THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. . . . I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death.”1
Because Christians have been given eternal life in the coming
kingdom of God, we have hope. The trials of this life will one day give way to
a life of eternal joy and peace.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
1 Peter 5:5b-7
5:b All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up
in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Peter employed a most unique word which we translate into English
as “clothe.” It’s the only time we see this particular word used in the New
Testament, and it describes the apron worn by slaves. Slaves wore this apron over
their outer garments, and it distinguished them from those who were free. Peter
was commissioning believers to take up humility like the garment of a slave.
Peter surely must have had that in mind the moment Jesus tied a
slave’s apron around His waist, took a basin of water, and washed His disciples’
feet. The apostle also likely recalled his own stunned reaction when Jesus
clothed Himself and did the work of the lowest servant. Perhaps even offended
that the Son of God would take such a degrading posture, Peter had protested.
To conclude the washing of His disciples’ feet, Jesus instructed them:
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You
call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that
I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s
feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you”
(John 13:12b-15).
Peter learned to follow this example, and now he was calling
others to do the same: “clothe yourselves with humility.” Humility creates an
atmosphere of intimacy with God. No human can strut before the Savior. Humility
is directly related to our submission to God and His authority. As we submit
under His mighty hand, we recognize His control over our lives, His grace in
our suffering, and the sacrifice of His only Son to give us a living hope.
Question 2:
What’s the difference between taking pride and being prideful?
Humility
acknowledges that none of those gifts could have come from our own hand; rather,
they are a gift of grace from a powerful, loving Father who cares deeply for
us. In this position of humble surrender to God, we yield all our cares and
anxieties to Him. We humbly acknowledge we can do nothing about those things
that burden us, but the One who cares for us can. Humility, though, is not our
ultimate state. One day when God’s kingdom has fully come, we will be exalted.
We will be lifted up by the grace of God.
1 Peter 5:8-9
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm
in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the
world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Question 3:
How would you describe the way the devil works in our culture?
It’s
interesting that Peter brought attention to the similar suffering of believers
around the world even as he sought to bolster the resolve of his readers. How
could they resist the devil and stand firm? They could fight in the understanding
that they’re not alone and that fellow believers were experiencing—and
resisting—the same temptation and suffering.
The
same is true for us today. When faced with persecution or trials or difficult
days, we need to be reminded that we are not alone; other members of the body
of Christ are experiencing even more severe sufferings around the world.
Do a
quick Internet search on the persecuted church, and you will quickly be brought
to a sobering realization of what believers in other parts of the world face on
a daily basis.
Every
month, on average:
- 345 Christians are killed for faith-related reasons.
- 105 churches and Christian buildings are burned or attacked.
- 219 Christians are detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned.2
As we
become aware of the persecuted church around the world, let’s turn that
knowledge into prayer. Let’s pray for the persecuted church around the world.
Don’t allow their stories to merely stir our emotions, but let them push us to
action through our intercession.
Question
4:
What are some ways we can actively resist the devil?
1 Peter 5:10-11
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory
in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and
make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever.
Amen.
Peter
magnified the brilliance of God from whom every single grace is given. The
things we’ve been given—the hope, calling, provision, strength, restoration,
joy, endurance, and reward—all flow from God’s grace. Look at the actions of
God that Peter stacks like building blocks upon the firm foundation of our hope
in Christ.
Restore.
God
is able to perfect us and mend anything that may need repair. This conveys the
idea of mending a net or restoring a bone to its right place when out of joint.
God Himself will set us right so that nothing is lacking as He shapes us into
the image of His Son.
Make
you firm. This means to ground someone, and it carries the idea of
having a firm footing. Once He has restored us, God gives us a firm foundation
under our feet as we live out our salvation in a manner worthy of the gospel
(Phil. 1:27).
Make
you strong. Peter’s use of this phrase is pretty
self-explanatory, as it
comes
from a root word meaning strength. It is reminiscent of God’s promise to the nation
of Israel: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am
your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10). In our weakness, God exhibits His strength
through us.
Make
you steadfast. God has laid the foundation of our lives, with
Jesus Himself as our Cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6-7). Jesus used this same word when
He described the wise man building his house on the solid rock foundation, thus
enabling it to withstand the rains, rising water, and winds (Matt. 7:24-25).
I love
the stunning beauty with which Peter closed his letter, as he ushered us to the
bigger picture. We may “have suffered a little while” (v. 10), but it’s as if
he gently placed his hand under our chins and lifted our gaze from the
temporary to the eternal. We’ve been called to eternal glory in Christ.
Four
words shine like bright beams of light in any darkness and difficulty: “for a
little while.” With a view to eternity, any suffering we experience is short
and has an end. It will not last forever, and it will not overshadow the whole
of our lives with Christ.
Question
5:
How does your hope for eternity influence your everyday life?
HOPE FULFILLED
We often focus on current adversaries and adversities, but keeping
our eyes on eternity can give us hope for the present. Write a short sentence
to express how you anticipate God will fulfill each of His promises listed in 1
Peter 5:10.
Restore:
Make
you firm:
Make
you strong:
Make
you steadfast:
As you
consider these promises, how should you conduct
yourself in
your current circumstances?
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
ROMANS 8:18
LIVE IT OUT
What will you do to maintain an eternal perspective regarding the blessed hope that is yours in Christ? Choose one of the following applications:
- Write. Review what this session—or the whole six-session study—has taught you about hope. Write down your understanding of hope and its impact on you.
- Pray. Write out 1 Peter 5:5b-11 and use it as a guide for praying. As you pray, surrender to the Lord and His eternal purposes for your life.
- Pray together. Gather with a few other believers and pray together for the persecuted church. Helpful prayer lists can be found online.
We may not all see the kind of tragedy and pain that C.S. Lewis experienced in his life, but different types of suffering will certainly come. If we’ll keep our eyes focused on our future hope, we’ll glorify God in the here and now.
Hope to see everyone this Thursday night for our final lesson in this series.
God Bless!
David & Susan
Teacher Notes:
For Andy & Red in Shawshank, the destination was the HOPE that allowed them to make the journey – it was their HOPE. Everything Red HOPE for he fully attained.
· The Eiffel Tower will re-open to tourists on
June 25th after a three-month closure due to COVID-19 restrictions—the longest
closure since World War II. There is a catch, though. Elevators will continue
to be off limits. Anyone wishing to visit the tower will have to take the
stairs. Will a journey to the landmark be worth the effort when access is only
available to the second level? Will tourists consider the view worth the trek
up 674 steps?
· During the years of the great
depression, a man by the name of W. Oliver Cooper had a little girl that he
loved with all of his heart. Just two years after she was born, his wife died,
leaving him to raise this girl on his own. She was the apple of his eye, his
pride and joy.
One day, God saw
fit to take her away from him and for years afterwards, Cooper was angry and
bitter toward God. One day, at the end of his rope, he threw himself on his
bed, and in his heart, not wanting to live, he cried out, "God, it's just not worth it." Suddenly
something came over him, and reminded him that one day all of the struggles of
this life will be worth it all, and he wrote: "Often I'm hindered on my
way, burdened so heavy I almost fall; then I hear Jesus sweetly say, Heaven
will surely be worth it all. Many the trials, toils, and tears, many a
heartache here appall; But my dear Lord so truly says, Heaven will surely be
worth it all."
Heaven will surely
be worth it all, Worth all the sorrows that here befall, After this life, with
all of its strife, Heaven will surely be worth it all."
There is No doubt that as we journey through this life, we will face
times of distress, difficulty, doubt, and despair. As a matter of fact, we come
to realize that this is just part of this life. However, we should often remind
ourselves of the "blessed hope" that Paul talked about - that one day
we will be in God's great promised land, and "Heaven Will Surely Be Worth
It All!"
Christians have been given eternal life in the coming kingdom of God;
this is our hope.
Your Perspective is a key influencer for how you respond to life
events.
· A temporal person’s
earthly view of life will likely respond to the inevitable trials and
tribulations of life with anger, sorrow, and despair.
· A Christian,
however, with a heavenly, eternal perspective, lives with godly hope that
allows them to see the trials and tribulations as temporary or momentary
occurrences that will one day give way to a life of eternal joy and peace.
This Lesson
seeks to prepare us with the right perspective of our current condition – it is
not our final destination. The hope we have through Christ will have its
fulfillment when we see Him.
So how
does Peter prepare us?
1
Peter 5:5b-7
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves,
therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he
cares for you.
Is there a difference between being proud and being prideful?
· As adjectives the difference between proud and
prideful is that proud is gratified; feeling honored (by something); feeling
satisfied or happy about a fact or event while prideful is full of pride;
haughty, arrogant.
I’ve
share with you before that one of my greatest Pride Sins is wanting to be in
control.
· It has
been transformational for me to see that God is in control of everything and
this knowledge relieves me of the need and desire to be in control of
everything myself. God wants us to live in dependence
on Him. We are called to live lives characterized by submission. But
what does that look like?
· As
Christians, we should act humbly toward one another and toward God. Jesus tied
a towel around Himself to wash His disciples’ feet, so should we also clothe ourselves in humility when we interact with
fellow believers. Ultimately, this behavior demonstrates submission to God as
we resist the urge to place ourselves above others.
Peter says to…
1. Adopt a posture of submission. When we humble ourselves,
God exalts us.
· Humility can lead to exaltation but only if the humility is not
intended to attain exaltation.
· God always can be trusted to act at the right time.
· We express humility before the Lord when we cast our anxieties on
Him.
· God cares for those who come before Him in trust.
1
Peter 5:8-9
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the
family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of
sufferings.
Peter here tells us to…
2. Be
on guard against the enemy.
When
we release control of our lives to God it does not mean that we have no work to
do. Peter says to be on guard against the enemy.
Do you
see your life, your journey here on earth as a battle to be fault?
·
The Christian life is a battle. Many of us have
been following Jesus for a long time. As we look back at these years we have
had years of great blessing – more than I could have asked or even imagined. At
the same time there have been many challenges and obstacles. There have been
very few periods when I have not been facing some kind of battle.
The nature of these battles
has varied enormously. There have been internal battles – times of intense
temptation, doubt, fear and anxiety. There have been times of deep sadness,
great loss and bereavement. There have been battles over health, sleep,
finances, work and relationships. There have been periods of great opposition
and criticism.
Many say we face a battle against
a ‘triple alliance … the world, the flesh and the devil.
First, our battle is against
the world – ‘the enemy around us’. Second, it’s against the flesh – ‘the enemy
within us’. Third, it’s against the devil – ‘the enemy above us’ – which the
apostle Paul describes as ‘the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’
(Ephesians 6:12).
Peter
refers to the battle we face against the devil. He says in the Christian life
we will face attacks from the devil, who is opposed to the will of God. We
cannot become complacent in our position, but rather, we must remain alert.
Spiritual warfare is real and we must dress ourselves for battle (Ephesians
6:11-17). The enemy seeks to destroy us by paralyzing us in fear of him and by
tempting us to sin.
When we resist Satan, we can remain firm
in the midst of suffering.
God
has prepared us for the battle, however. We can stand against the devil by standing
on our faith. This faith is rooted in God’s Word. Jesus defeated Satan’s temptations
by using the Word and we can as well.
1
Peter 5:10-11
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in
Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you
strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
As
Christians, Peter says - we have nothing to fear. The problems we face, as
large as they may appear, are no match for the power of God. Our God truly is
an awesome God. He is the source of all grace and everything that is good comes
from Him (James 1:17). He has saved us and given us an eternal reward through
Christ. In eternity we will finally understand the extent to which His goodness
outweighs the bad things we have experienced. God preserves us along the
journey of our lives and will complete His work in us when we reach eternity.
Our responsibility is to trust Him in the meantime. Our God is sovereign and
all power belongs to Him.
So,
Peters says to …
3.
Commit yourself to God’s protection.
When we have suffered a little while,
God will restore is to His eternal glory.
· God acts
in grace through the person Jesus Christ on behalf of His children.
· Even
during suffering, God is at work to help His children.
· God
has unparalleled power that shall never end.
· God’s
grace and power assure believers of victory.
Peter closes
his letter, by drawing us again to the bigger picture. We may “have suffered a
little while”, but it’s as if he gently placed his hand under our chins and
lifted our gaze from the temporary to the eternal. We’ve been called to eternal
glory in Christ.
Heaven will surely be worth it all
Heinz ketchup used to have a commercial that
magnified the value of hope. The scene they pictured was of an upside-down
ketchup bottle being held by a young boy with a pained but hopeful look on his
face. The thick substance inside the bottle was slowly making its way onto his
burger below. Playing in the background was this line from the Carly Simon
song: “Anticipation. It’s making me wait.”
No one likes having to wait for something
good. The waiting can add to the enjoyment of the experience, though.
Birthdays. Christmas. Weddings. Part of the fun is the delay till the day. Just
as with that ketchup, however, if the actuality does not exceed or at least
live up to the anticipation, then hope vanishes.
As a Christian, we have hope. We find it in
the promises Jesus made not long before His death. To His original disciples,
Jesus announced His resurrection and His return. Though they did not anticipate
what soon happened, they longed for and placed their hope in what Jesus said
would eventually come. Their hope would give way to experience. So will ours.
1. We
will see Jesus. “the Lord Himself shall descend” (v. 16)
For the Thessalonian Christians, hope was
fading. Every time they witnessed one of their church family die, the more
their perplexity deepened. Jesus had promised His return. Where was He? They
wondered if they had grounded their hope on the wrong foundation.
To ease their fears, Paul corrected their
thinking. He told them that it was appropriate for them to expect Jesus’
return, but there were some events that needed to happen before His arrival.
Their hope wasn’t faulty; it’s just that their timing was off. Life would
continue as normal. People would live and die. But a day would come when Jesus
would return.
Paul wrote those words to Christians who are
now in the grave. They did not see their hope realized. We might not either
before we breathe our last. Still, that fact does not lessen our confidence
that it will happen one day. God promised. The only time that God disappoints
is when we hope for something that He never promised.
2. We
will be changed. “caught up together” (v. 17)
The hope for a changed body is a common one.
Whole industries have been built on the promise that they can make it happen.
Gyms, personal exercise equipment, weight-loss supplements, and fad diets find
their niche in people who are not satisfied with their present physique. Every
voluntarily step on a bathroom scale is a statement of both dread and hope.
Disappointment often follows, but it will not always.
Jesus will one day give us brand new bodies
(1 Cor. 15:52)! The change will be instantaneous. While the anticipation of
that does not excuse exercise and good nutrition now, it gives us hope that we
will one day exceed our goals. These won’t just be bodies that live longer.
They will live forever! The temptations that rule us now, many of which
originate from our fleshly cravings, will no longer plague us.
What will it be like to have body that never
tires? What will it be like to have a body that does not need nourishment but
thoroughly enjoys food? What will it be like to have a body that no longer
suffers from sickness, allergies, deformities, or memory loss? I do not know
now, but I will know then! So will you.
3. We
will go home. “ever be with the Lord” (v. 17)
There is a reason that we will get new
bodies. Our present ones are not suited for our heavenly home (1 Cor. 15:50).
We are not properly dressed for the wedding that will soon occur. We do not
want our groom to see us like this. It is time for us to put on new clothing (1
Cor. 5:2-4). He soon will be escorting His bride home.
There is a tendency to hesitate when it comes
to telling others what you hope for. You hope that the date at the swanky
restaurant will result in an engagement. You hope that the interview will
result in employment in your field and a significant pay spike. While you hope
that the pregnancy test comes back positive, you hope that the cancer screening
doesn’t. You don’t want to get your hopes up for fear of disappointment, but
you know it’s already too late for that.
While earth regularly disappoints, God never
will (Rom. 5:5). There is no need to be embarrassed to communicate the source
of your hope (1 Pet. 5:13). Everything you hope for, so long as it is based on
God’s promises, you will one day see.
Conclusion: In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul said, “Now abideth faith,
hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13) Why did Paul
say that love is greater? Because it is eternal. Though they will see us to
Heaven’s door, faith and hope will no longer be necessary once we cross
through. They are a temporary support structure that we will one day shed.
Until that day, faith gives us the confidence
to keep moving forward. What we now can only visualize in our minds through
hope, we will one day see with our transformed eyes (Heb. 11:1).
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