Sermon Brief
Date Written: October 13, 2007
Date Preached: September 16, 2007
Where Preached: OZHBC (PM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: A Study in 1 Peter
Sermon Title: Challenged to Change!
Sermon Text: 1 Peter 2:11-12
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation…
Introduction:
Have you ever met someone who was constantly sharing how much they knew or could do in a certain area, but when challenged they could not produce what they claimed?
I know that in sports this happens a lot, guys talk trash and cannot back up their claims… I can remember a guy who fought Mike Tyson when Mike was Mike… I guess it could have been the early 90’s and this guy claimed he was going to reign down terror on Mike and was going to overwhelm him with boxing skills… 45 seconds into the fight Mike knocked him out… we found out he was all bark and no bite!
As a pastor, I find this happening in the church, where people proclaim Christ with their lips, but fail to live as they claim! It is this type of thing that damages the church much more than Satan ever could. I can remember a DC Talk song, What if I stumble?
The song opens with a man saying these words, “…the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable…”
We are called to speak Christ to the world, but we are also called to live Christ to the world as well. The Apostle Paul said on more than one occasion that we are called to live a life WORTHY of our calling in Christ. In Col 1:10 Paul said this, “…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
Paul wanted believers to understand that living the life was just as important as telling about Christ! We cannot speak Christ to a world of unbelievers and then turn around and live our lives as the world does!
And that is exactly where Peter is coming from in these 2 verses we are looking at tonight…he calls us to live out loud in our faith… so much so that even the world will see how we are living and they will give glory to God!
Tonight I want us to look at these 2 verse and see what we can glean from them to help us to live our faith out loud…in such a way that the world sits up and takes notice of our life and gives glory to God because of it…
A Saved Life is a Changed Life! (v.11)
Peter begins these 2 verses by using a term that many overlook, it is the term beloved… this term is a term of affection. Here Peter reveals his deep emotional attachment to these believers, and his overall love for all who were serving God…
He calls them his beloved… those he loves, will love and shall continue to love… but loving in this case is not just the mushy, sentimental love… this type of love was and still is an action love… it is a love that requires action on the part of the one giving the love…
Peter knew that unless he shared with these believers on how to live as they should, that they would stray and that they would struggle… he loved them and did not want that to happen if at all possible, so Peter springs into action and shares his love thru his teaching… just as his Teacher had loved and taught him, Peter was going to love and teach his flock as well…
Peter goes on to say, “…I beg you…” this is Peter’s way of getting the readers attention. This simple phrase has kind of a shock value for the readers. It is a picture of someone attempting to warn a loved one of impending danger!
But just what is Peter trying to warn his loved ones about? Well before he reveals what he is warning them of he describes who he is speaking to… he uses the phrase…Sojourners and pilgrims…
Peter is NOT speaking of an earthly residence or home country… but is speaking of an eternal state of citizenship. The old song we have heard so many times makes this ever so clear when it says, this world is NOT my home… I’m just a passin’ thru, my home is laid up somewhere beyond the blue!
So often we get caught up in what is going on in this world that we forget that when we are ‘in Christ’ we NO LONGER belong in this world but we are merely… sojourners and pilgrims working our way toward our final destination… and that is heaven!
After Peter describes WHO he is directing this part of the passage toward… he finally gets to the warning that he had issued earlier in this passage! Peter says… abstain from fleshly lusts…
Now you may say, “Preacher that is NOT me, I do not lust after another! I have been faithful to the fullest extent to my spouse and they don’t have to worry about that!”
Well just what are ‘fleshly lusts’? The obvious answer to that question is that Peter is speaking of the more base elements of lust dealing with the sexual nature of committing adultery in our hearts before we act it out in our bodies!
But when it comes to the flesh, we know that it is NOT all about sex! The fleshly lusts that Peter warns us against can be anything from a hobby out in your garage to an obsession that leads you to financial ruin!
Lust is when you crave something in such a way that it replaces the focus you have on God… it overwhelms your life and takes over your mind! Lust is not simply sexual sin, but it is anything you place in front of God. Lust is simply another form of idolatry!
Peter goes on to tell us that this fleshly lust is bad because it wars against the soul. When we allow lust to enter into our heart, the relationship we have in our soul with God begins to suffer, and the more prevalent the lust is in our lives, the more it begins to consume our actions and walk in Christ!
The war Peter speaks about is the same war Paul speaks about when he says, “…11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand…” in Eph 6:11-13
We are at war, in this world. We live an evil and broken world and the Enemy is constantly trying to destroy us… and when we allow lust to creep into our hearts and minds it brings the war right to the soul…
And what Peter is saying is that when we come to know Christ as Savior, we are changed by His power and our lives must reveal that change! When we are saved, we must make the choice to abstain from things that lead to destruction and death! But not only does a saved life lead to change, but I can also see that…
A Saved Life is a Challenged Life! (v.12)
Peter issues a challenge here to the believers who will read this letter when he says, “Having your conduct honorable…” I want to ask you a question, what separates the believer from the world? First it is his or her relationship in Christ, but for the believer we must make a conscious choice to ACT like we are saved!
What Peter is saying here is that, honorable conduct should be the trademark of the believing Christian. We must make the choice to live a life that reflects the salvation we claim in Christ.
Our choice to live our lives in honorable conduct is all part of us making choices to live a life worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus, but our honorable conduct is for another reason as well… our honorable conduct is to reach others for Christ!
Look at what Peter says, next, “Among the Gentiles…” which means that our honorable conduct must be seen by the world… it means that the living of our life must be in the public sector as well as behind the doors of our home!
We are to be on fire and sold out to Christ in the church pew and in the office and in school and everywhere we go in this world. We are to show Christ to the world thru HOW we live our lives… live honorably among the Gentiles… and reveal the Christ that will wet their spiritual appetites to know Him!
Part of that honorable life includes the doing of good works and Peter is saying here that when we do these good works and when we live our lives honorably in front of the Gentiles in this world… we are to do so because we want God to get the glory!
Peter says, “…by your good works which they [the world] observe…[they] will glorify God…” so in other words, what Peter is saying here is that our good works are done so that we can be a witness of Christ to the world around us!
We do this to evangelize the world, and to bring glory to the world so that those who are saved can offer their praise to Him! But many people are confused in what Peter says here… “glorify God in the day of visitation…” just what did he mean?
This unique expression, "in the day of visitation," based on a surprising use of the Greek word, episkope’, only occurs one other time and it is when Jesus wept over Jerusalem and pronounced its coming judgment.
Jesus said, "…’If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes... because you did not know the time of your visitation…”
Lk 19:42,44 - NKJV
Now (episkope’), and its derivatives, are usually translated as "bishop," or the "office of a bishop," and it seems strange at first that it could also mean "visitation."
However, at its core, the basic meaning of this word is "overseer," or "one with oversight," and Jesus is really the "…Shepherd and Bishop of [our] souls" as Peter says later in this chapter, as well as that of nations and every aspect of every life.
As a bishop or pastor ("under-shepherd") we are responsible for the "oversight" of the local church where God has placed us, so Christ is "the great Shepherd of all the sheep," He is the true "Bishop of [our] souls," He is the overseer of all people in every age.
In God’s great plan for all the ages, the Jews and Gentiles have each been entrusted with a time of "visitation," or "oversight" of God’s witness to the world.
It is sad, but Jerusalem "did not know the time of [her] visitation" Lk 19:44.
Now in God’s providence, it is the time of Gentile oversight, and it is eternally important that we who know His salvation today glorify God by our good works, with our "conversation [i.e., lifestyle] honest among the Gentiles" in our own "day of visitation.”
by Henry Morris, Ph.D. http://www.icr.org/article/19528/
CONCLUSION:
Peter is clear in his exhortation of believers here in this passage in that it is our duty to LIVE OUR FAITH OUT LOUD! We are to make the choice to abstain from the fleshly temptations of the world and we are to make the choice to do godly good works so that the world will come to know Christ thru our lives and they will glorify Him in heaven with us!
Are you living your faith out loud so that others see your faith clearly? Are you abstaining from the fleshly lusts of the heart? Are you making the willful choice to do the good things you know God wants you to do… the kind of things that draw people closer to God? If not, why? Why won’t you submit to Christ tonight and surrender to His plan for your life?
As Bro jerry comes I ask you to stand…
