Living Good Lives – Part 8
This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called “Living Good Lives”.
Today we will be finishing our series called “Living Good Lives”. This series has been based on 1 Peter and in particular about the challenge Peter gives us in 1 Peter 2:12 to live such good lives that it has an impact on people who are not yet believers. As we continue on today in 1 Peter 5, Peter once again gives us some ideas on how to lead lives of significance, lives that have impact for the Kingdom of God.
1 Peter 5:1-7 (NIV)
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Three things we can do to make an impact
1. START SERVING
Peter is writing these verses to leaders, people who in the Kingdom of God are supposed to be known for being servants. This was one of the foundational messages of Jesus. Those who would lead, those who wished to make a difference, would be people who would serve. There are some elements of serving that we need to understand.
a) Choose desire over duty.
1 Peter 5:2b (NIV)
not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;
Four words that will never make a significant impact on the world….If I have to….
Some people feel like their entire lives consist of things they Have To Do. Their relationships, their jobs, are all have tos. It feels like a trap and like nothing will ever change. Some times people think that the only way out is a change of circumstances. Let me suggest a different option. Instead of a change of circumstances for the have tos in life, how about a change of heart. Changing all those duties and responsibilities in life into opportunities. When you can look at things as opportunities instead of duties, it is amazing how much energy you have to do the things that there never seemed to be any energy for when they were just duty. This is what willingness is all about.
How can you change your have tos into want tos? I suggest a simple prayer from the heart. “God, I’m willing to be made willing.” This makes God your partner. All of a sudden you’re not in it alone.
b) Choose Giving over Getting.
1 Peter 5:2c (NIV)
not greedy for money, but eager to serve;
By nature, we tend to be way more concerned with getting than giving. The amazing thing is that giving is where life is really found. Getting sometimes seems like the answer but you don’t make a lasting impact by what you get, you make a lasting impact by what you give in life.
Is having money a problem? No. Money is not the root of all evil. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. The problem is one of selfishness. It is selfishness that keeps us from being satisfied with and enjoying what we have. We are always reaching for more.
Giving, through serving, is where it’s all about.
c) Choose being an example over being in control.
1 Peter 5:3 (NIV)
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
You don’t make a lasting impact by telling people what to do. You make a lasting impact by showing people how to do it. I think we would all agree that the world doesn’t need more people telling us what to do, it desperately needs more people showing us what to do. The power to make a real difference is not in your words, it’s in your example.
2. STAY HUMBLE
1 Peter 5:5-6 (NIV)
5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Circle “He” and “in due time”.
Humility says “God, I’m depending on you. I need You in my life.” It says if you humble yourselves like that, He will lift you up. Your life will have significance and impact because He’ll lift you up.
3. STOP WORRYING.
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Worriers don’t make much impact on this world. There’s a couple of reasons. They are so busy fighting imaginary dragons they don’t have any time to fight the real ones. The other thing is, worry tends to make you focus on yourself. As long as you’re focused on yourself you can’t do any of these other things we’ve talked about to make an impact on the world.
The cast in the verse makes me think of fishing and that’s how most of us handle our worries, you cast it like a fishing line. The only problem though is, we tend to reel it back in. You look and say, “Is it still wiggling there on the end of the hook? Yes, the worry is still alive.” So you cast it back out, then you real it back in.
This reminds me of an old fishing joke: An older guy is going out ice fishing. He sits down to fish and he’s not catching anything. But this boy over here is catching all kinds of fish. So he yells, “How are you catching those fish?” The boy looks up and says, “Uuuh”. The guy is trying to figure it out but he’s still not catching anything and he walks over to the boy and says “How are you fishing? How are you catching all these fish?” The boy again says, “Uuuh”. The guy says “I’m not leaving here until you tell me how you’re catching all these fish.” So the kid bends down and spits something out of his mouth and looks up and says, “You’ve got to keep your worms warm.”
How do I stop worrying?
Philippians 4:6-9 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Worry is letting the problem work on you. Prayer is you and God working together on the problem. How would you rather spend your time?
Start serving, stay humble, stop worrying, and you are on your way to living good lives that please God, satisfy you, and impact the world for the Kingdom of God.
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