Living Hope - The Finish Line
What does crossing the finish line mean to you? Is it finishing a race, a project, or achieving a goal? Whatever it is, the finish line defines the journey. It gives perspective and purpose to it.
1 Peter 5
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
The term elders isn’t about being younger or older, it’s about having a mature or immature way of walking through difficulty.
1 Peter 5
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.
Casting our Cares
Remember, Peter’s audience is experiencing difficult circumstances and persecution. And we like verse 7, it’s a famous verse. The word cast means to throw or dump our anxiety or cares. Imagine carrying a heavy load and then getting the opportunity to drop it. That's not being put down gently.
We see and hear the payoff from casting a tangible heavy object, but we don’t get the same satisfaction from casting our cares.
Do you truly believe that God cares for you?
We shoulder our anxiety and suffering because, deep down, we don’t believe anyone cares. When we don’t cast our cares on Him, it’s a form of pride. We assume that no one, including God, cares for us more than we do. We think no one cares about this problem more than we do. No one cares more about our kids, country, circumstance, or suffering than we do.
There’s a condition to this, and that’s what we miss. Humble yourselves. And if we don’t, God actively opposes us.
We treat both of these verses separately.
Humbling ourselves
Humility isn’t this abstract state, it’s connected to something. There’s this connection between humility and our cares, concerns, questions, or suffering.
Humility is trusting that even in our difficulty, God is still God.
Even when we don’t understand, even when it’s not how we’d do it, God is still God. He’s still at work, and redemption is coming.
We shoulder our burdens alone, away from God, a lot. Peter is the one who tells us that it’s a form of pride. It’s us saying that we got this and don’t want to bother anyone else. The reality is that this is a form of control.
So, how can we throw something down and leave it there?
1 Peter 5
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.
If we hold on, a gap opens up. And it’s a gap that we can either fill with faith or fear.
What’s true about faith and fear is that they’re both consuming. They either give everything to us (faith) or take everything from us (fear).
Becoming prey
The devil is prowling around looking for someone to devour, similar to National Geographic videos with animals stalking their prey. What does the lion always go for in those videos? The slow one. The weak one.
When carrying our burdens and not laying them down, we become slow and weak. We become easy prey. When we’re so focused on what we’re carrying that we lose track of what’s happening around us, we lose awareness. We become an easy mark for the devil.
He takes us into self-pity, doubt, cynicism, and then bitterness. He disconnects us from God, others, and ourselves.
Part of suffering well is knowing what to do repeatedly with the burden we’re carrying.
Suffering well means we need to trust that God cares for us. It’s not that we don’t struggle, but it’s consistently showing up and deciding to trust God’s mighty hand. No matter how hard it feels, we need to remember that He cares for and sees us.
1 Peter 5
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.
As we cross the finish line, there are the inevitable shout-outs, but then a bombshell.
1 Peter 5
12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Did you catch it?
The true grace of God. We like to think of God’s grace as mercy, love, or nice things. And that’s true. But this way of life – suffering, humbling ourselves, trusting – is what God uses to show us His grace. For us to receive it, live it, and then give it.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here, or check out LHC Unplugged here.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter here or follow us on Instagram here.
1 Peter 5
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
The term elders isn’t about being younger or older, it’s about having a mature or immature way of walking through difficulty.
1 Peter 5
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.
Casting our Cares
Remember, Peter’s audience is experiencing difficult circumstances and persecution. And we like verse 7, it’s a famous verse. The word cast means to throw or dump our anxiety or cares. Imagine carrying a heavy load and then getting the opportunity to drop it. That's not being put down gently.
We see and hear the payoff from casting a tangible heavy object, but we don’t get the same satisfaction from casting our cares.
Do you truly believe that God cares for you?
We shoulder our anxiety and suffering because, deep down, we don’t believe anyone cares. When we don’t cast our cares on Him, it’s a form of pride. We assume that no one, including God, cares for us more than we do. We think no one cares about this problem more than we do. No one cares more about our kids, country, circumstance, or suffering than we do.
There’s a condition to this, and that’s what we miss. Humble yourselves. And if we don’t, God actively opposes us.
We treat both of these verses separately.
- Humble yourself
- Lift yourself up/cast your cares
Humbling ourselves
Humility isn’t this abstract state, it’s connected to something. There’s this connection between humility and our cares, concerns, questions, or suffering.
Humility is trusting that even in our difficulty, God is still God.
Even when we don’t understand, even when it’s not how we’d do it, God is still God. He’s still at work, and redemption is coming.
We shoulder our burdens alone, away from God, a lot. Peter is the one who tells us that it’s a form of pride. It’s us saying that we got this and don’t want to bother anyone else. The reality is that this is a form of control.
So, how can we throw something down and leave it there?
1 Peter 5
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.
If we hold on, a gap opens up. And it’s a gap that we can either fill with faith or fear.
What’s true about faith and fear is that they’re both consuming. They either give everything to us (faith) or take everything from us (fear).
Becoming prey
The devil is prowling around looking for someone to devour, similar to National Geographic videos with animals stalking their prey. What does the lion always go for in those videos? The slow one. The weak one.
When carrying our burdens and not laying them down, we become slow and weak. We become easy prey. When we’re so focused on what we’re carrying that we lose track of what’s happening around us, we lose awareness. We become an easy mark for the devil.
He takes us into self-pity, doubt, cynicism, and then bitterness. He disconnects us from God, others, and ourselves.
Part of suffering well is knowing what to do repeatedly with the burden we’re carrying.
Suffering well means we need to trust that God cares for us. It’s not that we don’t struggle, but it’s consistently showing up and deciding to trust God’s mighty hand. No matter how hard it feels, we need to remember that He cares for and sees us.
1 Peter 5
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.
As we cross the finish line, there are the inevitable shout-outs, but then a bombshell.
1 Peter 5
12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Did you catch it?
The true grace of God. We like to think of God’s grace as mercy, love, or nice things. And that’s true. But this way of life – suffering, humbling ourselves, trusting – is what God uses to show us His grace. For us to receive it, live it, and then give it.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here, or check out LHC Unplugged here.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter here or follow us on Instagram here.
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