Grace and peace be yours in abundance (1 Pe 1:2). Amen.
Perhaps this is a strange question. But I will ask it anyway. Do you ever look at someone’s hands (Maybe you just did with the person sitting next to you.) If I glance at a mechanic’s hands, how is it that they can they change the spark plugs and mine can’t get the hood open? If I gaze at a pianist’s hands, how come they can tickle the ivories and mine seemed to be glued together?
The Bible speaks of God’s hand. The hand is a symbol of power. The Lord can do things that we cannot. Look at God’s hand—powerful to rely on and powerful to rejoice about. We read from …
1 Peter 5:6-11
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, who rose from the dead and returned to the Father,
I wonder if Peter ever stared at Jesus’ hands a time or two or three. He had plenty of opportunities.
There was that time when he was walking above water on the Sea of Galilee. He started fine, but sunk fast. As soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to go under. But Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him (Mt 14:31). That was not the hand of an ordinary lifeguard at a city pool.
On Easter evening, when he and his buddies were behind locked doors, Jesus appeared. He showed them his hands and side (Jn 10:20). The same thing happened a week later when Jesus encouraged Thomas to touch his wounds (Jn 20:27). Those nail marks in his hands meant victory over sin and Satan.
Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, he went back to heaven. (We celebrated the Ascension this past Thursday.) Before he left, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
Whether Peter checked out Jesus’ hands or not is not important. But he does direct us to God’s hand.
Look at God’s Hand
1. Powerful to rely on (6-9)
2. Powerful to rejoice about (10,11)
1. Powerful to rely on (6-9)
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. We recall those men and women who lost their lives in service to this country. If I think of a soldier’s hands, I doubt that they are soft. Rather they are strong. The same would be true for God’s. Look at God’s hand—powerful to rely on.
The apostle Peter turns our attention to our attitude. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand” (1 Pe 5:6). Humility is not always an easy characteristic for any age group—from early age to teenage to middle age to old age. We don’t like to or want to put ourselves lower than another. We like it when life is about me, me, and more me.
How does that look in our relationship with God? When problems or pains come, we complain: “God has no concern.” Or we criticize. “God has no control.” Peter would have us put away such an approach. And he follows with a reminder: “that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Pe 5:6). He raises us up according to his timetable. There is a set time for this, a definite time, like a birthday on the calendar. That can be in different ways. He takes our affliction away, gives us the stamina to go on, or finally ushers us home to heaven.
That is evident in Jesus’ life. Jesus became one of us and just like us—developing in the womb of a virgin girl to dying on a cross. He gladly and willingly kept to God’s plan. We marvel at what that meant—from his birth in a barn to his burial in a tomb. But he did not stay in the there. God exalted him. Jesus came out of the grave. And for a month and 10 days he was in and out of the disciples’ lives, giving them insight and instruction. And then Jesus ascended into heaven, not to rest or retire, but to reign and rule as the Head of the Church, orchestrating all things for our benefit. We count on him.
And so we turn to and trust in God. Because he tells us as much. “Cast all your anxiety on him” (1 Pe 5:7). All those cares that fill our heads during the day and all those concerns that flood our hearts during the night we throw it on God—the pain of a guilty conscience or the problem of a family conflict. I am not a truck guy. I just don’t fit the part. That is my opinion. But that is my picture. It is like tossing all the brush from your yard after some spring cleanup into the bed of a pickup. Let it do the work of hauling. And leave it there. Wouldn’t it be odd to hold on to the sticks and twigs in the back as the vehicle makes its way to the compost site? That makes no sense. But we like to do it anyway.
But listen why we can throw it on him. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Pe 5:7). Peter is emphatic. “To him it is a concern about you.” And not once in a while, but all of the time. He never stops being interested in us whether there is happiness or heartache. Peter was on that mountainside when Jesus lectured his listeners: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear” (Mt 6:25). Then he spoke of the birds of the air who do not plant crops and the lilies of the field who do not sew clothes. God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. In the words of the psalmist David, that is all the work of his fingers (Ps 8:3). And God cares for what he has made. That includes us who are valuable. Look to God’s hand—powerful to rely on. This is the One who handed over his Son to the world, the One who stretched out his hands on the cross, and the One who hands us the truth in the Word.
But so that we don’t get sloppy or sleepy, he warns. “Be self-controlled and alert” (1 Pe 5:8). He wants us to have a clear head and open eyes. This is much more serious than driving while under the influence or steering while on the phone. Again Peter had firsthand experience with the opposite. When they were in Gethsemane, Jesus poured out his heart in prayer while the disciples closed their eyes in sleep. When Jesus roused them, he reminded them: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak” (Mt 26:41). He found that out a few hours later around a fire. He had boasted and bragged that he would even die with Jesus (Mt 26:33-35). But he found himself cursing and contending, “I don’t know him.” Three times (Mt 26:69-74).
The danger is real and the results can be deadly. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pe 5:8). We have one who is very much against us. All the time. He is relentless. And for that reason we dare not underestimate him. He lives up to his name, “the devil”—the accuser, the slanderer. Like someone in a court of law, he brings accusation after accusation against us. Of course, that is after convincing us that he is our friend. But none of that. He now points out our sin against God—and he is right—and then he points to our sentence from God—and it is fair. The devil would like nothing better than to drag you to hell.
That is why the illustration is so informative. You have seen the fearsome king of the jungle stalk an unsuspecting antelope secretly and silently. And then he strikes. He doesn’t do that to take it to lunch, but to take it for lunch. And he swings his paw quickly and swallows his prey completely.
But possibly we might think of the zoo. Lions don’t roam around the sidewalks where people can pet them. They stay in the cages. There they wear down a path as they pace around. Their growl is still intimidating, but it is not frightening. As long as we don’t go through the moat or over the glass. So Peter makes plain: “Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Pe 5:9). We oppose him and he has no choice but to flee from us (Ja 4:7). “Yes, I have sin. But yes, I have a Savior. He was dead, but now is alive. He went into heaven and works for my good.” Satan can try as he will to convict us, but God clears us through Jesus who carried our guilt (Ro 8:1). As Jesus mentioned about himself in his prayer to his Father the night before he died, “For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him” (Jn 17:2). We believe and live.
And then Peter assures us that we are not alone in our suffering and sorrow. We should not be surprised when it comes (1 Pe 4:12). We should expect it. But we have a band of brothers and no shortage of sisters to stand by us and with us. “You know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Pe 5:9). Again if we go back to the wild, a lion will attack an animal that is by itself, not in the middle of the pack. So we surround ourselves with each other’s company to comfort. We stay close to one another and to our God so that Satan cannot cause us to be weak or weary. Together as we go through many tribulations, we look at God’s hand—powerful to rely on.
2. Powerful to rejoice about (10,11)
Memorial Day allows us to thank those in the military for the ultimate sacrifice. (And our appreciation is for those who have served and still serve, even though that is another holiday. But we can’t be too grateful, can we?) That is the case with God. Look at God’s hand—powerful to rejoice about.
And that is what the apostle Peter does as he focuses on God, “the God of all grace” (1 Pe 5:10). God loves. It is who he is and what he does. And that grace is what he brings and gives. And we see that as Peter calls to mind that God is the One “who called you to his eternal glory in Christ” (1 Pe 5:10). He invited us to be his own. That is a better offer than any summons to supper.
Nothing can remove us from that or ruin it for us. As Peter highlights even difficulties last only “a little while” (1 Pe 5:10). They are “light and momentary” (2 Co 4:17). And through it all, the God of grace “will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Pe 5:11). Notice how he piles up the comfort of God’s ability. He will put things in order like a doctor sets a bone. He will strengthen. He will make us able to carry on. He will provide a firm foundation. And God can back it up. That is why Jesus prayed to the Father to protect us (Jn 17:11).
And when Jesus comes back from heaven the way that he went into heaven (Acts 1:11), he will take us to his side. That led Peter to break out in song: “To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Pe 5:11). God is capable of all he offers. We affirm that with our own “Amen.” So shall it be. Look to God’s hand—powerful to rejoice about.
Someone called the other day and wanted to take a picture of our stained glass window up in front. They saw it on the internet and thought it was worthy of a photo. And more than likely we take it for granted. But front and center is Jesus. His hands in blessings like at the end of worship. They are a bit hard to see so we have to look closely. Not such a bad thing. Look at God’s hand—powerful to rely on because of his mercy. And powerful to rejoice about because of his might. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen (1 Pe 5:11). Yes. Amen.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ (1 Pe 5:14). Amen.
May 28, 2017
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