Our Sermons

Bible Passage: 1 Peter 5:6-11
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  February 4, 2024

That word “doxology,” is not a strange word for us. It comes from a combination of two Greek words: “doxa”, which means “glory,” and “logia” which means, “word.” A doxology, then, is a word of glory or a word of praise, which should make sense when we think of the hymn that we have named, “The Doxology.” Sing it with me. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

Doxologies permeate the Scriptures. You find them scattered throughout both the Old and New Testaments. They appear rather spasmodically, these sudden bursts of glory and praise for our God, often as if the writer just can’t come up with enough ways to praise our God for all he’s done. But almost synonymous with doxology is blessing and glory. Which makes the doxology at the end of our second lesson for today a little strange. The doxology we find in verse 11 reads, “To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.”

Why would Peter essentially end his letter with this strange doxology? Why this focus on power?

Peter is writing to a group of people who were enduring persecution because of their faith. Certainly they were asking questions as to why. Why were they struggling? Why were they suffering? And maybe part of the why is found in the first couple verses of our lesson. Peter writes, “Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Have sound judgment. Be alert.”

Could part of the reason that these believers were struggling was due to a lack of humility? It seems that could have been part of the problem. In the verses just before our reading, Peter instructs young men to be submissive to those who are older and then he broadens his application to everyone: “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” The opposite of humility is pride. And one has to wonder if pride had slipped into the consciousness of this congregation. But how could that happen? How could this group of people become prideful when they were being persecuted? Pride doesn’t simply come when everything is rosy, although it’s certainly prevalent there too. What all is well, it’s so easy to think that I am the reason all is well. Certainly when compared to those poor saps over there who have all sorts of problems, I’ve got my stuff together. And if any problems do happen to arise, I know that I’ll be able to solve them myself. I can fix it myself. Could that have been the problem which caused Peter to use all of these commands: “Humble yourselves…have sound judgment…be alert.” Certainly that’s possible.

Pride doesn’t just lead to overconfidence, however. It can also lead to worry. When we insist on doing everything ourselves, on our own. When we don’t take Satan seriously, when we see him as just some anti-hero, someone we can handle on our own, anxiety quickly settles in when things stop being so rosy. When there are actual struggles, when things aren’t all well, it’s so easy to be anxious and to worry and to focus more and more on ourselves instead of focusing on Christ.

How about you? Do you wonder why your life is often a struggle? Do you wonder why your problems don’t just evaporate even though you go to church and pray? Do you groan because of carelessness, lovelessness, or recklessness of people in your family? Do you wonder why you still find certain sins so fascinating even when you’ve been burned by them before? Could it be pride? Certainly. But this is also true: you have a fearsome enemy, one of the greatest of the spirit world. “Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” While pride is certainly a danger we want to avoid, so is not taking Satan seriously. Peter describes him as a lion. Lions are indiscriminate killers. It doesn’t matter who or what is in front of them. Their only goal is to kill and destroy. That’s the Devil to a T. His lone goal is to take you to be with him forever in hell. And on our own, we are powerless against him.

That’s the situation these believers found themselves in and the situation we find ourselves in. So often we want to find a doxology, a word of glory about our lives that focuses on what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished. But when we look for that doxology today, all we find is that we are wrecks, spiritual wrecks. And we have an enemy who is crazy, mighty, and dangerous; a single-minded killer.

Can you see now, why Peter speaks the doxology he does? “To him be the power forever and ever.” Can you see now why his focus is on Christ Jesus and his power? Peter started this section with all of these commands: Humble yourself, cast your anxiety, have sound judgment, be alert, resist. And you think to yourself, “I can’t do this. I don’t have the power.” But notice the power doesn’t come from you. “Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up.” God is the one who supplies the power. God is the one who, as Mary sang in her Magnificat, “has lifted up the lowly.” It is God who wants our cares, our concerns, our anxious thoughts because he cares for us. Did you hear that? You matter to God. You are relevant to him. Don’t be afraid to humble yourself, to lay everything out before him. God’s hand is powerful to shield you. God’s hand is powerful to lift you up.

Isn’t that a little bit of a weird picture? I mean, who’s really afraid of or going to find power in a hand? Have any of you ever heard of the “one-inch punch”? Martial artist, Bruce Lee, developed this technique that without winding up, with his fist only an inch from your chest, he could knock a person flat on their back, his punch was that powerful. It doesn’t seem like much, but you wouldn’t find me standing in line to be punched by Bruce Lee. How much more so our God, whose hands hold the world, on whose hands are inscribed the names of his chosen, whose hands stretched out on the cross and bore the nails to take away the sin of the world. These powerful hands are over you to protect you and under you to lift you up.

Friends, don’t be afraid to admit that you are weak. Set aside your pride. Bring your anxious thoughts and cast them on Jesus. Yes, we have an enemy who is a big talker. He’s constantly accusing, constantly tempting. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t resist. This doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. Remember friends, we’re not the only ones who are enduring this. Peter reminds us: “You know the same kinds of sufferings are being laid on your brotherhood all over the world.” Just as importantly, remember that this suffering is temporary! “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you.”

If you’ve ever seen new saplings planted, you probably have noticed how stakes are driven into the ground around the sapling and that straps are wrapped around the sapling and then tied to the stakes. Saplings need that support early on because a strong wind could easily bend and break those saplings without that support. However, as those saplings grow, the straps around the saplings need to be loosened so that the saplings can get used to the wind and grow stronger to stand up against it. That’s what the Lord is doing for us when we suffer in this life. He’s loosing the straps of his protection so that we can stand up against the attacks of Satan. But he doesn’t leave us alone. No, after a little while he comes with power.

Notice there’s four different ways that Peter describes that power. First, God restores. Like an artisan who fixes something that is broken, God restores us. He repairs us as good as new. Second, God establishes. Hearts that have wavered in the face of temptation and trial need to be encouraged and assured that help is here. Through his Word, God establishes our confidence again. Third, God strengthens. Just like exercise improves muscles that have become weak, God strengthens us again through Word and Sacrament. Finally, God supports. Like that house that is built on the rock solid foundation so that it can withstand the storms that blast against it, so God gives us the foundation of his Word to support us in all things.

And so, maybe this doxology isn’t that strange after all. Maybe this doxology is the exact comfort that we need to be reminded that Jesus appeared in power to undo the works of the Devil. As people who struggle with temptation; as people who struggle with pride; as people who are weak and helpless against the roaring lion, we also pray: “To him be the power forever and ever!” Our God is a God of all grace! All of that love, that undeserved love, he gives to us empower us to serve him until he takes us to that eternal glory to which we’ve already been called. As restored, established, strengthened and supported children of God, give God the spasmodic praise he deserves! And today we especially pray, “To him be the power forever and ever! Amen!”