Safe and Secure from all Alarms
1 Peter 2-5

Intro:
Good morning.
Our text for today is in 1 Peter. Mostly in chapters 2 through 5. Peter has some interesting reminders for us, those who are mature Christians and those who are young Christians.
But before we get into the text today, let me ask you a few questions.
Why do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke?
Why do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in our driveways and put our useless junk in the garage?
Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavoring, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
I’m sure you have heard questions like this before. There are many “interesting questions” which don’t really have a good answer. But one question we should all know the answer to by now is why we have to submit to so many people.

I. Peter reminds us to submit to the government authorities in 1 Peter 2:13-14 – “Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” He reminds us that those who serve others need to submit to their masters in 1 Peter 2:18 – “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.” He reminds us that Christian wives need to submit to their husbands in 1 Peter 3:1 - “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives”. And Peter reminds the younger people to submit to their elders.
a. 1 Peter 5:5 – where he says in part; “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders.” Now Peter may well be referring to the elders mentioned earlier in 1 Peter or he may be referring to older Christians. But whoever he is referring to, the message is the same, submit.
b. True submission can only happen when we follow Peter’s advice as he continues; 1 Peter 5:5 - “…and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,”
c. To clothe ourselves with humility means to have a humble opinion about ourselves. To boast that we are more gifted than someone else is not showing humility. To boast that we give more in the offering every week than anyone else is not showing humility. To boast that I’m a better preacher than someone else is not showing humility.
i. Nor is it like the preacher who wrote a sermon on "humility" then filed it away. Why? Because he wanted to save it for a really big occasion when he could impress lots of people.
ii. I think t-shirts are very interesting and I enjoy reading what people wear. Some are offensive but many are quite clever. I once saw a t-shirt that on the front of the t-shirt it says, ‘no-one does humility’ and on the back it says, ‘like me’. Another one said ‘I’m very proud how humble I am’.
d. Folks, humility doesn’t look at self and how much better we are than others, humility looks at others as being better than self. We need the sort mind set Jesus had. Look at the letter to the; Philippians 2:3-5- paraphrasing “Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of others as being better than yourselves. Do not just be concerned about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. Have the same attitude in you that was also in Jesus Christ.”
e. Paul says we need to show humility with each other so that we can maintain peace and unity in our relationships with each other. Peter goes on to say humility is needed if we want to keep that relationship right with God in the last part of; 1 Peter 5:5 - "…for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
i. God has got a lot of time for the humble and God deeply respects the humble in spirit. Isaiah 57:15 - “For this is what the high and exalted One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”.
ii. Then in; Isaiah 66:1-2 - “This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”.
II. God loves those who have a humble and contrite spirit. You see, those who are humble will always trust in Him to lift them up when the time is right. 1 Peter 5:6 - “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time”. [Also note Matthew 23:12]
a. I remember when I was young and my father took me out sugaring. We walked through woods leading the horse and sled with the gathering tank. I was pretty small, there was snow on the ground, it was cold and sometimes not very light. I remember being scared walking around the woods but I held on to my father’s hand as we walked. Let me tell you at that time my hand was tiny compared to his and I felt safe and secure in those huge hands.
b. These Christians whom Peter is writing to, have already or will be very soon going through some scary times of persecution. Peter is saying, even in times of persecution we need be humble and trust that God is working in our lives. We need to trust and know that His hands are more than big enough to help us through any situation in which we may find ourselves.
i. Careless drivers often push their cars beyond their designed capabilities, and give them little care. In time the car fails and they wonder why. Daring and foolish operators push their equipment, put too much pressure on their boilers, or try to force more power from an engine than it can provide.
ii. But our Master guarantees that tasks shall be balanced with the precise strength we possess. He knows the exact pressure we can stand, for He has made us; He knows the utmost load we can lift, and will not suffer us to be tried, tested, above what we are able. So yes it can be difficult at times, yes the burden we are asked to carry may be very heavy indeed, but God is there to help, if only we would trust Him enough to allow Him to.
iii. A man who was walking along a highway was passed by the driver of a pickup truck. The driver, noticing that the weary traveler was carrying a heavy backpack, stopped a few hundred feet in front of him and offered him a ride. The man accepted the offer. After driving a few miles, the driver noticed that his fellow traveler still had his load fastened to his back. "Why not put your load down and rest?" The man replied, "I could not think of doing that; it is kind enough of you to give me a ride, without allowing me to put my load upon your seat."
c. Was that man crazy or what? Well yes, he probably was, he certainly was not viewing things the way we would. But you know what? We can be just as crazy sometimes. We too, still cling to our worries when God asks us to cast all our worries on Him. Again in 1st Peter at; 1 Peter 5:7 - “casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you”. Peter is telling us to not worry about things over which we have no control.
i. Someone’s health takes a turn for the worse and their family realizes there is nothing they can do to help so they say, ‘its ok, the situation is in God’s hands’. Then why are they still worrying about it? Someone is about to lose their job because of cut backs and they say, ‘its ok, it is in God’s hands’. Then why are they still stressing about it? Peter is saying when things are out of our control; we are to let our Heavenly Father take care or such things.
ii. Think about an ambulance. An ambulance tears around town with its siren blaring. It is always going to a crisis or leaving a crisis. It is built for emergencies. It’s such a shame that many people live the same way, including Christians. They run their lives with a siren going. Every day is desperate, and every moment is a crisis, or a preparation for one.
iii. Living our lives like that leaves no room for smelling roses or enjoying sunsets. Even worse, it leaves no time for sharing friendships and building love. We should ask ourselves, what if some of the things we are running around to do did not get done?
iv. Suppose we substituted a quiet walk around the block or time off to call on a friend or take time out to read a book? Suppose we wrote an encouraging note to someone who really needed it? Would our world fall apart? Or would it perhaps get back into perspective?
III. We give ourselves headaches and ulcers because we worry so much about the things we have no control over. We lose time from work or end up on medication because we stress about the things over which we have no control. It shouldn’t be like that for the Christian, we’ve got a God who wants us to give all our worries to Him.
a. We weren’t designed to live like that anyway. We weren’t born a worrier; we learned how to worry from the people around us. Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-34 - “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
b. Jesus uses the word translated as “anxious” in this passage, as “worry” or “take no thought” in other translations. Thayer notes this word is from the word meaning “distraction”. It’s the same Greek word Peter uses in 1 Peter 5:7 for “worry”. And that is what worry or being anxious is… isn’t it? It is a distraction.
i. Peter is telling us, don’t be distracted by things we don’t have any control over because our God isn’t distracted. Jesus is saying don’t be distracted by a lack of food or drink or clothes, I know what you need and I won’t be distracted from supplying those needs.
ii. Being distracted can lead us to sin because we forget who God is and what He can do with His mighty hands. Seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness should come before our material needs. Seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness should come before our physical needs. What worry or anxiety does, is steal from us the blessings of today.
c. Distraction blinds us folks. We can’t seek first His kingdom and His righteousness if were being distracted over something which may happen tomorrow. We can’t seek first His kingdom and His righteousness if we are being distracted over something we have no control over. In other words we can’t give God our attention and serve Him daily if we’re so busy running around like headless chickens trying to solve a problem we can’t solve. We should not let worries get it our way of being a Christian.
IV. Have you ever seen or been involved in a staring competition? You compete to see who can stare at the other the longest without blinking. I have, and sometimes I would pull a funny face or stick my tongue out at my opponent to distract him. In other words I would do whatever I could to get his attention away from what he was supposed to be doing. Worry distracts us from focusing on God, folks.
a. Hebrews 12:2 - tells us that we’re to “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” We can’t do that if we’re being distracted by other things. We can’t keep our eyes fixed on Jesus if we’re worrying about tomorrow or worrying about something we have no control over.
i. People who get distracted a lot forget to pray to God who has the mighty hands to take their burden. People who get distracted a lot forget to read about the God with the mighty hands in the Bible. People who get distracted a lot forget about all His other children, their brothers and sisters.
ii. Do you know what happens when we get distracted by the cares of this life? Do you know what happens when we take your eyes off the author and finisher of our faith? Satan comes along and tries to steal our salvation.
b. Look at 1 Peter 5:8-9 - “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.”
i. We, as Christians, need to remember we have an enemy and Peter tells us he is the devil. Peter says to be careful and not be distracted by the worries of this world because the devil is on the lookout. When Christians are going through difficult times, some stop praying, some stop reading the Bible, some stop meeting with God’s people. They’ve lost sight of the goodness of God, they forget how God helped them in times past and they get distracted from the truth. It is then when they are most vulnerable spiritually that they prone to attacks from the devil.
ii. It’s fascinating watching a pride of lions on the prowl for food. They will carefully stalk their pray for hours at a time watching the wild beasts they are hunting and they will look for the most vulnerable one or one which is straying away from the rest. Which is exactly the way Peter describes the devil, Peter says the devil is like a "roaring lion, looking for distracted Christians so he can destroy them." He wants to steal our salvation and we need to be aware of that.
c. Just as a side note, what does this tell us about the doctrine of "once saved, always saved"? This doctrine that some religious groups teach is that once you become a Christian you can still live your life however you wish because you’re always going to be saved. If that is true, then why would Peter even bother to warn Christians who cannot be… "devoured"? Why does Satan even bother to seek out those whom he cannot… "devour"?
i. If “once saved always saved” is true then why would the Hebrew writer say in; Hebrews 3:12-15 - “Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God; but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today;” lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end: while it is said, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.”
ii. The reason the Bible gives us many warnings about losing our salvation is because we can lose our salvation. It’s because there is a very real danger of apostasy, that we have such warnings in the Bible. That’s why the doctrine of ‘once saved always saved’ is such a dangerous doctrine. Not only is it unbiblical, it’s putting Christians back into the hands of the very one who is trying to steal our souls in the first place.
iii. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 5:8 - to “Be sober, be vigilant;” and it is no wonder Jesus also reminds us in Luke 21:34-36 - “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and [notice this] cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.'' [NKJ]
V. There’s a story about a young boy who went shopping for his mother. After returning with the few items which his mother had requested, he said, "Mom, the devil is in that store." Thinking her son had seen someone in a devil’s costume, she asked, "What do you mean the devil is in the store?" His response was serious: "I walked by the candy counter and one of the candies said, 'Take me, take me'"
a. When we go out shopping, we have to resist the urge to buy those things we either can't afford or simply don't need. It is a constant battle everyone faces. The same can be said of the Christian life. Wherever we go, Satan is there tempting us with his destructive wares, but folks, God always has a way out for us.
b. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:9 - “Withstand him steadfast.” James says in James 4:7 - “ …resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It doesn’t matter if we are a young Christian or a mature Christian the temptation is universal, Satan's marketing department has had centuries of experience. We have probably all pictured ourselves fleeing from Satan but have we ever pictured Satan fleeing from us?
c. When we finally stop being distracted by things we have no control over and turn them over to God’s mighty hands, the devil will actually flee from us. But we need to withstand him, we need to resist him. We withstand him and resist him by holding onto to our faith, as Peter says in 1 Peter 5:9 - “Withstand him steadfast how? in your faith.”
i. We withstand him and resist him by holding onto to our hope. Paul says in Colossians 1:21-23 - “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a servant.” [NKJ]
ii. Folks; the devil is very good at convincing Christians that they are alone in their struggles. He whispers in our ears, ‘oh nobody really cares for you anyway’, ‘You’re so called brothers and sisters say they love you but they really don’t’, ‘God isn’t real otherwise you wouldn’t be suffering the way you are’.
d. The devil tries to isolate us from God, from His word and from His people. The devil tries to convince us that we’re all alone with our struggles. Folks, don’t listen to him, we are never alone in our struggles. As we read in; 1 Peter 5:9 - ”Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.”
i. Peter says never let the devil convince us that we are alone in our struggles. Christians all over this planet are going through struggles, some physical, some mental, some emotional, some spiritual but they are struggles. There are Christians in this room who have struggles but they are not struggling alone.
ii. Too often we pay a great price for something that looks so good and promises much. Fish are hooked because they are attracted to something that looks like food and would make a good meal only to become food themselves. Do not be fooled, the world offers us many things that are not worth the price of our souls. Every single Christian struggles with sin and temptation, the question is, are we remaining steadfast? Are we resisting him who tempts us?
iii. 1 Corinthians 10:13 - reminds us “No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
e. Paul tells us our struggle is not unique; we’re not the only one who struggles with certain sins. It just seems we are alone because we are the one struggling. The question is; are we actively looking for a way out? Do we continue to give in to the same sin for years and years or are we… truly… seeking the way out which God provides?

Conclusion:
Peter is addressing all Christians, both young and mature in 1 Peter. But Peter is addressing those who are young in 1 Peter 5:5 because it’s the young Christians among us that are often molested by our adversary, the devil. An immature Christian makes an easy target, but all Christians face similar temptations. All Christians need the time and experience to learn the value of being submissive to others. All Christians need the time and experience to learn the value of being humble. It’s the immature Christians who have not had the time or experience to learn the value of being watchful for the devil. The inexperienced are often distracted. Sometimes even by other religious groups that are more “fun” more “attractive” doing more activities or perhaps more popular with the world. Even if the religious group is teaching error, the distraction blinds them to that error.
The mature Christians amongst us should be teaching them how to withstand and overcome the devil. Mature Christians should guiding the less experienced in how to submit and be truly humble. The mature Christians among us should be teaching the inexperienced that when the time is right God Himself will lift them up. Its’ then we all can truly sing, we’re ‘leaning on His everlasting arms, safe and secure from all alarms’.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.