Faith Under Pressure

Faith Under Pressure If you are committed to Jesus, the world will reject you. We should not be surprised. The world crucified Jesus. Old Testament prophets were abused and even killed. Most of the Apostles died as martyrs. Christians around the world suffer persecution daily. We must be ready to pay the price for following Jesus. Peter has been writing to persecuted Christians. Listen to his final message. In 1 Peter 5:8-9, he says Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. The first verse is a warning: The devil is on the prowl. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, with other humans, but with evil spiritual powers. The devil is real and has schemes to take us down. In Revelation12, John calls him the accuser of the brethren. He seeks to convince you that you are a failure, too unworthy to receive God's grace, but God's grace is for the unworthy. Peter says that the devil is seeking to devour us. He wants to drink you down, to swallow you up, to destroy you. So, Peter tells us to be sober. We need to maintain clear thinking and trust in God's grace and power to keep us. We are also to stay alert, to watch and be vigilant spiritually. There is no place for spiritual apathy. We are to seek to follow Jesus not to seek confrontation with the devil. But we must stay alert to resist Satan's attacks when they come against us or others. Peter gives the source of victory in verse nine. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Resist the devil. In Ephesians 6, Paul repeatedly tells us to take our stand against him and his schemes. He then advises us to stand with the shield of faith relying on the sword of God's word. Victory is promised if we submit to God and then resist the devil. James puts it plainly: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Having just emphasized humility and submission himself, Peter likewise tells us to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith. He then adds that we are not alone. Brothers and sisters in Christ around the world share in this battle. So, stand against the enemy trusting that God is faithful and staying faithful to Him. Honor the faith of our brothers and sisters by standing in faith and praying for them. Before his final summation and greetings, Peter gives a closing promise in verses 10-11. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. He is the God of all grace. His gifts are free, unearned by us and totally undeserved by us. According to Peter's second letter, He gives us everything we need for life and godliness. He has called you to his eternal glory in Christ. He can do this for us because He has all power for ever and ever. This grace gives us a living hope. However, Peter then adds the words: after you have suffered a little while. In chapter 4, we learned that suffering is sometimes God's will for us. In the first chapter, he told us that God uses trials of all kinds to refine our faith. Compared to eternal glory, our suffering is only for a little while, although a little while to God can seem like a long time to us. Peter says this to encourage us. Our suffering in faith will bear fruit. God promises to restore us, to make us complete and equip us for service. God will make us strong, establishing and strengthening us in the faith. God will make us firm, another word for being strong. God will make us steadfast; stable and built on a solid foundation of faith in Jesus. God is offering us true grace: Undeserved favor in and through Jesus Christ, Undeserved deliverance from all our trials and from the devil's schemes, Undeserved meaning and purpose for life serving our Creator and Redeemer, and Undeserved glory lasting for eternity in His presence. This grace is received only by faith in Jesus. We enter God's grace by turning from our sin to trust in Jesus. We continue in this grace by continuing to trust and rely on Jesus. We receive power for victory through faith in Jesus. This faith calls for a total commitment to Jesus. Do not let fear hold you back. Trust in Jesus. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.