To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout the earth, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance. You are invited to come to the Wednesday evening prayer meeting and pray. (8:30 PM EDT Wed., Jan. 16, 2002) (If you have e-mail prayer requests, please send them before 5:00 PM.)

In the passage just before today's passage (1 Peter 5:1-4), Peter, as a fellow elder, speaks to the elders, the leaders of the church. God's purpose for elders is to be shepherds for his flock that he has put under their care -- to be overseers. You don't do this through heavy-handed authority -- "lording it over" -- but by, first of all, being an example. In verse 4 immediately preceding today's passage, Peter says, "And when the chief shepherd appears, you (the elders) will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away."

Today's passage starts out: "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older." ("those who are older" can refer to the office of elder or, simply to those who are older, as the NIV translates it.) "In the same way be submissive to those who are older." "In the same way" obviously has to mean in the same way as the elders. Peter didn't say anything about the elders being submissive, but he did say they were to be shepherds of God's flock and called Jesus the Chief Shepherd. Then he told the elders that they must be examples for the flock. The way God intends for this to work is for the leaders of the church to be humble and submissive to Jesus. And the young men, in the same way (with humility) to be submissive to the leaders.

But there's more. Peter goes on to say, "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" All of us must be humble toward each other; and all of us must be submissive to Jesus. Have you ever been rebuked (or maybe, just given a suggestion) by someone who was younger in years or in the faith (or both) than you -- someone you may have regarded as a little arrogant, not too humble, maybe a little immature -- and you knew that what that person said was the word of God? How did you react? When Abraham told Sarah to lie to the Egyptians and say that she was his sister rather than his wife, Pharaoh, who was a pagan, rebuked Abraham, who was the man of faith, and sent him away. Abraham had to accept Pharaoh's rebuke (see Gen. 12:14-20). The truth is the truth no matter who speaks it, but it's hard for us to be humble.

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" is a proverb from the Old Testament ("He mocks the proud mockers, but gives grace to the humble." - Prov. 3:34). If you reject God's grace, he will reject you on the day of judgment and that's definitely not a good thing. But we have accepted God's grace because we are God's elect. He chose us for the sanctifying work of the Sprit, for obedience to Christ and for sprinkling by his blood. Nevertheless, even though we are God's elect, this proverb still applies to us.

If you have the "do it yourself" attitude, I can tell you that God will definitely give you some training in humility. Because he loves you and wants you to be perfect on the day you stand before him, he will teach you. (And, by the way, let me remind you that Jesus, who is in very nature, God, and who is judge of all, is humble. He is gentle and humble in heart. - Phil. 2:6, John 5:22, Matt. 11:29) God wants you to be like Jesus.

Have you ever been in a situation where something you thought ought to be easy for you to do, wasn't? Maybe it was something that you weren't sure that God wanted you to do -- or maybe you just thought that it was routine enough that you didn't need to ask about it -- or maybe you just didn't think. How long did it take you to think that you ought to pray? And after it occurred to you that you ought to pray (or maybe God suggested it to you), how long did it take you to actually pray? I confess that, for me, there are times when it's taken minutes, or hours, or days, or even years. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Why are we so stubborn or careless about asking him for his grace which he freely offers? "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

The Holy Spirit, speaking through Peter, says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." If you try to lift yourself up ("exalt," in most translations), God will not let you succeed. But if you acknowledge that you are helpless without him -- if you humble yourself, he will exalt you at the proper time.

Maybe you are anxious and think that you have to take care of yourself and are worried about how you can do it. Maybe you think that if you don't exalt yourself, it will never happen. If you think that way, it certainly will never happen -- at least, not before God. Those who are perishing may be able to exalt themselves in the eyes of the world, but before God they are nothing. But God cares for you. Verse 7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

God cares for you. He chose you; he loves you; and his one and only Son, Jesus, died for you. And when I say "you," it sounds as though I am speaking to individuals, but when Peter said, "He cares for you," he used the plural of you and was speaking to all of us as a group. God loves us and cares about us. He will exalt us in his time. All praise be to him. Amen.

Pray for us to be humble and patient and recognize that every good thing comes from God. Pray for us to really know that, when we humble ourselves under his mighty hand, he will exalt us in due time.

Come and let's pray for each other as well as for the whole church. Come and encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Love them.

Love in Christ,
Dean

PS: If you absolutely can't make it to the prayer meeting, send your prayer requests back to me by e-mail and we'll pray for them.