Get Busy--The Boss Is Coming!

Get Busy, the Boss is Coming!

I Peter 1:13-16

“Therefore” = he moves from describing our salvation to explaining how we should respond to that salvation.

Because we have been saved into such a privileged position…

Because of all that Jesus Christ has done for us…

We are now confronted with the challenge to allo0w our behavior to be changed/to be different.

There was a man who had been away from his home church for a few years. He had become involved in all kinds of shady practices and criminal activities. But when he came back to his home church and testimony time came—he was ready to talk.

He stood up and said, “I’m so glad to be back in my home church, and I want to tell you that while it’s true I’ve beaten my wife, and I have deserted my children,…I have stolen and lied and done all kinds of evil and served several times in jail—but I want you to know brothers and sisters, that not once, in all that time, did I ever lose my religion!”

People, if your religion is nothing more to you than an eternal life insurance policy, and it has no effect on how you live and how you treat others right now, you are missing the point of salvation. Christianity is good religion because it works in everyday life.

In the parable of the faithful steward in Luke 12, Christ told his disciples, “To who much is given, much is required.” Since we have been given so much, we should have a greater response.

Now, notice something in vs. 13 – Peter talks about the coming of Christ. These people lived expecting Jesus Christ to come in their lifetime.

Vs. 4 talked about their inheritance

Vs. 7 talks about the revelation of Jesus Christ

Vs. 13 talks about when Christ is going to be revealed.

In II Peter, all of chapter 3 talks about the consummation of the end times…

There is no greater motive for Christian work and holy living than to realize that Jesus is coming soon.

Peter makes three points in these verses about the life we are supposed to be living:

1. It is to be a focused life

2. It is to be an obedient life

3. It is to be a holy life.

Let’s look at these three points.

It is to be a focused life. Vs. 13

“Prepare your minds for action…” The word means “tuck in our robe so you can run or fight.”

“Keep sober in spirit…” = be calm, steady, under control. Don’t go running off on tangents or fads.

During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message. General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where the Hessians were encamped. The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the note to the Hessian colonel, but because Rall was involved in a poker game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket. When the guards at the Hessian camp began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington’s army, Rall was still playing cards. Without time to organize, the Hessian army was captured. The battle occurred the day after Christmas, 1776, giving the colonists a late present--their first major victory of the war.

God, forgive us if we get too busy with other things so that we aren’t ready for the battle we are supposed to be fighting. God, rattle us if we aren’t alert and focused on the race we are supposed to be running.

Get your mind focused on the race or the battle that is in front of you. Don’t slough you way through your Christian life—get disciplined…get focused.

I Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil roams around seeking whom he may devour.”

Hebrews 2:1 “For this reason, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we don’t drift away from it…”

There is the real possibility of becoming lazy in our spiritual lives.

You need the discipline of daily Bible reading.

You need the discipline of memorizing God’s Word.

You need the discipline of daily focused prayer time.

It’s too easy for us to just be mediocre Christians and then when the battle gets difficult around us, we fall apart because we’re flabby and out of shape…or we stumble and trip because we have those extra things in our lives that aren’t helping us become more godly. It’s too easy for us to be entangled with the world’s hindrances. It’s too easy for us to be distracted by what the world says is important.