A Call To Holy Living Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: August 4, 2007

Date Preached: August 5, 2007

Where Preached: OZHBC (PM)

Sermon Details:

Sermon Series: A Study in 1 Peter

Sermon Title: A Call to Holy Living

Sermon Text: 1 Peter 1:13 - 16

13Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

Introduction:

When was the last time you fed a baby oatmeal? Fruit? OR my all time favorite… green beans or peas?

Regardless of what you may be serving when your baby does not want to eat his or her entire body gets engaged in the struggle. The jaws become cast iron letting nothing enter the mouth. Any food that may miraculously make it past the lips is pushed out by an iron tongue.

The baby develops great eye coordination at these times when you want it to finish the last few bites, but he or she has had enough. The spoonful headed for the mouth hits the ear instead, a small hand pushes the spoonful into your lap. How many of you have ever been there?

Now we all know that babies need to eat, and good nutrition is important for their growth and development. However, no matter how hard we may try, UNLESS THE BABY IS YIELDED AND WILLING TO EAT, WE CANNOT “FILL IT” WITH FOOD.

When the same baby is hungry or thirsty and is crying out making its desire know, then it is much easier to “fill” the baby.

When we think about it… it is like that spiritually for us! The Holy Spirit does not force Himself on the believer to “FILL US.”

In the same way that a baby needs to have a desire for food or drink to be willing to eat, we must also crave the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives in order to be “filled with the Spirit.”

Tonight I want us to look at a passage where I believe reveals Peter’s heart for those in Christ, and his desire for them to be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ in their lives! It was his desire to guide them as God instructed him, to be an example and to teach the proper way to live as God commanded!

We can read into the tone of this letter by Peter and see that he was extremely alarmed at the relative ease in which the new believers would fall back into their old way of life. So in this passage we find him pointing out to these Roman believers and all who read his letter that they were to take responsibility for their actions AT ALL TIMES!

Prepare your minds for action…

Here Peter is instructing the believers to make preparations, as if they were going on a trip… or doing a job… The NASB version says, “…gird up the loins of your mind…”

The Greek word used here is anazônnymi which is actually a word picture or a metaphor to illustrate a point. It represents the ancient practice of those from the 1st century.

In order for them to be unimpeded in their movements, when they started a journey or engaged in any work, they would bind up their long flowing garments closely around their bodies and then they would fasten them with a leather belt.

Here Peter is telling us that we are on a trip, when we enter into the kingdom was are called by God to journey with Him. It is a journey that will entail hard work and much movement on our part if we are obedient to Him.

And along this journey we are doing the Lord’s work, so Peter says… PREPARE yourself for this journey… prepare your mind as these people would prepare for their journey!

This is Peter’s simple way of saying that we must focus on what God desires for our life! Focus on it and put our energies into it… we are to point our every effort into doing what God has called us to do!

Prepare for your journey with God each and every morning! Prepare by speaking to God, prepare by reading His word, prepare by planning your day, prepare by making up in your mind that you are going to be obedient and rely on God today!

Keep sober in spirit…

Now when you hear the word ‘sober’ what is your automatic definition for that word! Well, let me tell you what I think about, I think about being drunk and that sober is just the opposite of being drunk.