April 29, 2018 The Power of Humility (1 Peter 5:1-11)

Sermon Outline

God
is only One.
He
is the Trinity and is unique (Mat 28:19).
So God could lift up His Son,
He created all things for Him (Heb 1:2),
placed the Son’s throne in heaven,
and made the Son lower Himself to taste death (Heb 2:9).
He came down to Hades and died (Phi 2:6-8).
Therefore,
God raised Him and sat Him on heaven’s throne,
and He rules the world from there (Mk 16:19-20).
The power of the Lord Jesus is humility (Mk 11:29).
The devil is the special angel who became corrupt (Isa 14:12).
He left his position, opposed the Most High,
and was cast from heaven as the corrupt angel (Isa 14:12-15).
He was cast from heaven to the lowest Hades
and awaits judgment (2 Pet 2:4).
The power of the devil is pride (Ezek 28:14-17).
This is the spirit working in haughty and proud people.
He will receive final judgement and enter the fire of hell (Ezek 28:18).
◌ God tells us to be humble to give us great power.
Only humility overcomes the devil.
The Lord Jesus is the humble King of Kings.
◌ Pride is the instinct of the devil.
Consequently, it is the evil spirit which opposes God.
Pride can only make you the hands and feet of the devil.
◌ Pride feels like immediate victory but perishes
whilst humility feels like immediate loss but surely wins.
Jesus Christ is the humble Ruler.
※ Let us overcome!
Let us be humble to overcome the devil!
Let us overcome the heart that rises up and become humble.

Semuon’s Letter

When people talk about their parents who have passed away, they say that they are in heaven. With some hope in their hearts, they think to themselves that their parents are watching them from heaven. Whenever people say such things, I think about the reality that the soul will have to face after passing through death and after departing from the flesh.

The people of this world have a vague hope concerning what happens after death, because they do not know about the soul. But I know this hope very clearly. Jesus said, “I am the Way.” He came from heaven and went down to the earth. After he finished his public life, he passed through the gate of death. After his soul departed from his flesh, it went into paradise. Three days later, he rose from the dead. When the time was fulfilled, he ascended back into heaven. There were about 500 people who witnessed this ascension.

While Jesus was in this world, he was misunderstood, he suffered persecution and he was betrayed. But he had a particular mission to take up for the sake of humanity. After he had finished all his work, he proclaimed, “It is finished!” Even one of the criminals close by – though he did not know the Way of Jesus – after he discovered that his way was different from the Lord’s, he pleaded with the Lord Jesus. And having received permission, he was told, “You will be with me in paradise.” With this kind of faith, one can gain the eternal experience that the Lord Jesus promised – that he would lead us into heaven. We must learn wisdom from such a criminal as this.

Jesus is the ‘Shortcut to heaven’. Jesus laid down the very bricks of this Way. It is on this Way that he went from heaven, down to the earth. It is also the expressway to heaven. Those who have driven a car will have had this experience: when you come out of the main road, you go through the interchange, and then enter into the expressway. In the same way, the way to life is to hear the gospel and transfer ourselves onto the Way of Jesus. It is only through this Way that we can enter heaven.

The destination of the ordinary life of humans is what is called ‘destiny.’ Hebrews 9:27 warns us: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement…” No one can escape judgement. There are three pathways that the soul of man is destined to go. The first of these paths is the Shortcut to heaven, which was prepared and made ready by Jesus Christ. After a person is united with Jesus, he will enter onto this Way, he will pass through the gate of death, and instantly go to Paradise. When the time comes, he will resurrect, and he will reign along with the Lord. Finally, he will enter heaven. After we have all entered there, the heavenly hosts that will await us will be our attendants. This place is the very house of God the Father.

The second path belongs to those who stubbornly followed the Law and lived a religious way of life, trying in vain to keep their consciences clean. Right along with them are the ones who stubbornly followed their consciences and were hopelessly preoccupied with discerning good and evil. All of them will, for a while, remain in a separate place. But afterwards, just as they have deliberately chosen, they will receive judgement in accordance with the law of good and evil. And the rest of the people, the people of the third path, after they have passed the threshold of death, they will go around as demons. They will go down to the abyss. Because the sentencing of their judgement was passed in advance, they will have no opportunity for any reconciliation. They will be thrown into the lake of burning sulphur. As for me, I have entered, very early on, onto this Shortcut of the Lord Jesus.

Semuon