# The valleys

Category: Suffering, Trials & Burdens
Key Passage: 1 Peter 5:8-10
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: June 7, 2024

Turn to 1 Peter chapter five, if you would please. I just want to make sure: did our young folk over here get visited? Young folk, did you get good visits? We want to make sure we have a record to visit and can follow up and whatnot. That’s great. First Peter chapter number five.

In God’s word, we have been preaching on Sunday morning this month on: Why the valleys? Why does God allow His people to go through tough times? The first Sunday, we focused on how in the valley, there is fertile ground.

My wife and I took a trip this week. We went to Branson, Missouri. We had a little getaway. We enjoyed ourselves. My wife has been working on me all week long to get me straightened out, and she says there is a whole lot more work to be accomplished in the future, you know. And wife, you don’t have to shake your head so much like that. I’ve seen all the wives shaking their heads, you know.

But we passed by a portion where I think the Tennessee River and the Mississippi River all come together. For miles you travel kind of on this side of the river. Just as far as you can look, it’s farming land. It’s very fertile in the valley right beside the river there. That first Sunday we focused on why the valleys exist: because that’s where fertile ground is. People get saved often when they go through the valley. People grow in the Lord. There is growth in the valley.

Last Sunday we preached on there being cleansing in the valley. God often gets rid of our materialism and rids us of our self-righteousness and many other things. You can come on the other side of the valley, just like after it rains, you go out and it just feels clean and fresh, you know. You can come out of the valley feeling cleansed and refreshed because of the valley.

This morning we really want to focus on four things God would like to do in your life in the valley. Very biblical. We’re going to be over here in 1 Peter chapter 5. If you are there already, would you say amen? Good deal. 1 Peter 5. Let’s all stand, if you would please, as we read God’s word together. First Peter chapter 5.

We’re going to be in verse number 8, 1 Peter 5, verse number 8. God’s word. The Bible says, “Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”

“Whom resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.”

Four words. We’ll focus on here in just a minute. You may be seated.

If you go back over there, verse number eight, let’s just kind of rehearse a little bit. First Peter 5, look at verse number eight. It says, “Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary…” Every single person here, it doesn’t matter how tall, short, big, little—whatever we are—you have an adversary. It doesn’t matter. I said, “Well, I’ve kind of reached the age.” It doesn’t matter your age; you have an adversary. Our young folk, I’m so glad you are here with us today. You’ve got an adversary. You’ve got an enemy. If you’re in this world, you’ve got an enemy. It’s not your brother or your sister, okay? Well, sometimes. But no, that’s not your enemy. Everybody’s got an enemy. The Bible says it is the devil. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck in the middle of a war, a battle going on. God, He is almighty; in the end, He’ll win: God and His forces and the devil and his forces. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck in the middle of this.

Every once in a while, I don’t know about you, but every once in a while, I like to go A.W.O.L. Was it not A.W.O.L.? Thank you. A.W., there you go. We’re going to get there one of these days, amen. Stay out of my preaching, brother. No, I’m joking. I had to get my hard time. What does it stand for? A.W.O.L. Say it again. Absent Without Leave. I told you. I’m preaching. No. I’ve got to get my hard time. I love him. But every once in a while, don’t you want to just leave the battle? Yes. But you can’t.

My wife and I went to Branson, Missouri, and my wife was still fighting me over there in Branson, Missouri. That’s supposed to be a joke, folks, okay? But it doesn’t matter where you are; there’s a battle. You’re going to be in a battle as long as you’re breathing. It’s just going to be a part of it. So don’t get the attitude, “Oh, I’m so tired of this battle.” Friend, the only way I get out of it is to die.

That’s what He’s saying in verse number 8: “Be sober, be vigilant,” be willing to recognize you’re in a battle. We want to let down all of our guards, and Satan loves that right there.

Verse number 9. He says, “Whom resist, steadfast in the faith,” talking about the devil. You’re going to have to fight back. You’re going to have to resist. He’s going to be trying to appeal to your weaknesses. He’s walking about seeking whom he may devour. He knows us, fellas. We can be awfully selfish. Just be honest about it. We can be. And Satan knows that, and he’s going to try to appeal to our selfishness, and you’re going to have to battle that.

I don’t know. Maybe your weakness is all about you and how you feel. But Satan is going to be keying in on it. He’s walking about seeking whom he may devour, and you’re going to have to resist him.

Young people, can I say a typical battle for young people? You’re going to want to fit in and be popular with your friends. I was the same way when I was a young person. He’s going to try to use that, and you’re going to have to resist that and battle against that. He’s saying you’re going to have to resist. You’re going to be in a fight till the day you go home. Whether you like it or not, that’s just the truth. Amen.

So verse number 8, we got in there. Everybody’s got an enemy. Verse number 9, he says, I want you to resist it. Let’s keep going. Let’s get down to our text verse. Look in verse number 10. Oh, I’m sorry. Let’s get one more thing in verse number 9, if you would please: “Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

They’re just saying, here’s the temptation: “Oh, woe is me. God is so bad. Nobody knows what I’m going through.” I said, “No, no.” You know your brethren that are in the world; as long as they’re in the world, they’re going to have the same battle. I’ve even watched some people say, “Well, when I live for the Lord, there are more battles.”

Friends, I would much, much, much rather have a battle from living for the Lord than the battle that comes from living for the devil. God takes care of His people; Satan wastes His people. So don’t go that angle: “Well, I better stop living for the Lord because there are a lot of battles.” Friend, I would much rather have the battle of being a godly Christian than the battle of being a sorry Christian and a good warrior for the devil. But as long as you’re in this world, other people have the same afflictions. Don’t think you are the only one. Don’t have that pity party. The other brethren in the world have the same problems. That’s what we’re saying there.

Now, let’s keep going. Verse number 10, 1 Peter 5, verse number 10. He says, “But the God of all grace”—by the way, God has the grace you need to win in the battle—“who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus.” Notice the eternal glory by Christ Jesus.

Here’s the thing: We’re in a valley. I mean, you’ve got no friends, bills keep coming through, back hurts, doctor’s bills are coming through, hospital visits. Just name it—just problems. You ever have these problems in the mail? Just problems.

Now, here’s the thing: We see this valley right here, but God sees eternity. We’re stuck in today. I can’t go back to yesterday; I can’t go forward to tomorrow. The Bible says God inhabits eternity. God’s in the past, He’s in the present, He’s in the future all at the same time. He inhabits eternity. So God sees this valley that you’re going through, what He can do in your life through it, and the difference it can make for all eternity.

Right now, boy, it’s so hurtful, it’s so painful, I’m suffering such a hard thing. God says, “I’m not pleased. I don’t like all that, but I’ve got something in eternity I’m trying to accomplish.” He doesn’t just view today. He doesn’t even view the storm from just tomorrow or next year. Sometimes we can say, “Well, He’s trying to add this in my life for the next 20 years.” Yeah, He sees that, but He sees for all eternity.

We mentioned the first Sunday: If somebody goes through a hard time and they end up getting saved, man, it’s well worth it to go through the valley because of what lasts for all eternity. God’s allowing even His people, once you are saved, sometimes to go to the valley because God’s got something eternal. Something is going to last for thousands, millions and millions of years, not just about today or tomorrow.

Let’s keep going. Verse number 10. He says, after that, bottom of the verse, “ye have suffered.” And that’s suffering. Nobody likes suffering. “And that ye have suffered for a while make you…” Here are the four words we are trying to get to. What is that first word? What does it make you? Perfect.

When he says perfect here, he is not talking about you never doing anything wrong—sinless perfection. We will have someone who used to come, maybe they were 10 or 11 years old, you know, and they’ve moved away or whatever, and they’ve been gone for 10 years. Now they are 22 and they will come back. They will be visiting Tennessee. They come back and say, “Wow. You were supposed to be a little boy. You’re a perfect young man now.” I am not trying to say they are without sin; they are mature or they are grown up. You are just a perfect young man now, a perfect young lady now. We are trying to say you are grown up. When he is talking about perfect here, he means grown up.

Here is the thing. Look up over here. You are not going to become a mature Christian without going to the valleys. Preacher, I would like to be a mature, godly Christian wife and mom or husband and dad. You are not going to get there without going through the valley. You won’t. If I am going to be a mature Christian, if I am going to be on the mountaintop on the other side where I am a mature Christian that God can use me, you are not going to get there without valleys. Young people, I hope that God has put a desire in your heart, and I hope you have let Him put a desire in your heart. You say, “I have a dream. I would like to be a godly man one day.” I hope you have that. You cannot get from here to there as a mature Christian. Valleys are in between here and there. We want to bypass the valleys, but there is no way to get over there on the mountain of being a mature Christian without allowing some valleys.

Anybody out there like basketball? Come on, you like basketball? Seeing some of these guys playing basketball, good, good, good. I always kind of like to keep track of a good college player. Maybe they are a Player of the Year in college, but then they go into the NBA. Take Michael Jordan back in the day. When he first went to the NBA, yes, he was the Rookie of the Year. But you know, he didn’t even make first team All-NBA that year. He didn’t make that. He went to his second team, but he didn’t make the first team. His first year out of college, he didn’t win any championships. He was good for a rookie, but he was a rookie. He had to get a couple years under his belt. Once he had a couple of years and a couple of elbows and a couple of losses under his belt, he became one of the, in my opinion, maybe the best basketball player there ever was. One-sixth champion.

I look at Anthony Davis. Anybody know who Anthony Davis is? Help me out, basketball fans? Yeah. Man, it was just great when he came out of college, but he got in the NBA. He’s a good player, but he’s got some seasons under his belt now, and it’s kind of coming into his prime now. He knows what it is to win or lose. He’s been through some playoffs and he’s lost some.

Take Kawhi Leonard. I am trying to find out how many basketball fans we have out there. Anybody know who Kawhi Leonard is? That’s it. Come on, nobody else? Some of the ladies are like, “No, I don’t know who in the world that is now.” Somebody says, “Go to football.” Basketball season is going now, folks. Come on now. Both leagues are on right now. But in basketball, they stand for the national anthem, but we’ll leave all that alone now. Take Kawhi Leonard. When he came out of college, he was a great player, Rookie of the Year, but he didn’t win any championships his first year. He was a good player, but they had to lose and go through some playoffs, and he’s had some injuries. He just won a championship, got two under his belt now.

Here is what I am saying: In the Christian life, you are not going to come in as a mature Christian. You are going to have to go through some losses and some elbows and some injuries and some battles and some tough situations and things that we don’t think are fair, and we just go through the valley. That is the only way to get over there to the other side as a mature Christian. You cannot get from here to there without valleys. I like the mountaintops, I like to be over there, but the road to the mountaintop of being a mature Christian goes through the valley.

Take Peter. He is the one that penned this book right there. Did you notice that right up top? Peter wrote it. God led him and used Peter to write it. Remember what happened to Peter? Man, he was a guy. “Lord, I’m ready. I will never deny you. I’ll die for you.” He is the one that, when Judas came, they just left the garden, and they were going to arrest Jesus, and Judas kissed Him with a kiss of betrayal. Brother Warren, you don’t have to worry about him. I am not going to do that. Not going to act that out. Did you hear what he said? He said, “Praise the Lord.” Peter was a guy that pulled his sword out. He is ready to fight. I think you are trying to cut the guy’s head off. Boom! You know. The high priest’s servant—I think he ducked—got his ear, cut his ear off, but it missed his neck. I would rather have a missing ear than a missing head, right? You know what I am talking about? It was Peter. He was eager. He was ready.

You cannot get over there to be a mature Christian without going through the valleys. Remember what happened? By the time the rooster crowed—that was the sound bite we played back there—by the time they got to that, Peter denied Him three times. He lost that championship for sure. In the heat of the battle, when the pressure was on, Peter flopped. Peter went out and wept bitterly. Just cried. But friend, we will find out a little bit here: Peter eventually got to the mountain on the other side, but he went through the valley.

You do not get to be a mature Christian just because you have been saved for 30 years. That does not happen. Friend, somebody can be saved for 30 years and still be a very immature Christian. Folks in the book of Corinthians were called babes, and I think they had been saved for a while if you studied it out. But you have to go through the valley, and then you get to the other side.

He says, after that ye have suffered a while, make you: What is the first word? Perfect. Then he says the second thing is establish. And what is the third thing? Strengthen. God said, “I’m going to give you some spiritual muscle.” What do you do if you want to get some muscle? You go over there and you put on some weights, right? You lift 10 pounds. Woo, going to get some muscle. I want more muscle. So what? You take off weight, and now you are only lifting five, right? No. If you want more muscle, you have to add some weight. God said, “I am trying to give you some muscle here.”

Here is the thing about strength in the Christian life: “The more you get, the stronger I get.” It is not quite like that. Look over, if you will, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. This is a man that had weights, problems, burdens in his life. Look in verse 8: “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” This is a burden, a problem, a valley. He said, “I asked the Lord three times to take it away.”

Verse 9: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

If you have been through some major valleys, you say, “Pastor, I don’t feel like I am very strong. I feel like I am just worn out. Got nothing left. I am just barely keeping my head above water, preacher. I don’t feel like this valley is making me strong. I am about as weak as they come.” Anybody ever feel like that? Yes. But here is how it works: God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. That is how God’s people get real strong when they are weak. It is called a life of faith, not sight.

Let’s keep reading here. He says, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in infirmities, if you study the word, it has to do with weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

So over here, when God is telling Peter, “I can make you perfect, I can make you established, and I can make you strengthened,” it does not matter if you have all the muscle. It matters that you are weak. That is when God is strong through you. That is when the world says, “I cannot believe that they are making it and they are doing all right and they are strong enough to handle that.” They do not understand that it is God’s strength being perfected in your weakness. To the immature Christian, you are like, “Man, I am worn out. I cannot do anything else for God.” But to a mature Christian, you realize that is when God’s amazing works show—when I am weak, worn out—that is when His strength shines through. That is when God begins to step in. When we are at the end of our rope, God says, “That is all right. I have a lot longer rope than you.” That is when God’s strength begins to empower you.

That is why Peter, of all the apostles—you know who fell the worst besides Judas, and he was not even a born-again Christian—but of those apostles, Peter is the one that denied Him and cursed. Who was it 50 days later that preached on the day of Pentecost? Peter. 3,000 people getting saved. Who is up there? John the beloved, who was there by Jesus on the cross when He said, “Behold thy mother; behold the son.” I am not against John. Praise the Lord for John. But God chose to use Peter, the guy that fell, that was weak. God’s strength is made perfect in weakness.

So would you say, “Preacher, there are things I am weak in”? I understand. Well, that is when God’s strength comes through because His strength is made perfect in weakness. You do not learn that on the mountaintop; you learn that in the valley. God is allowing you in the valley so you can learn how My people are made strong.

Let’s get this last thing. We are in verse number 10. First Peter 5, are y’all with me? He says, “After that ye have suffered a while, make you…” What is the first word? Perfect. Then the next one? Establish. The next one? Strengthen. And then that last one: Settled.

Settled. How many of you like roller coasters? My hand should not be up. How many of you do not like roller coasters? I am not good at roller coasters. But there has been a time or two that I go off with my kids or somebody, and they will talk me into riding that roller coaster because I do not have enough brains up there. Years ago, I got off a ride when I was young, and I went out behind the back of all the rides where nobody was. Yes, you got it. That is what happened. Not pleasant at all.

There has been a time or two—and there is a ride, I think you turn upside down once or twice, maybe some spins in there—and the kids talk me into it, specifically one kid talks me into it, and I am just dumb enough to ride it. I will be honest with you, that ride in particular, I rode it the first time, I am just holding on, screaming, just surviving. But here is how dumb your pastor is: they talked me into it again. That is the truth. After about my third time, I am kind of relaxing, if you will. I am actually enjoying it a little bit. Well, I did not fall out the first time. I will make it this time. It is kind of different. After a couple of times, you are like, “Eh, flips are no problem.” That settles you. I have been through valleys. I have been through some rough spots, been through some flips before. Almost, not quite, but almost to the point where I just enjoy the ride. It is suffering, yes, but almost where you enjoy it—not quite there. It is still suffering. He took us through all that; He will take us through this. This is part of the journey. That settles you so much.

He has taken us through some deep valleys in the past, and He has always been sufficient going through them. I reckon He will be sufficient now. That settles you. That is when you say, “Boy, I see a storm coming, and it does not look like a good one. This ride is going to have some twisted turns for sure.” God took us through all those; He will take us through this one here. That settles you.

God says, “I am going to allow some valleys in your life, and I can make some things out of it. I can make you where you are mature. I can get it where you are just establishing your direction for the Lord.” God can show you this is how My people get strong. God says, after He settles you, by the way, that takes a lot of faith, but you never learn faith in comfortable surroundings. Your faith grows in the valley. He settles you.

Friend, I do not know your valley. I do not know what is going on in your life. I do not like to say, “Are people suffering?” When God says, “I can do four things, I can make you…” God does it because He makes you perfect, established, strengthened, and settled. God has eternity in mind when you are going through the valley.

Original File: The Valleys - Pastor Paul Chisgar Sunday 102019