Living Hope #5

Northside Church

1 Peter #4 Living HOPE

Jamey Mills

11/13/22

My name is Jamey Mills and I am the lead Pastor here at Northside… It’s great to be with you all.

1 Peter 5:1–9 NLT

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.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 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.

(NLT)

And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a . And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 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. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

5 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.”

6 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.

Peter begins signing off, And it's common, did I suggest a TV instead accentuate these 3 foundational… important truths… these things that he wants them to cling to int he face of the harassment… and all of them are sort of wrapped up in or impacted by this underlying idea of humility.

Peter talks about the importance of leadership in the face of it. We talked about this about a month ago, but there are three words did the Bible uses to describe one role within the church.

Three words that describe one role…

Elder, Shepherd, and overseer.

All three of those words are used in the first two verses.

And those words help us to understand the role in the function that this position is to play with in the church.

What leaders provide…

Peter says that leaders care for and watch out for the flock that God has entrusted to them…

That idea of being entrusted by God … is heavy.

With that we realize that

This form of leadership is actually a calling…

That God is the one that moves and gifts people into that position…

That

God has expectations on what these leaders do and

how they do it.

AND… that these leaders will be held accountable by God Himself… for these things.

Peter provides a list of some of the things leaders are to provide…

Wisdom

Leadership and direction

Accountability

Care

Oversight

Most authors suggest it can really be boiled down to

Feeding

Leading

But it involves all of those things.

In terms of how they lead…

Peter said that he too, is an elder… and a witness to the sufferings of Christ...

Witness = someone who’s seen and heard…and tells others…

He’s saying that he personally walked and talked with Jesus… he led people… out of his own experience…

Church leaders personally walk with God and are growing in that relationship.

It’s non negotiable;

Growing… 2 Peter 3:18 says it this way… growing more and more in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

Peter is saying Church leaders lead by example

… that it's a big part of what’s required of them.

That they live, speak and lead out of their experience with Jesus.

Personally I don’t think it's a call to perfection… but to humility, transparency, a strong commitment to following Jesus, a strong commitment to godly relationships and to growing in Christ likeness.

Like anyone else… They experience ups and downs, highs and lows… peaks and valleys in their relationship with Him… but he’s saying that leaders live their lives and lead from a place of close connection, deep commitment… and high investment in Jesus.

On author said “sheep aren’t driven well, they are led”.

I was a youth pastor in Dayton for a while… tiny town that I am pretty sure has more sheep than people… it wasn’t uncommon to see sheep walking down the road in the middle of the service… and it was always that same guys sheep… someone say… in the service… Mitch… there out again… and it’d walk to his truck… get an empty bucket out of the back… let them see it… and simply walk home… and they’d follow.

One author said it like this…

As a shepherd grows… So do the sheep prosper.

This is the way I’ve said it… you cannot lead people in a direction you are not headed.

Growing in faith, our submission to and likeness of Christ…

Leaders don’t lead like this for attention, for power, for their benefit or to put forth their agenda, not harshly… but with humility and with serving God in mind.

Their job… first and foremost… is to lead with God in mind.

Peter’s own experience… after denying Jesus… emphatically denying Jesus 3 times… Peter sat down with Jesus… to deal with that… almost feels like he’s reinstating Peter’s leadership…

3 times… Peter, do you love me… yes lord… then feed my sheep.

They care for and watch over… and set the example out of their own experience with Jesus.

We are in the process of setting the 2023 ministry calendar now… and we noticed that we had softly planned our 3rd birthday on a bad date…

We’ve officially moved our NS birthday celebration to Feb. 19… 10 AM right here…

It’ll be a great sunday… we’ll have cupcakes… hopefully baptisms…

The whole staff will be here to share… as we celebrate God’s faithfulness and provision through what’s been some incredibly hard and odd years…

Northside’s story… powerful and unique… It’s never been normal.

God’s blessing has been clear from the beginning…

The way the staff came together, the way the financial stuff came together, this school being built… I could go on and on… God’s done several miraculous things along the way…

One thing a church planting agency does (ours is stadia) is work with a planting pastor to establish a short term leadership team that they work with to establish a new Church…

It’s often made of supporting church pastors and members from the agency…

Right away they noticed that Northside was blessed with rough qualified leaders to have this be an internal team… which is healthy and rare…

But we always knew the day was coming.. Where the MT would transition to an eldership… and, our goal is to celebrate the installation of our first elder board on that date…

Here are some things you should know…

The current MT has really been instrumental in leading Northside up to this point.

They are the ones that will be nominated for eldership

We aren’t planning on adding to that team this year, but likely will the following year.

That elders require a affirmation vote from the member of congregation

Info on membership… at the table at this link…

That vote will take place on… Feb 5 and 12

In January there will be opportunities to hear from our MT members… would love to invite you to get to know them if you don't.

My experience with Northside…

My experience with them…

Peter said that leaders lead in humility… and that those under that leadership accept it humility…

That God opposes the proud… and favors the humble…

Humility is a virtue that God honors…

God opposes the proud… favors the humble.

Why?

Proverbs 16:18 NLT

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

(NLT)

18 Pride goes before destruction,

and haughtiness before a fall.

Tons of scholars connect pride to what the bible calls our sinful nature… our pronation toward self and selfishness…

One author said that pride is the oldest sin there is… and that it destroys everything it touches… in all seriousness…

Vds 5 actually says… all of you, clothe yourselves with humility… it’s connected with taking on the heart of a servant…

And it's one of the ways we align with the heart of God.

What field…

Empty heads stand up… the full ones bow low.

Peter says to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…

Part of this kind of humility comes with the confidence in how God is… that He is able… in scripture the phrase… the mighty hand of God, if often used with God’ ability to deliver His people…

And into that…

Peter says cast all of your cares on Him… because He cares for you.

Why do we cast our cares on Him?

It was interesting… i did a word study on the word all…

Turns out it means… all.

All of your cares… your worries… struggles… hardships… anxiety

This thought is connected to humility… knowing who we are and who He is… leads us to this point.

Matthew 6:25 NLT

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:31–34 NLT

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Phil 4:6-7 says don’t worry about anything… pray about everything… Thank God for all He does… It says living like that leads to experiencing God’s peace.

In an oppressive culture that feels out of control… crazy… who doesn’t long for that sort of peace…

It's found in casting your cares on him… each one… by name… praying… and in being thankful before God…

The Greek word for care is a compound word that literally means to tear the mind.

These things that tear our mind away… from God’s peace and presence in our life.

And so I started thinking… why would we not… why would we not cast our cares on God…

He’s to little, can't do anything about it

He’s too busy…

I’ve been to bad

We are afraid of relinquishing control.

I really don't think He cares

Or maybe even… we don't care

One author said it like this… when it comes to these things… the anxiety, worry and fear… we have to make choices… Carry it or cast it.

Romans 8:31b(NLT)

“If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Casting your cares on God is acknowledging his sovereignty… it comes from a place of humility… and leads us to a fuller sense of peace.

Lastly, Peter reminds them to be vigilant… sober minded… think clearly…

Why…

Because YOUR enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion…

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

There is an enemy… and so many times we misidentify who and what it is.

Peter says the devil prowls like a roaring lion…

That word is eerie…

This idea of waiting… watching… even studying…

Looking for areas and moments of weakness…

The idea is… he knows when, where, and how to attack…

This is satan’s purpose is

John 10:10 NLT

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

(NLT)

10 to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

His goal… is not to hurt your feelings or make you feel bad…

His goal is to get at God by getting to you…

To take you out… to destroy hope… to rob you of the fullness and freedom that Jesus came to give… by any means he can…

Busy

Guilt and shame

Distracted by far lesser things

Bring in addictions

Mad

Anxious

Fearful

Rob you of joy

Rob you of value

Lead you to value the wrong things

Get you to surround yourself with the wrong things…

Get you isolated from God and the right people

Isolation is huge… if he can get you there… he's got you. Just watch the discovery channel.

It’s why one of the first things we want people to hear at Northside is.. You were never meant to be just on the fringe… get involved…

Jesus also says that

John 8:44 NLT

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

b (NLT)

He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

He’s a liar… deceptive… comes in all kinds of disguises..

Snake, wolf in sheep's clothing… The bible says he even masquerades as an angel of light.

Constantly works with 1\2 truth… Constantly tries to get to you questions the validity of what God says or God’s motives.

If we want to fight all that's wrong in the world… we’d be smart to focus on who the real enemy is as well as… and what fighting him really looks like.

Humility… in leadership, in bringing our cares to Him, and in understanding we are vulnerable to the enemy… in ways that lead us more and more to Jesus.

Today, as we begin to prepare for Communion…

The thing that really stuck out to me is… how are you doing when it comes to

Bringing all of your cares to Christ… and leaving them there…

Worries, anxious thoughts, fear, anger… guilt, shame…

There are going to be some people at the back corner of the room… and if there are ways we can be praying for you.. Please come and meet us during the next couple of songs.

Terry… Communion thought