Encouragement in the Hard Times 1 Peter 5
Today we will conclude our study of 1 Peter,
Encouragement in the Hard times.
Bad things happen to good people.
Consequences happen.
God also sends trials our way.
I’ve found it encouraging that there is a purpose for the hard times.
God can use hard times to correct our conduct,
Perfect our character,
Or make our testimony infectious so that others come to faith in
Christ.
Peter has given us a lot of instruction on what to do when we find ourselves in the
midst of a hard time.
He’s told us not to give into the temptation of quitting,
Of doing just what you feel like doing.
Instead, Peter encourages us to think, obey and love.
We’ve been encouraged to ask for help and God will give you grace.
You’ll discover that His grace will be what you need to
persevere in the hard times.
We’ve been encouraged to ask others to come along side you.
Do not disconnect from your support people,
And if you don’t have a support person,
You better find one fast.
Peter says people are watching you especially in the hard times.
Since people are watching live exemplary lives (2:12),
be a good citizen ( 2:13),
do good to others (2:15),
treat others with dignity and respect,
obey the authorities,
so that your testimony may win these
watchers to Jesus.
Peter has told us that its especially important when going through hard times to Be submissive, be the servant to others.
Be agreeable, sympathetic and loving.
Be compassionate and humble.
Refuse to retaliate,
Refrain from sharp-tongued sarcasm (1 Peter 3:8-9 (MSG)
I would encourage you not to complain to outsiders.
Instead
Seek the peace of God and
Keep our hearts focused on Jesus
By practicing the 7 habits of a disciple,
The spiritual disciplines.
Keep a clear conscience before God.
Peter has encouraged us to remember that even at our lowest,
In the darkest hour:
God has not forgotten you.
God will keep you obedient.
God will give you His best.
God has secured for you a good future.
God is keeping watch over you.
God has great things in store for you.
Peter has taught us that our job in a hard time is to be a blessing to others. (1 Peter 3: 9)
Then Peter shared the secret to getting through the hard times,
The secret to getting out from under the circumstances and start walking
through them.
That secret is Trust God.
Your single greatest tool for getting through the hard times is Trust God.
Now we come to the last chapter in Peter’s letter to believers stuck in the middle of
some hard times,
his last word of encouragement for us—
there is a payday coming.
We’ll consider that pay day and one final reason believers can find themselves in
the midst of a hard time.
As we read the 5th chapter of 1st Peter pay special attention to what
Peter tells us about the coming pay day,
and what he tells us
about spiritual attack.
1 Peter 5:1-14 (MSG)
I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it's like to be a leader, in on Christ's sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here's my concern: that you care for God's flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.
4 When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he'll see that you've done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for—
God has had it
with the proud, But takes delight in just plain people.
So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.
8 Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.
12 I'm sending this brief letter to you by Silas, a most dependable brother. I have the highest regard for him. I've written as urgently and accurately as I know how. This is God's generous truth; embrace it with both arms!
13 The church in exile here with me—but not for a moment forgotten by God—wants to be remembered to you. Mark, who is like a son to me, says hello. Give holy embraces all around! Peace to you—to all who walk in Christ's ways.
In verses 1-8 Peter gives instruction to those who are leaders and who want to be
leaders in the church.
It’s advice that I heed as a pastor.
If ever you see me straying from these standards feel free to let me know.
Those standards are:
Caring for you tenderly,
not concerned with your station in Life,
not proud,
not doing to get,
but rather because of love.
It’s important for me to remember because often my hard times
involve people.
And we tend to get rather surly with the egr’s
EGR means extra grace required.
Of course I’m not speaking about any one here today.
But there are just some people in the life that make
it hard to feel affection and compassion for.
These folks are the EGR’s,
In order to minister to them you need a little more of the grace
of God to be effective with them.
You need extra grace to love and lead them,
to seek to meet their need.
Now look to the person to your right and left and tell them,
“I don’t think he’s talking about you.”
Loving people is hard work,
But there is a pay day coming.
1 Peter 5:4 (MSG)
When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he'll see that you've done it right and commend you lavishly.
There is a prayer I often pray: “Lord, see me doing right.”
I think that’s good advice—
If you’re in a hard time or not: keep doing what is right.
Peter hints at another potential cause for a hard time.
I think its one of the most difficult to deal with,
Its one we create for ourselves.
Not because of the consequences of bad behavior but rather
because we are not content with being ourselves.
There are times I get down right depressed about the goals I haven’t
achieved, the dreams I haven’t turned into reality,
the ministry I want to accomplish,
and the good plans that end up in frustration.
Where I am in life doesn’t satisfy my ego.
Now that’s an open invitation for hard times.
Peter says: “be content with who you are …” (1 Peter 5:6 (MSG)
Be at peace with yourself.
Now that doesn’t mean you can accommodate disobedience in your
life.
Don’t think being content means you can rationalize bad
behavior by saying “Oh, that’s just the way I am.”
That’s another open invitation for hard times.
In the context of Peter’s letter, its OK to be you.
No need to put on a show to impress anyone.
Be you. Invest in yourself for sure. But be you.
You can find a sense of peace and contentment knowing
that God has not forgotten you.
1 Peter 5:6 (MSG)
God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time.
There’s a pay day coming, God will promote you.
Allow that promise, that hope of a payday, to create contentment within.
Peter continues with some more instruction.
I have to tell you I’m still working on this one.
It has to do with worry.
1 Peter 5:7 (MSG)
Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.
I think what this means is I am to humble myself before God,
I must acknowledge that He is the one with all the resources.
I must accept my utter dependence on Him to get me through.
I must realize my neediness and helplessness,
That I’m not as strong as I think I am.
I am frail and I am vulnerable.
Basically without Him I can’t,
But with Him—“I can do all things…” (Philippians 4:13)
Since God is most careful with me,
I don’t need to worry,
I need to stay connected in a deep intimate and
abiding relationship with God.
Then whatever befalls me—
I’ll have all that I need to deal with the circumstance.
Don’t worry, trust God.
Peter introduces another type of hard time that I only briefly hinted at in the first
message in this series.
Christians have an enemy who will come and attack you.
The Devil, Satan, would like nothing more than to deter, damage and destroy
your relationship with God, with your self, and with others.
1 Peter 5:8 (MSG)
The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.
The more important you are to the big picture,
The greater the Devil works to give you a hard time.
The closer you come to a spiritual break through the stronger and
more fierce the attack.
How do you defend yourself against a pouncing devil?
The Apostle Paul says you need to gear up,
Put on the full armor of God.
Ephesians 6:13-18 (MSG)
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Ephesians 6:11 (MSG)
“… you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.”
Being prepared sounds a whole bunch like needing to practice the 7 habits of a
disciple on a daily basis.
That’s pretty good advice.
So the hard times can come because of the consequences of sin.
Hard times can come to correct, perfect and make us infectious.
Hard times can hit because they are a Satanic attack against us.
When the hard times hit:
Continue to do what you know to be right,
Embrace the trial in order to learn the lesson it is teaching your.
Trust God to see you through.
Gear up in the full armor of God.
Why not just roll over and die?
Cause there’s a pay day coming.
1 Peter 5:9-11 (MSG)
You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good.
Here’s the pay day—
God will restore you.
God will make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10 NIV)
God will establish and strengthen you. (1 Peter 5:10 RSV)
God will set your feet on a firm foundation. (1 Peter 5:10 NLT)
God will make you perfect,
Establish you,
And settle you. (1 Peter 5:10 NKJV)
God will share in His glory with you. (1 Peter 5:10 CEV)
All those things that God will do are wrapped up in the original language which
was paraphrased for us as God
“will have you put together and on your feet for good.
That’s a pay day.
Peter tells us that hard times happen to every Christian.
You’re not a special case.
You’re not the only one.
Every follower of Jesus goes through hard times.
In the hard times don’t let your faith slip,
Don’t discard your trust in God.
Stay faithful, you won’t feel like it,
You’ll be tempted to quit,
But if you seek God in the midst of your hard time,
You will discover that His grace is sufficient to see
you through.
Know this, the hard times don’t last.
The suffering won't last forever.
And there is a pay day coming for those who persevere.
Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
2 Tim 4:7-8 (NIV)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…
Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…
God “will have you put together and on your feet for good.
Hard times wont last,
Even if they kill you, there’s an end.
At the end of a hard time there is a pay day.
I want you to cash in on that pay day.
The hard times can come because of the consequences of sin.
Hard times can come to correct, perfect and make us infectious.
Hard times can hit because they are a Satanic attack against us.
When you dealing with the consequences of sin pray for deliverance,
And if the consequences are because of your behaviors,
Repent and try to make things right.
When you dealing with trials that are sent to correct, perfect or make you
infectious, entrust your self to God, embrace the hard times, learn the lessons
that God is teaching you.
When Satan attacks, don’t run, don’t surrender, fight.
All hell may break lose, but you have all of heaven on your side.
Resist the devil and he will run. (James 4:7)
Hard times are universal.
Your either just getting through one, In the midst of one now,
Or getting ready to enter into one.
It’s my hope that when the hard times hit you will read 1 Peter and find some
encouragement to help you through.