Peter's Principles for Sheep, Part 2

Number one, be clothed with humility. Point number two, be cons to God's mighty hand of destiny. Remember David? King David. He was anointed the king of Israel. What did he do? Move over, Saul. I'm coming in. I'm the new guy. No. He went back and tid sheep. That 's what he did. He waited on God's perfect timing. And here was a man knowing he was anointed the king of Israel, know that he was the future of Israel. Yet he was constantly pursued by Saul, who was the king, because Saul looked at David as his enemy.

And David had to learn to submit himself to the mighty hand of God's destiny. And we've got to learn the same lesson. And David could have taken revenge, and David could have won over the people, he could have slayed Saul. He didn't. Because God was in charge. It's a lesson I think all of us need to learn to some degree, isn't it? And so we need to submit ourselves to God's mighty hand to destiny. Joseph was the same way. Joseph goes, Hey, I had a dream. You guys all bow down to me. I'm the good guy, you're the bad guys.

All of you are going to bow down to me and worship me. Do it now. God gave to me a dream. You better do it now.

But he didn't. Boy, he went through some horrendous years. Sold into slavery, thrown in a pit, thrown into prison, forgotten by everyone except God. And God exalted him in due time, didn't he? All you can do is read the latter part of Genesis. God's in charge. That's a lesson that we all need to realize, isn it? We need to be consenting to God's mighty hand of destiny. We need to be clothed with humility. Number three.

We need to be casting. We need to be casting. Upon the Lord, all our anxiety. You got anxiety? You worry, work? Nah. You guys don't worry. Look at verse number seven.

Casting all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you. Casting all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you. Psalm 55, 22 says, Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you. That's a great Hebrew picture of, you know, like you ever had your backpack on, and it's so heavy, it's full, you let it go, and boom, it just falls to the ground. Oh, I feel so much better. That's what it's like. You cast upon the Lord all your anxiety. But you know, we don't do that, do we? We are anxious people.

We are. Worrying kind of people. Peter says you to throw it all over to God. And I've come to the conclusion: we do one of three things. When we are filled with anxiety, we crash, we clash, or we cast. You have one of three options. You crash, that means you just lay down completely. Or you clash, that means you lash out violently. Or you cast, you load it off. Completely to God. Unfortunately, the third one is the last resort, and so the first option.

And that's too bad. I will explain to you why. The Bible says you are not to be anxious. You know why? Because to worry is a sin. It's a sin. We don't have to look at it as a sin.

We've coined new terms for it. We're just concerned, brother. Really? Concerned for what? Well, we're just really concerned. We're troubled in the heart, brother. Really? You mean you're a worry wart. That's what you're really saying, right? The Bible says, be anxious for nothing.

Philippians 4. But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which passes all understand, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. We've learned two great lessons tonight. One is, we don't experience the grace of God because we're arrogant people. And we don't experience the peace of God because we are anxious people. We are worry warts. We worry about everything. And the Bible says, be anxious for nothing.

Matthew chapter 6, what did Christ say? Do not be anxious for your life. Don't worry about how long you're going to live or how well you're going to live. But what do we do? We're always worried about how long we're going to live, right? Man, we're taking diet pills and we're exercising and we're trying to keep ourselves in shape. We're trying to do all we can so we can live as long as we possibly can so we can stay out of the place we say we long to be. Now figure that out. Why do we do that? We say, man, I can't wait to go to heaven, be with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, I gotta stay here as long as I can. I stay here as long as I can. So we 're exercising, we're eating all the right foods, we're doing all we possibly can. Now, I'm not saying you should eat whatever you want and not exercise. I'm just trying to say this. The Bible says, do not be anxious for your life.

Don't be anxious what you wear, what you put on. Matthew 6, a long dissertation on the Sermon on the Mount, when the Lord says, I'm going to take care of all those needs, all the necessities in life, I will take care of for you. But we're anxious people. Cast all your cares, all your anxiety, on the Lord. But we just love to hold on to it, don't we? We love to worry. Somehow we live to worry. It makes us better people, we think. And so we worry about this and we worry about that and we're just like we just love to worry.

And we love to be fearful. We love to live in fear. And I want to tell you something. God says, don't be anxious.

God says, don't fear. And you know, you come to somebody for counsel and you say, you know, I am so worried about this. And they say, stop worrying. You say, oh, you know, I am so, so fearful. Stop being fearful. Don't do that. Know what our response to that is? They are so insensitive to me. I'm going to shed light on something for you this evening that you are not going to believe unless I show it to you. The Bible says, God said, don't fear.

God said, don't be anxious. And yet, we think it's okay to be anxious. We think it's okay to fear. And it's not. It's a And so, when someone comes to us and says, don't do that, we think, you what? That's not being sensitive to where I am. You're not being very kind to my feelings. You are being insensitive to me. And I propose tonight one very important truth. Let me read it to you.

Turn to Mark chapter 4. You're not going to believe this. So, I'm going to read it to you, the Bible, so you can see that God said it and not me. Real quick, because time is flying by. In Mark chapter 4, we get that great story about how the disciples went. In a boat. And the Lord says in verse number 35: On that day when evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side. And leaving the multitude, they took him along with them, just as he was in the boat, and other boats were with them.

And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves are breaking over the boat so much. The boat was already filling up, and he himself was in the stern asleep on the cushion. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? We are anxious. We are worried. We are fearful. And being aroused, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush, be still. The wind died down, it became perfectly calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Why? Why? How is it that you, you, of all people, have no faith?

Faith is believing in what? What God said. What did God say? God said, let's get in the boat and go where? To the other side. And they're thinking, we're not going to make it to the other side. What did God say? Get in the boat. We're going go to the other side. We going to die. We're going to perish right here in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. It's only about four and a half, five miles across. We're not going to make it. And God says, What are you afraid of?

Why is it you, of all people, have no faith now? Turn over to Mark 6. I love the Sea of Galilee. Nothing like a boat story on the Sea of Galilee. And immediately he made his disciples, verse number 45, get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side to Bes, while he himself was sending the multitude away. After bidding them farewell, he departed to the mountain to pray. And when it was evening, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he was alone on the land. And seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them at about the fourth watch of the night.

He came to them walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost and cried out. For they all saw him and were frightened. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, Take courage, it is I do not be afraid. And he got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped, and they were greatly astonished. Okay, now listen, here's the verse. For they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was what?

Hardened. The person with the insensitive heart is not the one who says, Don't fear. The one with the insensitive heart is the one who is fearing. Because the insensitive heart is the dull heart, it's the hard heart, it's the heart that refuses to respond to what God has already done. Now take that to the bank and deposit it. See that? We want to cry out. Oh, you are so insensitive to me. I am so stop worrying. I've got to worry. Stop worrying. Well, you don't feel for me. You're not sensitive to me.

You are insensitive to me. You need to tell him, no, you're the one that's insensitive because you have hardened your heart to what God has already said and you refuse to believe in him. That's the truth, folks. And that's why Peter says, cast all your care, all your anxiety upon him, because he truly does care about you. The reason we hold on to our anxiety, our worries, our fears is because we are so concerned about ourselves that we think we care more about us than God does, and that's just not true.

God cares more about you than you will ever care about yourself. That's why he says, be casting upon the Lord all your anxiety. Be clothed with humility. Be consenting to God's mighty hand of destiny. Humility casts everything on God. Haughtiness wants to play God. So I would be so bold as to say that if you refuse to cast your anxiety upon the Lord, you really believe that you are God and he is not, because you can handle it better than he can. That's the bottom line. I, let's say it like it is.

Let's be truthful. Let's be honest. Let's look at our lives in the light of what God's word really truly says and realize what we need to be doing.

And understand who it is who said this. The Apostle Peter, who learned all these lessons. He learned it in the hard way. He's trying to help you to learn in the easy way. By following what the Word of the Lord says. Remember, sheep have weak backs. We told you last week, can't carry anything on their back. They'll break. We're sheep. We're not meant to carry that anxiety, that burden. We're not meant to carry the cares of the world. That's not our job. That's God's job. Why do we want to do God's job?

Because we think we can do God's job better than God can. That's why. It's God's job. Let him do it. Just rest and relax in what he is going to do. Boy, that is such a freeing kind of feeling and experience. Number four, be careful. Be careful of your adversary. Be careful of your adversary. Peter says, You release it all to the Lord, you let him take care of it, but you be careful. Be careful. Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

You be careful because Satan is doing all he can to gulp you down, to devour your life, to destroy your testimony. In the context, Peter is talking about how Satan is going to do all he can to make sure that you don't live for Christ. And your testimony is destroyed before an unbelieving world. He doesn't want you doing that. There needs to be perfect trust in God, but careful vigilance on our part. Be on the alert. Watch out. Be careful. Trust God completely, but keep your eye look for the adversary.

Satan will use your downt to destroy your testimony. The reason God says you cast your anxiety upon me is because in the midst of that anxiety, when you're at your weakest point, Satan's going to use that to bring you down.

Satan's going to use your arrogance. Remember? What was Satan's big problem? I will be like God. I will rule the world. I'm in charge. He wanted to be just like God. God said, Sorry, there's only one of me. You're gone. But pride was his downfall. And so, in the midst of your arrogance, in the midst of your unwillingness to clothe yourself with humility, Satan will devour you. He will use that arrogance. He will feed on that arrogance because that's what he's about. And the last thing he wants you to do is to submit and to consent to God's hand of destiny in your life.

So he will work and do all he can. I love That book by C. S. Lewis, The Screw Letters. It's a sampling of Satan's strategy. And how Scrut, the senior devil, corresponds with his eager nephew to educate the Fledgling devil of warfare against the forces of the enemy. And the enemy, in screw tape letters, is God, of course. He says this as he encourages his young nephew, Like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters Is the extent to which you separate the man from the enemy.

Of course, the enemy is God. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope. Soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signpost. That 's true. You see, it's just not the big sins. It's just the continual little sins. And if you can just. Continually work on them to keep on worrying and being anxious.

It's those things that destroy the soul, it's those things that destroy the mind. Peter says, res him steadfast in the faith. That's a great phrase. Resist him. Never says to attack Satan. You're never going to defeat him. Jesus does that. You don't do that. Jesus does that. And he will throw him into the bottomless pit. But your job is to resist him. James says, James 4:7, resist him, he will flee. And how do you resist him? Steadfast. In the faith. What faith? The embodiment of Scripture, the truth of God's word.

Matthew 4, the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. How did he resist Satan? Steadfast in the faith. It was the word of God that caused Satan to flee from the Lord in Matthew chapter 4. You resist him steadfast in the faith. Be thick with steadfastness. Be thick in the faith. Be thick in the truth. Be balanced in the truth. And if you do, and if you are, you'll resist him. You resist him? He will flee. Peter adds this: so good. He says, The same experience, knowing that the same experience of suffering.

Are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. Everybody's experiencing this. Don't feel like you're on an island all by yourself. That no one else is experiencing what you're going through. Your brethren are experiencing the same kinds of temptations, the same kinds of problems, and you all must resist him. Steadfast in the faith. Be clothed with humility. Be consenting to God's mighty hand of destiny. Be casting upon the Lord all your anxiety. Be careful. Of your adversary. And lastly, be comforted.

Be comforted by our Lord's gracious min. Verse number 10. After you have suffered for a little while. A little while. I like that. The God of all grace who calls you to His eternal glory in Christ. Will him perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you to him be dominion forever and ever. Am. What a glorious climax! God has a personal ministry for your life. And that ministry, through suffering, is to mold us. To become full in stature. Four things. One, he's going to perfect you. He's going to restore you.

It's a word used of the mending of nets, putting together of broken, fractured bones. Evidently, there's something that's out of place, and God wants to perfect it. He wants to restore it back to its original condition to make it useful. So, after you have suffered for a little while, God is using that to put you back together again in a solid foundation. He wants to perfect you. And then he wants to establish you. He wants to make you as solid as granite. He wants to make you strong. Suffering builds that character.

You emerge as tough and steel. Number three, he wants to strengthen you. Literally, he wants to fill you with strength. You want to be filled with strength? You want to be strong? After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace will fill you with his strength. He'll do that. You ever notice when you have a weak flame and the wind comes out?

Comes up, the wind extinguishes the weak flame. But when you have a strong flame and the wind comes up, what happens? It goes into a greater blaze, right? And God wants you to be strong in the faith. So, when the wind blows, the whole world is ablaze with the glory of God. And then, lastly, he wants to settle you. In other words, lay the foundation. Make you so strong you can never be shaken in order to fall. That's what God wants to do. Peter says, be comforted by the Lord's gracious ministry in your life.

You say, I'm not experiencing any of that. I have an answer. Go back to number one. Be clothed with humility. And Peter says, to him be dominion forever and ever and ever. To God be The glory. Listen, when God strengthens you, when God establishes you, when God supplies that which is lacking in your life, when God is able to lay such a foundation in your life that you cannot be shaken, know what you'll do, you'll just give God the glory. That's what Peter did. Just gave him the glory. May we be that kind of people.