1 Peter 5:6 - 10 Part 4

Part 4. To be prepared for persecution we have learned so far the need to clothe ourselves with humility and to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. In this lesson we will look at the next verse in which Peter tells us to be sober-minded and watchful because we have an enemy that prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

To understand the meaning of this we need to look at it in the context of persecution and suffering that Peter was writing from. That context is found in areas like Syria, Iran and Iraq where followers of the Islam religion view Christians as infidels who are spiritually polluting their communities and need to be eliminated. Those who literally follow the Koran are terrorist, like ISIS, who see their goal of making Islam the religion of the world. These terrorist seek out Christians and primarily give them the choice of converting to Islam, dying or escaping. Many of these Christians are Muslims who have converted and have a passion to share their faith. With terrorist seeking out these passionate infidels there is a critical need to be sober-minded and watchful to put off as long as possible being caught. Remember, Jesus said that it was on account of him that they hate you. Remember, even before Jesus was born they tried to kill him. The world has always hated him and does today with increased intensity. Therefore be sober-minded and watchful or you may lose your head sooner than later.

1 Peter 5:6 - 10 Part 3

Part 3. Under persecution, humility is essential to find favor with God, for those who are proud draw attention to themselves and not to God, resulting in resistance toward you. But let's be honest about how we feel. Testimonies reveal there is fear and anxiety at first from not knowing what to expect, but over time this new life style of suffering becomes more normal as one learns from God how to live under it. Let us not move forward too quickly, but get back to our verse for this lesson.

First, we are to clothe ourselves with humility and then we are to cast all our anxieties on Jesus Christ because he will care for us. This statement raises two questions: 1) How do we cast our anxieties on him, and 2) How do we know he will care for us? We need to study and have faith to continue. To answer the first question we need to look at Philippians 4:6-7: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (NASB). We will need this peace to guard our hearts and minds under the conditions we will experience. We will need to experience with these verses to make them part of our living experience, for without a growing practical working faith of this promise, we will come up short when facing persecution. To answer the second question, we need to remind ourselves that before the foundation of the world, our Father chose us and recorded our names in the Book of Life. He then adopted us into the family of God, causing us to be born again, and given as a gift to Jesus to receive eternal life. There is no way such a loving Father and Son would not care for us and see us through to the very end to stand in their eternal presence. Jesus was anxious as he faced the cross and we will be anxious, but as with Jesus, let us face this trial with joy.

1 Peter 5:6 - 10 Part 2

Part 2. Going back to verse 5, we are instructed to "Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”" Our posture under persecution is to be one of humility under the mighty hand of God. It is to be a time when God's love fills our hearts (Romans 5:5) and its characteristics of "joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) reflect from our lives. In the eyes of the world this is a posture of weakness and surrender, but it is one of God's greatest weapons and with it territory is being reclaimed from the powers of darkness and the church is experiencing growth.

Jesus humbled himself on the cross and purchased our salvation with his death and through our humble posture and willingness to sacrifice whatever is needed, he is building his church. Testimonies reveal suffering to be fierce and painful, but they also provide an opportunity for experiencing an intimacy with the Lord, his special blessings, especial those found in the fellowship of suffering with the Lord, and the honor of being counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus. One must study the testimonies of those under persecution to understand the power and blessing of God being released during this time. The price of standing firm with the Lord may be extremely high then, but in the end at the proper time you will stand before God in honor.

1 Peter 5:6 - 10 Part 1

Part 1. My intent was to share only one verse to keep my post simple, but when I looked at the verse about the devil prowling around like a roaring lion, I realized I would not be able to restrain myself, so we will have to endure another teaching series. It is important to understand the context of these verses, which is persecution, with the theme of the book of 1 Peter being, "Hope in the midst of suffering." As I study the lives of my brothers and sisters under persecution I sense the urgency to prepare myself and others to face and endure what they are going through. 

We will begin with verse 6 next time, but will conclude this lesson with some hard questions. Do you believe the rapture will come before you have to face death at the hands of your enemy the devil? If you should wake up one morning and realize that you need to evaluate the value of you relationship with Jesus, how much are you willing to give? Are you willing to sacrifice your job, your comfortable home, maybe a family member, and maybe your own life, are you ready and willing to do that? These are questions our brothers and sisters in other countries have had to answer and now experience the results of their answers at the hands of terrorists groups like ISIS. How prepared are you?

Philippians 1:29

The more I learn about persecution the clearer many verses become. Removed from the context of persecution some verses are difficult to clearly understand in our comfortable western culture. Sometimes we skip over these verses or only reference the positive aspect of the verse. In the verse before us is this positive and negative; granted that for the sake of Christ that we should believe, but also granted for the sake of Christ that we should suffer. In our western culture it is easy to teach about the importance of believing in Christ, but it is not easy to teach that it is normal to suffer once becoming a Christian. In cultures where Christians are persecuted, suffering is considered part of becoming a Christian. If you lived under persecution how do you think that would affect your relationship and walk with Jesus Christ? If knowing that you would face persecution would you still have accepted Jesus Christ into your life? Do you think you would deny him now if you faced persecution?

2 Timothy 3:1 - 5

These verses are not very uplifting, but are important for us to think about because we are told to understand what they say so that we will not be caught by surprise. We are told to expect difficult times in the last days, the time in which we live. As you listen to the news, it is clear that life is becoming much more difficult for many, especially in countries where there is persecution. These difficulties arise from our sin. The list of sins given is long and needs to be guarded against by believers. If we are not walking close to the Lord and spending quality time with him and the word of God we will find these undesirable characteristics creeping into our lies.

Verse 4 ends with a conclusion that it is easy for us to fall in love with pleasure found in the world rather than loving God who can provide us with a living hope and a quality of life that is so much beyond the emptiness of pleasure. Be careful of people who are friendly with the world, who have the appearance of godliness, but under times of difficulty fall away because by their pride they deny the power of God. People who love pleasure more than God, who have the appearance of godliness but lack its power seems to be a pretty good description of our western cultural church of today.

Psalm 84:10

What value do you place in your relationship with God? As you make choices in life and set priorities where does God fit in? This verse is a measure of desire to be with or near God. A thousand to one is a pretty high measure. Being stationed at the door of God's house as a doorkeeper and not close to God inside is so much better than the pleasures of walking with the wicked in the world. God has so much to offer; do not let the world distract you from intimacy with him.