1 Peter 5:1-7 The Message
He’ll Promote You at the Right Time
5 1-3 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.
4-5 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.
6-7 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.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
A Word to the Church: Seeking His Kingdom First?
1 Peter 5:1-7 Amplified Bible
Serve God Willingly
5 Therefore, I strongly urge the elders among you [pastors, spiritual leaders of the church], as a fellow elder and as an eyewitness [called to testify] of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory that is to be revealed: 2 shepherd and guide and protect the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not [motivated] for shameful gain, but with wholehearted enthusiasm; 3 not lording it over those assigned to your care [do not be arrogant or overbearing], but be examples [of Christian living] to the flock [set a pattern of integrity for your congregation]. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd (Christ) appears, you will receive the [conqueror’s] unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, 7 casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].
Anxiety can creep up at times when we least expect it and quickly overwhelm us.
Or it can take up unwelcome and apparently permanent residence in our lives.
Few people do not experience it; few Churches will not have to contend with it.
All those inevitable cares and concerns will take on different faces, manifest themselves very deeply throughout the life of the church and may be propelled by different circumstances, but overall, the issue itself is remarkably common.
When we face anxiety, we often try to ignore it by distracting our minds:
“Let me listen to some different liturgy, or to worship music. Let me go for a drive, look for a church that meets my vision of the correct Kingdom of God. Let me run one mile or a marathon. Let me do something… just let me run away!”
Notice, though, that in verses 6 and 7, Peter does not say we are to deny, ignore, or flee from anxiety. Instead, we should be “casting all [our] anxieties on him.”
The Greek word for “cast” here is a decisive, energetic action word.
It could be used to describe vigorously throwing out a heaping bag of trash.
We don’t put painstaking effort into moving it; we simply grab it and hurl it with great force into the bin. Likewise, instead of going through our days pressed down by the burden of anxiety, we throw it, we hurl it, upon the Lord.
To do this requires us to give up our pride—our desire to control and triumph over circumstances – seek Ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Being humble is what enables us to give our worries to God: humility’s presence leads to anxiety’s absence.
When, with our own perverted righteousness, we attempt to take matters into our own hands through too much worry, we indicate an absence of humility.
We are significantly more concerned with ourselves than with our heavenly Father, or more determined to navigate our own course than to leave it to Him.
There will always be a circumstance that can make we the Church very anxious.
Peter doesn’t address any specific circumstances, though; rather, he addresses the anxiety produced by the circumstances which are specific to his own time.
Considering How We Grow and Mature in Christ?
Luke 12:13-34 English Standard Version
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Do Not Be Anxious
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his[c] kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
We the Church of today, have to navigate with God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirits guidance and direction – the complexities of our stuff.
The vast complexities of our anxieties being gender issues, sexual orientation, racism, clergy sex abuse and the Boy Scouts sex abuse against our children, the shrinking and closure of our churches, and left – right theological extremism, the right to life, the freedom of choice, abortion, false teachers, and much more.
Our mountains and oceans of anxiety itself is what we ought to be casting upon the Lord, doing exactly what the Bible says to do: repenting, bowing, kneeling, humbling ourselves under God’s hand, saying, “My Father knows best. He cares for me better than I can care for myself.” When worries weigh us down, we can refuse to be burdened by them by calling to mind the Lord’s willingness to help.
Churches, their leaders and their congregations are very definitely struggling through today, seriously wondering how they’re going to make it to tomorrow.
Perhaps it’s been a long time since they knelt beside their altars and truly cast their burdens upon the only One who is able to carry it, saying, “God, I cannot, my Church cannot live its life with this burden on our back. Take it. It’s all Yours.”
If that’s you, if that’s your Church, for Kingdom’s sake don’t hesitate any more.
Pray, seek God’s Will, Kingdom first, Cast your anxieties into the loving arms of your heavenly Father and to experience the freedom, peace only He can provide.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 91 tHE MESSAGE
91 1-13 You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you’re perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
14-16 “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
“I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!”
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 