1 Peter: This is the True Grace of God (1 Peter 5, Jeff Kliewer)

So John Stott was a humble man. One of the best illustrations of his humility was when Billy Graham came to town. They were staying at the same hotel, which was called the University Arms Hotel. And Billy Graham is a humble person as well, and John Stott.

They got into a revolving door at the hotel to come in. But as they approached the other side of it, John Stott wanted to defer to Billy Graham and said, get off. But Billy Graham said, no, no, you first.

Now this was a problem because the thing went around again. And they, each one, being so humble, didn't want to be the first and said, no, no, you, please. And so a witness said that they went around many, many times just spinning around in the turnstile.

So there was humility there. In fact, though, if they kept doing that, at some point wouldn't it be the opposite of humility? If they would just keep going and being, that's why it's so elusive. If they would have kept going all day, at some point it was their pride that didn't want to get off that, that thing.

The point, though, is John Stott was known as the humble leader. Jesus is a humble leader. Philippians Chapter 2 talks about Jesus' threefold humility. What was that? The first is Christmas, that he would leave the splendor and glory of heaven and take on the form of a man, take on flesh and blood like us.

How humble, that the God of heaven would be incarnate. But that wasn't the end of his humility. A second humbling of Jesus was that he would die. Think of it, that the God who created all things, who spoke universes into being, who gives you life, would die.

God dying, think of the humility of this plan. But not only so, Philippians 2 says, even death on a cross. The most shameful way to die, the most embarrassing way to die, the most humiliating death that mankind had ever invented, the cross, was the path he chose to save us.

Jesus is the ultimate example of humility. So our task today, and it's assigned to us by 1 Peter Chapter 5, is to say what the text, first of all, has to say to elders. And the first exhortation to elders, the main idea of this part, is that we be humble.

Humility is commended. Then, that application is given to all of us in 1 Peter 5. And finally, there's a summation of everything that Peter said at the end. So that's our task today, to say something directly to elders, something to all of us, and then a review of everything that we've covered.

Summarizing the book of 1 Peter, today we finish this. Some of you are like, all right, amen, this has been a long time. We finally reached the end. But we will summarize what we said, and we'll take certain takeaways that none of us should miss, because they're so important.

So let's open up 1 Peter Chapter 5. You can flip in your Bible, or you can click on your U-Version phone, whatever you have. But let's get there, 1 Peter Chapter 5. So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown. Of glory. So here we have a directed word, particularly to the elders of the church. And so now the audience narrows, elders. One of us is away in upstate New York, but it's a small audience here, those who are in office.

But think of this. Some of you have served as elders, and in a sense, you're still an elder. You still serve in the same way, even if you're not officially in office at the time. So this is for you. And then all men in the congregation, as you grow older, could it be that God would call you to become an elder, if you met the qualifications?

So really, although this directly speaks to the elders, it speaks to many of us. And ultimately, we'll see the principle will apply to all of us. I exhort the, verse one, I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ.

Notice that Peter could have been very authoritarian in how he speaks to the elders here, but he doesn't. In chapter one, verse one, he identifies himself as an apostle, which means it carries with it authority.

He can command the elders to things, but instead, he's very relational here. He speaks as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.

Peter speaks on the same level as the elders. He doesn't lord over them his position. And then he gives a charge, and this is the sum of what he's saying to elders. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you.

And after that, he'll modify that by giving not this, but that, not this, but that, not this, but that. But the main idea here is shepherd the flock. Shepherd is the role of an elder. In fact, I want you to notice something.

There is one office of elder in the church, but other passages of scripture speak of overseers of the church. And other places speak of, as pastors, overseers, and elders. So you have some passages that refer to elders, some as pastors, some to overseers, as those who are leading the church.

But notice in this verse that all three are mentioned. I exhort the elders among you, that's presbyteros, as a fellow presbyter, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.

Shepherd, that's pastor, the flock, exercising oversight. That word for overseer is episkopos. So what the text is showing us here is that the pastor, the elder, the shepherd, the overseer is one person, is one office.

So you have different denominations, so from episkopos we get the Episcopalian structure, where you have a hierarchy of people who are above the local church. In the Presbyterian system, you have not individuals in hierarchy, but you have groups that are kind of presiding over local congregations.

But what we see here is that you're not under compulsion. Look at chapter five, verse two. The fellow elder, the shepherd, the overseer, is not under compulsion, but governs willingly. I see in this the model of congregational government, that the church as a congregation calls forth elders to lead that are not under control or compulsion from a higher authority, but that the congregation itself is the highest authority.

And the leaders, the elder, pastor, overseer is to exercise this role. Interesting, right? Not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you. Not for shameful gain, that means for financial interest.

You're doing this for money. Unfortunately, we see that some leaders in churches are clearly doing it for money, or at least it certainly looks that way based on the fact that they have a $4 million salary.

But willingly, eagerly, from the heart, notice not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. The best way to shepherd and to care for the flock is to set an example, is to do the things that the scripture calls us to do, not just say what the scripture says.

And verse 4, and when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. There is a reward promised in heaven for faithful shepherding, faithful overseeing. And who is that chief shepherd?

Of course, this is John 10 language. Jesus is the good shepherd. He's the chief shepherd. And we who are leading in the church are under shepherds. We're working under him. He is the chief shepherd, and we work under him.

You will receive the unfading crown of glory. What is that? Well, there are some teachings in the Bible about rewards in heaven. In 1 Corinthians 3, we see that Jesus will sit on a seat of judgment for believers.

It's different than the great white throne judgment where believers and unbelievers will be sorted out like sheep and goats. And there's a judgment of the world in that sense. This is the bema seat of Christ, the judgment seat of Christ where believers go before to receive reward.

Now, at that seat of Christ, there is a fire in a sense because 1 Corinthians 3 tells us that some of what we do as Christians is really only wood, hay, and stubble. We think we're building for God, but because of bad motivations, wrong ideas, not really listening to our chief shepherd, really we're just building with wood, hay, and stubble.

But sometimes in genuineness before the Lord, we hear from him, we build with gold, silver, and precious stones. And there's coming a day where our works in the flesh will be judged that way, and it will be like going through a fire.

And what happens to wood, hay, and stubble when it goes through fire? It gets consumed. It comes to nothing. And so much of what happens in the church, if it's not from the spirit of the living God, it will come to nothing ultimately.

But there will be gold, silver, and precious stones for the genuine believer. And those things will be rewarded at the behemoth seat of Christ. Now what is that reward? I don't know how to picture what that's going to look like.

Is it a physical crown that Jesus says, well done, my good and faithful servant? And he puts a crown of glory on our head? There's some imagery of that in the book of Revelation, right? And what does the believer do when they receive a crown of glory from Jesus?

We fall down at his feet and say, no, the glory is yours, and we cast those crowns. Hence the name casting crowns, the music group. We cast those crowns at his feet and say, no, all glory is to you. Maybe there's a physical crown involved.

But I like what Jonathan Edwards writes about and what Sam Storms more recently talks about, that the crowns of reward are a capacity to enjoy God. A capacity to delight more in God himself. And it progresses with time.

There is growth in heaven. Why would we think that going to heaven would just be a static thing where we cast the crown, we put it on, and we've cast it, and we're just stuck there in this rote exercise?

No. That is, I think, imagery of growth in grace. And that growth in heaven that happens, it seems to me, is an appreciation and a savoring of the delights of heaven. The delights at his right hand. That in heaven, we grow closer and closer.

Our passion grows stronger. That flame gets stronger and stronger for all eternity. And what we do here somehow affects that. Maybe it's that you're on almost like a higher plane of being able to appreciate him more.

And you go from glory to glory, we're told. I don't know exactly what it looks like, 1 Peter 5, 4, but I want that unfading crown of glory. Proverbs talks about how as you get older, your hair becomes a crown of glory.

In Proverbs 16, why is that? Because the dark turns white, or gray, and it shines like a crown. But then what happens to your crown? It starts to fall out. What's happening to my crown? I'm losing it.

But the picture here is an unfading crown that moves, that increases from glory to glory. This earth, the flesh, remember chapter two, verse four? All flesh is like grass. The grass withers, the flower fades.

Our hair falls out, but the word of the Lord lasts forever. This is a promise of something in heaven kept for us. Like 1 Peter 1, 4, I believe it is. To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

So elders, we're exhorted to be humble, not domineering, but set an example, and to truly care, to truly seek out sheep that are wandering, to truly go and encourage people, and to care for people's souls.

That's the charge of the elders, and that's something that all of us can learn from. But next now, verse five, there's a likewise. Doesn't just speak to the leadership of the church who's under the chief shepherd, but speaks to all of us.

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. This calls for humility, doesn't it? This is now the fourth time that the book of 1 Peter has called us to be subject. To government, in chapter two, we were told to be subject to governing authorities.

We were called to be subject, let's find it in the text, every human institution, 2 .13, to masters or employers, we're to be subject in verse 18. And then chapter three, verse one, wives are to be subject to their own husbands.

These things can be difficult, to humble ourselves in those particular roles that God has. But now we're talking about the role of the church. Just like you're called to live in this society and submit to the rules of the land, right?

Even in the case of an unjust emperor like Nero was. We live in America where the laws are, by and large, biblical or based on morality, and we try to submit to them because it's good not to murder, it's good not to do the things that are against the law.

But in the same way, when you come into a church, God has established authorities in the church. To domineer or to reign over us, no. But to lead and to shepherd, and for an example, and there is a call to submission to those authorities.

It's a hard teaching for Americans, isn't it? With our fierce independence, we don't want to be under the authority of others. It's against our American nature, but it's a good thing. Be subject to the elders, the text tells us.

And that's all it says. The elders are exhorted so much, and now the sheep are to follow, are to listen, because we have the good shepherd, we hear his voice, and the shepherds who are under the chief shepherd are to speak the word of God.

Are to speak the word of God, and we're all to listen and to heed what this text has to say. Next, we move on to humility. Halfway through verse five, the scope widens, not only to include the shepherd and the sheep, but now both together, because it says, clothe yourselves, all of you, elders and none, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time, he may exalt you. We are called to be humble, not to seek our own, not to seek position or prestige in the church, but to seek to build others up.

Then it says, verse seven, and notice that verse seven is a participle that flows out of verse six. Verse six says to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time, he may exalt you, but verse seven says, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

If I asked you to raise your hands to say if you struggle with anxiety, I think a lot of hands would go up, right? I know mine would from time to time. But see, anxiety is something that is meant to be cast, not carried.

Sometimes your anxiety will rise up in you, because you're rightfully worried about something. You see a possible outcome in the future that isn't a good thing. It really could turn out badly. And so anxiety wells up.

We're told here to cast all our anxieties on him, not to carry those things, but to cast those things. And notice again, it's a participle of verse six. This has something to do with humility. When we refuse to cast those anxieties, when we hang on to them too tightly, it's a symptom of pride.

It's a desire for control that ultimately, if we were humble enough to admit it, we don't have. I cannot keep my heart beating right now as I preach. I can't get oxygen without him giving it to my lungs.

How can I speak unless he gives me grace? I am a dependent being upon God all the time. Our anxiety often is a symptom of a lack of trust, which has its root in pride. We would assume that we could carry things, that we could do things, but when we recognize how utterly helpless we are, how we're not independent, but that we depend entirely upon God, we can cast those things.

Now, I think casting your anxiety is a lot like throwing a boomerang. You do it and you're feeling good and then all of a sudden, boom, it's hitting you in the back of the head or I picked it up again, I'm carrying this thing again.

It always comes back. But what you'll notice is the more you cast that thing away, at least you're not carrying it while it's flying, and you'll notice eventually, you'll look back a few years later and you say, wow, I remember how anxious I was about that.

I left that boomerang behind. It may take time, but as you learn this habit of casting everything on the Lord, you do leave things behind and you look back on your life and you say, why was I so anxious about that?

But back then, that thing looked like a mountain. Now, it looks like a little molehill way back in the distance. It's something we as Christians need to learn to do. Now, what is it? How do you cast your anxiety?

How do you do that? I think the key to it is prayer. I think it's when you come to a circumstance that's difficult and you see the outcome that's dangerous, you look up and you begin to pray and you just confess that to the Lord.

I'm anxious about this, I'm worried about this, Lord. I wanna give this to you, God. I can't carry this on my own. Take it from me, God. You may need to spend five, 10 minutes alone in a room just praying to God, but you'll come out of that room feeling different.

Don't you? Haven't you experienced this? This is what it is to cast your anxieties on God. Verse eight, be sober-minded. Ah, we're gonna be introduced to another character here. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a 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. The devil loves to prey on the hurt. When he sees you vulnerable, that's when he's ready to strike.

He's vicious that way. John Piper says, Satan eats faith for breakfast. Satan hunts for the hurting. And he asks a question. He says, are you humble enough to be carefree? It's an interesting question.

When we're humble before God, humble before others, we become firm against the devil. The humility that we have in our relationships and our humility before God strengthens us. You'd think it's the other way around.

But when you humble yourself, when you recognize how weak you are before God, all of a sudden he lifts you up and you become strong. The devil is a real spiritual being. There is this real spiritual person, not just a principle or a force, but there is a devil.

And he is prowling like a roaring lion seeking to devour you. You can resist him. In Christ, you are greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4. Greater is he that is in you than he who is in the world, referring to the devil and his false prophets.

So we look at verse nine. We resist him. We're firm in the faith, knowing that the same. Now, why this modifier? Because it says, knowing that the same kinds of experiences are happening to our brothers throughout the world.

Why does he add that there? When we see one another suffer well, overcome temptation, grow in grace, there is something inspiring about that. Isn't it the greatest thing ever to hear someone give their testimony?

And you say, wow, God brought this person from this place to that place. That is powerful and it stirs up your faith. I have a story here that I found on Voice of the Martyrs. This verse tells us to consider the sufferings of our brothers around the world.

Do we have a picture? I don't know if we were able to get that loaded. Of Pastor Yang Hua. Just last month, he's been in prison for the gospel. He writes a letter to his wife. Hear these words and be encouraged by how he casts his anxiety on the Lord.

He says, my dear wife, greetings. I have received all your letters, the first on October 5th and the second on November 8th, which were written on October 4th and 14th. My scabies were healed. Around September 20th, I was taken to a doctor who applied sulfur ointment all over my body.

Finally, it healed. I have the same experience as Job. My fatty liver disease was diagnosed in prison. The suffering is bearable. The Lord has grace. The canker sore has not returned since May of this year.

Thank God there is not anything wrong with my eyes or waist either. You need not worry about my health. Now I sleep well. Notice how he encourages his wife not to worry about him. He says to his wife, pray and wait for God.

My heart is calm and quiet. It has no anxiety. This from our brother who's in a prison in China right now as we speak. For doing nothing other than preaching the gospel, he says, I have no anxiety. I can use sulfur soap instead of inside the detention center because God is kind in this way.

I have enough clothes as well as winter clothes and I don't feel cold at all. He even has some money in his account. He says, after reading your letter, I know some of your concerns. Praise the Lord by singing the song, the sun above the clouds.

The Lord has prepared this song for you and me. I sang it many times and I'm so joyful. I am sharing it with you. Never see the dark clouds covering the sky and always see the sun above the clouds. When you take a plane, you see all the sunshine all over the world after it breaks through the clouds.

Never be dejected and despondent. Always look up at our Lord and always keep the spiritual life above the chaos of the real environment. Rest in God's arms. Some rely on chariots, some on horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord.

Be upright and take care. Be prepared for the rest of the road. I will go with you. If the Lord doesn't allow it, not a single hair from your head will drop to the floor. Notice how he encourages his wife.

And he'll say things like, here's what you give our son. Can you show the picture of his wife and son? He says, give him cheesecake on his birthday, which is coming up November. Greet everybody. He says, God is so great and wonderful.

Who can be like him? Our wonderful God, our Lord forever. Who can guess his wisdom and mystery? Our faith is built on his words. He never changes and never does wrong. Sometimes somebody will decide something by guessing and then test their theory, but we don't.

We listen more to God and less to human beings, especially to nonsensical noise. He gives a motto at the end. We should have this feeling every day. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17, 22. Spend every day that God gives us with a joyful heart. May it be common wisdom to encourage ourselves, amen. First Peter told us to do that. First Peter said, knowing that the same kinds of sufferings are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

But look at verse 10. And after you have suffered a little while, this is what brother Yuan Hua knows. The God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

To him be the dominion forever and ever, amen. And now in closing, I will just list and provide for you. There is a card, I think, in your bulletin that lists the main ideas of the book of First Peter.

See if you can find that. We'll also put it up on the screen. Peter closes by saying, by Sylvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you. It's a brief letter exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God.

I am amazed by the economy of words of the scriptures. How much truth is packed up so densely in the space of scripture. Peter says, I have written briefly. Yeah, he was carried on by the Holy Spirit and the depths of these truths of this book are immeasurable.

They unfold one treasure after another as you study them. He says, I've written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. What's the true grace of God?

These things that he's written. These words. This is life. The paper that you have, I'm not gonna go through it right now. I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, because I'm out of time. I'm gonna make a video.

I'm gonna post it on YouTube. Just reviewing through these points. But I've given it to you here. The true grace of God is the sum of Peter's message. These things that we have been taught from 1 Peter are life changing.

From the dominion of God over all things that he even is sovereign over suffering and evil, that it's part of his plan. It's not taking him by surprise, but that he allows these things for a necessity for some reason and according to his plan, he has dominion even over suffering.

Wow, that will change your life when you wrap your mind around that. The idea that suffering is only for a little while, but eternal glory goes forever and ever and ever. That will enable you to suffer when hard times come, that these things will pass and the eternal glory we have waiting.

This call to holiness, that it's not optional for us. As American evangelicalism tends to think that it's okay if you're holy or not. No, we are called and commanded to be holy and the importance of holiness in the book of 1 Peter, so rich.

Speaks of love, growing in grace. This concept of elect exiles, that we were called to be here for a time in exile, but our citizenship is in heaven. The call to maturity, the teaching on baptism. If I'll review briefly on baptism, think of the days of Noah.

Noah was saved before building the ark. He was spared from God's wrath because he was a child of God by faith. He built the ark and he preached the gospel and then the flood came and destroyed all those who refused his preaching.

But we're told in 1 Peter 3 that those souls remain and they're in prison even now. Suffering under the wrath of God and they're facing eternal wrath. Baptism pictures that, an escape from wrath. Faith and salvation actually come before baptism, just like it did for Noah and for Abraham, simply by believing, even before those works.

But the point is, baptism pictures for us rescue from our sin. Peter teaches on that, he teaches on stewardship of time and finally today we finished with elders, with a special exhortation to truly shepherd the flock and to all of us to be humble one toward another.

And so we conclude the book of 1 Peter. I hope you found it to be as rich and meaningful as it has been for me. Just the time in this text, I can't tell you how many times I've heard the voice of God in the words of scripture.

If you haven't yet been hearing his voice, go back into the word. Read 1 Peter again and again. Listen to the voice of God. Let's call on Michael, the worship team. I'm gonna say a prayer to close our time in 1 Peter and to just ask God that he would seal these things.

This is the true grace of God. Let's pray. Peter says, she who is at Babylon who is likewise chosen sends you greetings. Babylon there pictured Rome. Pictures a place of exile. God, we are exiles here and now.

We belong to an eternal city, an eternal kingdom but we are in a place of suffering, a place we don't belong, not our kingdom. And yet you have placed us here for this time, for your purposes. I pray for us as a body, God, as a church that we would steward our time well here.

That we would serve you during our few days on earth. The short time that we have. Lord, make us one in love for one another. We're told to greet one another with the kiss of love, Lord. If that's not a physical thing, let it speak to our love, our spiritual bond, Lord, that we have one to another.

We pray that we would be a mature church, growing, receiving that spiritual milk day in and day out, each one of us. Solid as a rock, suffering well because our eyes are set on the prize, not on the pain.

Help us to grow in your grace, God. And we thank you that we have a reason to rejoice, even in our suffering. We have the spotless lamb, who by his blood has atoned for our sins. Given us an inheritance in heaven that's kept securely.

It's unfading, imperishable. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. We love you and we praise you. We worship you today, in Jesus' name, amen.