Moments in the life of a Pastor

Walking with God

Category Archives: 1 Peter series – “Holding onto Hope in a Hostile World”


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59 Watchful Warriors – Part 2

1 Peter 5:6-14

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. 10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen. 12 I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace. 13 Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet each other with a kiss of love. Peace be with all of you who are in Christ.”

Third Peter calls us to pay attention to our adversary the:

  1. Prince of Darkness-Adversary – Vs 8-9

We have an enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. A good soldier studies their enemy, and knows their makeup, their mission and their methods. As a result Peter tells us to:

  • Stay Alert

He is not just an adversary he is our great enemy, which means that we need to take Satan seriously. When it comes to His makeup he has a corrupt character. The bible says that He masquerades as an angel of light. In recent years warfare has increasingly turned to stealth technology. Stealth attacks rely on the element of surprise, if they don’t see you coming you can do more damage. Look Satan is slick he is going to try the sneak attack, and many of us are susceptible because we are sleeping. Peter describes the Devil as a prowling predator, how do lions attack, stealth, they stalk and sneak up on their prey. Peter is telling us to stop being spiritual sluggards. Satan doesn’t want to maim he wants to massacre you, His goal is not to damage but to destroy. You are either going to be LION ALERT OR NOT LION DESSERT. You are either going to pray or be prey.

  • Stand Firm

Satan preys on our fears, he loves to roar and cause us to run. We need to stay alert and stand our ground because this is serious. Satan doesn’t fight fair, he uses anything and everything that he can to bring us down. His goal is to discourage you so that you will give up and desert. But Peter tells us to stop running and start standing, when it comes to Satan the strategy is simple, stand your ground. Lions roar to frighten their prey into fleeing. They are intensely territorial, and they also roar to announce that they are in charge of a certain territory. Satan wants to fool you into thinking that he’s in charge. But you need to resist the urge to run when the lion roars. We’re told to flee immorality, idolatry and youthful lusts, but we’re never instructed to flee from the devil. But we don’t stand in our own strength. Lions are incredibly strong often weighing 600 plus pounds and standing about four-feet tall, they are 20 times stronger than we are. We can’t fight Satan in our own strength, instead we are to submit to the Savior. James 4:7 puts it like this: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” You will never stand against Satan until you submit to the Savior. When you submit to the Savior you will stop running scared, instead we need to stick together and make a stand. Satan is smart, he knows your weak areas and as a smart soldier so should you. Those places where you struggle the most, where you need to start rely on God’s strength. We are to stand in God’s strength and when we do we will be targeted less often. The only reason we are attacked there over and over is because Satan has success there.


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57 Feeding or Fleecing the Flock? – Part 4

1 Peter 5:1-5

“And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t Lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

  1. Reward / Crown

Peter reminds us that our responsibilities come with a reward.  “And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.” Notice that Peter doesn’t say if He appears, but when. We are also told here that Jesus is the Great Shepherd, which means I serve as an under-shepherd. Christ is the CEO he calls the shots and pastors should be serving in submission to the Savior. The reward that comes at the return is the “crown of glory” Its the victor’s crown which is a symbol of special honor. It was the only prize ancient Olympic runners received and was therefore cherished as a great treasure. But we have to face reality, its groaning now and glory later. Today there are a lot of people looking for a title, they want the position but not the perspiration, they want the title but not the trials. But you don’t get the crown without the cross. If you want to be a pastor then you better be prepared for the pain, because people will hurt your heart. That’s where you better know that you are called by God.  Because if you base it on your circumstances instead of your call you will crumble and instead of being a shepherd you will become a statistic.

  1. Response / Congregation

While there are only a few who serve as elders/pastors every Christian is called to be a contributor. We are saved to serve Pastors play a key part but what is everyone else to do? Verse 5 gives the response: you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. See here is where most sheep struggle, because you are called to submit to those who shepherd you. The word, “submit” means to “place under in an orderly fashion” its a military term describing troop divisions arranged under the authority of the leader. It’s an attitude of respect and recognition of rank. And it’s in the aorist tense meaning it is a command to fall into line under God-appointed leadership and to do it now. So why do we struggle to submit, two major reasons, fear and our flesh. We are afraid we will be taken advantage of. But let me ask you this if your pastor is modeling the message, feeding and leading you in love not lording it over you then why would you fear that and fight it in your flesh? My job isn’t to tell you to submit it’s to serve, yours is to submit and comes from the Savior. Why do we need to submit, because submission opens the door to service. Peter tells us to dress ourselves in humility. It’s the picture of a slave putting on an apron before tackling his tasks. Our model for this is the Master, Jesus who took a towel and girded Himself and then washed his disciples dirty feet. The world tells us to dress for success to put on your best, but the Word tells us to dress for service. It’s not about looking good it’s about loving God’s people. Do you have a heart of humility, when was the last time you worn an apron?