Title Let's Overcome Crisis (1 Peter 5:6-11)
Contents
The life of a saint is a life of victory that rises eight times even if you fall seven times. Indeed, the thinness of the saints that God keeps is a life that has no choice but to overcome, and it is a life that overcomes and overcomes. However, even in the lives of these saints, there are times when crisis strikes.
Just as a storm raged in the Euragul on Paul's ship carrying the gospel across the Mediterranean Sea, crises are lurking all over the course of life.
The Bible also says, “Our years are 70, and if we are strong we are 80, but only toil and sorrow” (Psalm 90:10). Even though we live a short life, we go through various hardships day by day. Health problems, economic problems, children's problems, family problems, indeed, life is full of problems, and conquering them one by one will make life difficult. But what is the most severe suffering we encounter? It's the devil's pain.
Verse 8 says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” What does the devil do? It will lead your life to ruin. Somehow they lead them to depart from life, somehow they lead them to depart from faith, and somehow they make them children of perdition who are punished by hell. Therefore, believers must always be vigilant and vigilant, strengthen their faith, and overcome the devil.
So, when do we face such a crisis of life?
I. Crisis comes when faith is idle.
Verse 9 says, “Be strong in the faith and resist him.”
Paul said in Ephesians 6:12, “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and against the rulers of this darkness, and against the spirits of evil in the heavens.”
How are the saints fighting? Do you fail or succeed? It's not a fight of failure. The battle of the saints is the battle of life, death or life. Victory is eternal life, failure is hell. Therefore, this spiritual battle cannot be done in my own strength. If you rely only on your own strength, you will have no choice but to lose. So, in order to win this battle, we must put on the full armor of God.
“You must put on the belt of truth. You must put on the breastplate of righteousness. You must wear the shoes of the gospel. You must have the shield of faith. You must wear the helmet of salvation. You must have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word. With all prayers and supplications, we must pray in the Holy Spirit continually and watch and strive to ask” (Ephesians 6:14-18). This is the way the saints live, Paul says.
However, even though we are living a good life of faith, our faith gradually loses its strength from when and for whatever reason. It may or may not be visible. The sound of reading the Bible is reduced. Prayer voices are reduced. Tears run dry. As we get closer to the world, we are now getting farther and farther away from the church.
What happens when your faith is so lax? The devil follows. A person who falls into the hands of the devil falls into a crisis of life that he cannot handle on his own. That's why Peter said, "Stand against him, strong in your faith." What is life against the devil like? It is to be close to the body of the Lord, the Church. It is to bow down before the altar of the Lord. Restoring worship. They are earnest in gathering, earnest in listening to the Word, and earnest in prayer. It is to be zealous in giving, serving, evangelizing, and missionary work.
When you are close to the Lord, the devil will go far away. When we have the Lord in our heart and serve the Lord with zeal, we can find new strength and overcome any crisis. This is the life against the devil. The Bible says, “But those who wait for the Lord will find new strength, and they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary, they will walk and not get tired” (Isaiah 40:31). I hope you will receive this amazing power of the Holy Spirit, overcome the crisis of faith and life, and become a victorious believer.
II. Crisis comes when you are proud.
Verse 6 says, “Therefore, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, for in due time he will exalt you.”
The Bible says, “Pride precedes destruction, and a haughty heart precedes stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). “The LORD destroys the house of the proud, and sets the boundaries of the widow” (Proverbs 15:25). Saints must succeed and win even in the life of the world. We must receive the blessing of material things, the blessing of health, the business, the family, and the children. It becomes a virtue for the church we serve and brings glory to God. But what we need to know is to realize the dangers of worldly success. What is it? Pride. So where does this pride come from? It comes from forgetting God's grace.
“It is God’s grace that I succeeded” “It is God’s blessing that I did well.” “It is with God’s help that I have won.” To know God's grace like this is humility. But, “My success is my ability.” “I succeeded because I was competent, and I succeeded because I worked hard.” Pride is when people receive the glory that God will receive in this way. A proud person will always fail. How can God destroy a house, and a person whom God hates can succeed and win?
Pride itself is already destruction. What level of faith do we have today? Be humble before God. When I think I'm small, God makes me big, and when I think I'm weak, God holds me strong.
The Bible says, “It is a blessing for me to draw near to God” (Psalm 73:28). “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord” (Proverbs 26:20). “I am what I am by the grace of God” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Please be humble before my success. Please be humble before my happiness.
Ⅲ. A crisis comes when you have excessive greed.
Verse 7 says, “Cast all your anxieties on the Lord, for he counsels him.”
Where do worries, worries, and concerns come from? It comes from our lust. When we try to take responsibility for our problems, we become excessively greedy. Of course, people have desires, dreams, ideals, etc. Without these, life is truly helpless and regressive. But while these are important things in life, these are things that require proper moderation. If you have excessive greed for anything, your lust will mature and give birth to sin, and sin will mature and eventually lead to death (James 1:5).
Today, we can see the sad reality that many companies are going out of business and great entrepreneurs and politicians are disappearing from the field of history. Why? Because he couldn't control his excessive desire. If this is not controlled, it will eventually lead to ruin.
Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). ).
Therefore, we must cast all our cares, worries, and anxieties on God. If you leave it to God, God will take responsibility. To entrust to God is faith, and to entrust a life to God is a life of faith.