of their cloaks do you think they threw on the colt before they set

44:11

Jesus on it? It was probably just a small part of the cloak.

44:16

It might have been just one or two of the pockets of the cloak. I suppose it could have been the entire sleeve of the cloak.

44:26

You see what I'm getting at? In Luke 19 it wasn't just a piece of the cloak that was thrown onto the colt.

44:32

It was the entire cloak. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that the proper time he may exalt you casting some of your anxieties on him.

44:46

Casting most of your anxieties on him. Casting the majority of your anxieties on him.

44:56

To act in humility is to cast all of your anxieties onto him. To cast all of your anxieties onto him means that you will cast all of your anxieties onto him.

45:09

Not in part, but the whole. All of your anxieties, all of your worries, every single one, all of your discouragements, all of your despair, all of your pain, all of your suffering, all of your fears, all of your everything is to be thrown and cast onto him.

45:29

And do you know the reason why? Verse seven, because he cares for you.

45:38

This is what it means to walk in humility. This is what it means to walk without pride. It means that you will trust in the sovereign, providential, mighty hand of the

45:49

Lord God. And it means that you will demonstrate your trust in him by casting all of your anxieties onto him because he cares for you.

46:04

This is a very encouraging passage. Matthew 11, 28, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

46:15

Take my yoke upon you, learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

46:24

My yoke is easy, my burden is light. Psalm 55, 22, cast your burden on the

46:34

Lord and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved.

46:43

Beloved, the Lord God desires that you who labor with anxiety, you who labor with worry, you who are weighed down with the difficulties and the troubles of this world, you must come to him in humility and he will give you rest.

47:00

He will sustain you. He will never permit you to be moved. The Lord God desires that you clothe yourselves with humility, humility towards God, humility towards one another.

47:14

You must do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

47:22

You must not only look to your own interests but also to the interest of others.

47:28

This is the attitude that you must possess, the attitude which was also in Christ Jesus.

47:36

The Lord God desires that you draw near to him in full assurance of faith, trusting in his character, trusting in his goodness, trusting in his faithfulness, trusting in his power, trusting in his sovereign rule over all.

47:55

Beloved, a church that is filled with prideful people, a church that is filled with those who seek their own will and accomplish their own desires will never be able to fulfill the plan and purpose of the

48:08

Lord God. For our church to honor and glorify the

48:14

Lord God, we must be adorned, we must put on, we must adorn ourselves with submission, humility and trust.

48:26

Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for such an encouraging passage.

48:36

We thank you that you desire that we come near to you. We're thankful,

48:42

Lord, that you desire to show yourself to be good, that you are good, that you are faithful.

48:49

And Lord, we confess that far too often we try to sort things out in our own strength. We try to sort things out according to our own wisdom and we take burdens and heavy things and we place them upon ourselves and then we burn ourselves out.

49:06

Lord, forgive us for these things. Help us, Lord, to walk in humility. Help us to recognize that you are big enough for all of these things.

49:16

We can cast every single one of our anxieties and worries and fears upon you and you will carry it.

49:24

You will remove it from our lives. Lord, help us to trust in you. Increase our faith.

49:31

Lord, I pray that we would see your hand in everything, that we would see your hand as working for our spiritual good, that we would see it for your spiritual, for your glory.

49:43

Lord, we thank you that we have a father that we can cry out to. We pray,

49:48

Lord, that you would never oppose us but that you would give grace. And Lord, we rejoice in the grace that is found in Christ Jesus.

49:57

And Lord, we pray for those people who don't know you, who don't have any idea who you are or what

50:03

Christ has accomplished. We pray, Lord, that you would put people in their lives so that they might hear the gospel, that they would hear the good news, that the burdens that they carry do not have to be carried any longer, that they can give those over to you.

50:18

Your load is light. You are lowly and gentle. Thank you, Lord, for this time.